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Kirby

New Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2019
Messages
1
Location
Canada
(I realized shortly after that I posted this in the wrong section. Sorry about that.)

Hi everyone, I know I haven't posted anything in a while now. But it's been a tough while since I last posted.
I sadly had to say goodbye to not only Lexi, but also my other two girls shortly after to various different things. : (
Lexi's tumor eventually got to the point where something had to be done, and I had to say goodbye to my sweet little girl. And if that was not heartbreaking enough, sweet little Kiri's URI came back worse than ever and despite my efforts to help her, sadly this time it was just too much for her to make it through and I lost her in what felt like a blink of time.

Then during the period I was going to look into getting Navi a friend, I woke up one morning to find she had, had a massive stroke* to the point she couldn't move her body at all. All she could do is move her head to look at me. We thought she was going to come around from it at first, as with the proper care she was starting to get some of her basic motor functions back, and was eating and drinking but sadly she took a turn for the worst and I ultimately had to say goodbye.

Suffice to say I've been pretty down losing my little ones one after the other like that. And as much as I love ratties, it may be a little while before I will be bringing home some new babies to give my love to.

Is this just a common occurrence with ratties? Eventually succumbing to tumors, or URIs or what have you? Or have I just been having very poor luck with my girls?
 
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I am very sorry for your loss.

Yes it is common
I have no idea how old your girls were but good hygiene, a healthy diet and good care will maximize their live spans but genetic factors also play a role.
……. spaying girls young helps as it will prevent mammary tumours and the most common type of pituitary tumour - these are two common causes of death in girls
 
I'm so sorry for these string of losses :( I understand you being hesitant to get more ratties. Just take some time to yourself-- you did everything you could and your girls were adored.
 
I am very sorry for your loss.

Yes it is common
I have no idea how old your girls were but good hygiene, a healthy diet and good care will maximize their live spans but genetic factors also play a role.
……. spaying girls young helps as it will prevent mammary tumours and the most common type of pituitary tumour - these are two common causes of death in girls

I'm so sorry for these string of losses :( I understand you being hesitant to get more ratties. Just take some time to yourself-- you did everything you could and your girls were adored.

Thank you both very much for your replies. They were all sweet angels and I'm so grateful for the happiness they brought to my life. I'm a lonely person, and these girls were the best company I could have ever asked for. They were always so excited to see me and come out and play. :) Before them I never realized just how much a little animal could touch a person's life before. It's such a shame the rep rats tend to have. Anyone who hasn't experienced what it's like to bond with one thinks it's crazy, but I swear my girls always knew how I was feeling the same way a dog or a cat would. I remember when I first found out about Lexi, and I cried all night that following day, and even the days that followed. She would always wait at the door of her cage every morning as if she was waiting there to come out and comfort, and play with me all the way up to her last few days with me. And it was the exact same with Navi, I remember vividly that one of the last things she did was crawl over to me like she would always do whenever I first came over to see her in the morning, and enjoy her head rubs. Even as weak as she was. As heartbroken as I am, I'd never trade my memories with them, and I only hope that they know they were loved.

My girls ranged from about what I believe was 2 at the youngest all the way up to a little over 3. I definitely think genetics might have played a little into things with Lexi, as she and her sister were feeder rats and my first ever rats. The other two I'm unsure of as they had an owner before me, and the only info I really received was their age when I first brought them home.

It's good to know about spaying though. Is it the same for males and neutering them? Also this may seem like a bit of a odd question, but how big of a difference does there tend to be between say, a feeder rat like I mentioned, and a rat from a reputable breeder. Aside from them obviously coming from a far healthier gene pool and home to begin with, do you notice a large difference in their lifespan as opposed to the generic feeder rat generally? I will definitely either be rescuing, or receiving any potential future rats from a reputable breeder.
 
Thank you both very much for your replies. They were all sweet angels and I'm so grateful for the happiness they brought to my life. I'm a lonely person, and these girls were the best company I could have ever asked for. They were always so excited to see me and come out and play. :) Before them I never realized just how much a little animal could touch a person's life before. It's such a shame the rep rats tend to have. Anyone who hasn't experienced what it's like to bond with one thinks it's crazy, but I swear my girls always knew how I was feeling the same way a dog or a cat would. I remember when I first found out about Lexi, and I cried all night that following day, and even the days that followed. She would always wait at the door of her cage every morning as if she was waiting there to come out and comfort, and play with me all the way up to her last few days with me. And it was the exact same with Navi, I remember vividly that one of the last things she did was crawl over to me like she would always do whenever I first came over to see her in the morning, and enjoy her head rubs. Even as weak as she was. As heartbroken as I am, I'd never trade my memories with them, and I only hope that they know they were loved.

My girls ranged from about what I believe was 2 at the youngest all the way up to a little over 3. I definitely think genetics might have played a little into things with Lexi, as she and her sister were feeder rats and my first ever rats. The other two I'm unsure of as they had an owner before me, and the only info I really received was their age when I first brought them home.

It's good to know about spaying though. Is it the same for males and neutering them? Also this may seem like a bit of a odd question, but how big of a difference does there tend to be between say, a feeder rat like I mentioned, and a rat from a reputable breeder. Aside from them obviously coming from a far healthier gene pool and home to begin with, do you notice a large difference in their lifespan as opposed to the generic feeder rat generally? I will definitely either be rescuing, or receiving any potential future rats from a reputable breeder.
Aww, my Gideon used to be my boy who would wait patiently for me every morning :) He'd brux the instant I said hello to him and would fall asleep on my chest whenever he was laying with me. I had this pillow that had a hole in it and Gideon crawled into there. When I asked him what he was doing, he turned around and poked his head out like "Nothing! I was being the bestest boy!!!" Rats are called "little dogs" for a reason!

Sometimes it's insane to think I've known these little guys for only a year, but it felt like we've known each other forever.

Trust me, your girls knew they were loved. These guys are amazingly smart and very observant.

While here we will always advocate adopting over buying, I feel you should still be informed. When it comes to the difference in breeder rats vs feeder rats, make sure the breeder is not a "feeder breeder" as I've heard it called. Those people are breeding rats as food, but if a pretty baby pops out (emphasis on the word pretty), then they'll try to sell that baby for more. You don't know who Mom, Dad, etc. is to that baby. Feeder rats may be inbred or not, or they all may be suffering from medical issues that the so-called breeder isn't going to fix unless it can wipe out their colony.

Reputable breeders do focus on health, and thus feed the babies and nursing mom (and even when Mom was pregnant) better food. Genes are not always the answer as to why things happen. The environment affects your rats as well. Food, habitat, external stressors, vet care, etc. A fantastic example of how environmental factors affect how genes are expressed are identical twins. These two people share the exact same genetic make-up, but they always end up looking different (some moreso than others). That's why we recommend certain foods, cages, toys, etc. for our rats.

You can have the best bred rat in the world with no "bad genes" but if you don't take care of them properly, they will not live as long as those who are taken care of properly.

However, when it comes to rescues, you will almost never know who your rats came from and thus whether or not they have bad genes. All this gene talk is pretty useless in my opinion, especially since (while I adore playful baby rats) I focus more on adopting rats in need of homes and not whether or not they could possess genes that don't focus on health and longevity.

Sorry for the monster post and if this got too rambly.
 
Aww, my Gideon used to be my boy who would wait patiently for me every morning :) He'd brux the instant I said hello to him and would fall asleep on my chest whenever he was laying with me. I had this pillow that had a hole in it and Gideon crawled into there. When I asked him what he was doing, he turned around and poked his head out like "Nothing! I was being the bestest boy!!!" Rats are called "little dogs" for a reason!

Sometimes it's insane to think I've known these little guys for only a year, but it felt like we've known each other forever.

Trust me, your girls knew they were loved. These guys are amazingly smart and very observant.

While here we will always advocate adopting over buying, I feel you should still be informed. When it comes to the difference in breeder rats vs feeder rats, make sure the breeder is not a "feeder breeder" as I've heard it called. Those people are breeding rats as food, but if a pretty baby pops out (emphasis on the word pretty), then they'll try to sell that baby for more. You don't know who Mom, Dad, etc. is to that baby. Feeder rats may be inbred or not, or they all may be suffering from medical issues that the so-called breeder isn't going to fix unless it can wipe out their colony.

Reputable breeders do focus on health, and thus feed the babies and nursing mom (and even when Mom was pregnant) better food. Genes are not always the answer as to why things happen. The environment affects your rats as well. Food, habitat, external stressors, vet care, etc. A fantastic example of how environmental factors affect how genes are expressed are identical twins. These two people share the exact same genetic make-up, but they always end up looking different (some moreso than others). That's why we recommend certain foods, cages, toys, etc. for our rats.

You can have the best bred rat in the world with no "bad genes" but if you don't take care of them properly, they will not live as long as those who are taken care of properly.

However, when it comes to rescues, you will almost never know who your rats came from and thus whether or not they have bad genes. All this gene talk is pretty useless in my opinion, especially since (while I adore playful baby rats) I focus more on adopting rats in need of homes and not whether or not they could possess genes that don't focus on health and longevity.

Sorry for the monster post and if this got too rambly.

You're totally fine, I tend to ramble too so I completely relate, haha. And I appreciate the info. : ) I was asking mostly out of curiosity. I totally get you about the breeder thing. I'm pretty paranoid about that in general nowadays, since sadly you find a lot of cases of that with many animals and it's sad really. Breeding out of greed with little care for the animals involved.

I also agree about adopting, two of my girls actually had a home before me and I took them in shortly after lexis sister passed so that she wouldn't be lonely. They took a little longer to warm up to me, but I found for the most part it just takes lots of patience. :D Kiri was by far the nippiest rat I've had when she was first getting used to me, and yet she ended up being one of the sweetest.
 
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