Senior Rat Habitat

[elricsgirl]

My older rat is having a hard time climbing her ramps. Does anyone have any advice for me on what type of cage I should move her to?

I was looking at this one: https://www.chewy.com/midwest-guinea-habitat-guinea-pig/dp/131306

Bars are 1" apart. I'm not concerned about her chewing the base. Currently her whole cage base is covered in fleece and cotton pads and she never chews it.

Are there any concerns with this? If so, do you have links to other cages that might be more suitable?

 

[SQ]

she will still need to live with her friends ……. and a top on the cage not only keeps rats in but also helps to protect them

I have seniors in a CN and either lower the balcony and cover the ramp, or I remove the ramp so seniors are on one level but younger rats can climb up to other levels if they want to

If bar spacing is large you might consider covering the outside of a cage, such as a 40 in long rabbit cage with hardware cloth to protect from small predators that can enter homes

 

[elricsgirl]

she will still need to live with her friends ……. and a top on the cage not only keeps rats in but also helps to protect them

I have seniors in a CN and either lower the balcony and cover the ramp, or I remove the ramp so seniors are on one level but younger rats can climb up to other levels if they want to

She doesn't have any cagemates right now. Her vet and I have discussed getting her friends, but she has been dealing with constant health issues and never has liked being around other rats. She spent all of her time in one corner of her cage before her cagemate died last summer. She didn't play or move around. She just tried to get somewhere where she could be alone. She's a retired lab rat. I wanted to try again, but the vet was concerned about her bumblefoot healing and the three, soon to be four operations she's had. We're taking it one step at a time. She'll be having a third mammary tumor removed next week and hopefully that will be the last one.

 

[SQ]

I am sorry that she is going through this

If you do not get her spayed (a different surgery so she is not under too long) to slow down or prevent more, she will almost certainly get more …… some people try to slow or prevent them with meds.
please see http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/mammary_tumor.php

 

[elricsgirl]

I am sorry that she is going through this

If you do not get her spayed (a different surgery so she is not under too long) to slow down or prevent more, she will almost certainly get more …… some people try to slow or prevent them with meds.
please see http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/mammary_tumor.php

Thank you so much for the link. My vet actually spayed her before she removed any of the tumors, hoping that it would stop the growth. It has in most of them, but there are 3 stubborn ones. She had 2 removed last month and the other will be removed next week. The rest completely stopped growing. My poor little beastie.

She'll be 2 in a couple of months. I'll look at the CN cages. The cage we have her in now is more vertical and she's really struggling with the ramps...except she loves her hammocks. It's her favorite place to be. That's why I was looking at the one I linked to. The ceiling is low enough to hang a hammock so that she can still get in.

 

[SQ]

If she has mobility issues, hanging hammocks low can help as well

 

[ViciousCurse]

Depending on the space you have in your cage, as SQ said, you can lower the ramps and make the inclines less steep. My boy who just passed last December *loved* hammocks and I did my best to keep them hanging close to the edges of levels (he still loved to climb the bottom levels of the DCN) and made sure he could get in and out safely. I think they might be comfortable on their aging joints as well.

When my rats get older, I tend to pack more fleece in their cage, just so they have layers of fabric to support them when sleeping. It's like a DIY orthopedic bed. My rats seem to appreciate the extra fleece.
Also, make food bowls and water bowls/bottles more accessible. When Maddox was getting old, I made sure there was a food bowl and water bowl and water bottle all really close to his favorite sleeping spot.


As for her health, I hope she recovers well!

 

[elricsgirl]

Thanks to you both! We got her a 47.5 inch rabbit cage and fashioned a ramp for the feeding shelf that has a very low incline. I've got it packed with lots of fleece and cotton pads underneath to make it soft.

Our vet told us that she will likely not survive another operation due to a respiratory infection and age. We caught it before it turned into pneumonia, but the mammary tumor stays. I had the others biopsied and they were benign, so we'll just monitor it for now.

She is still not feeling well, but I suspect it takes a bit for the respiratory infections to clear. She's on doxy and ennro and I'm doing my best to keep her hydrated with veggies and watery foods and running a humidifier in her room. She seemed a little uncomfortable this morning (grinding her teeth and restless). I gave her a couple of drops of CBD and she relaxed and actually showed some interest in her toys, so I think I'll continue with that and check in with her vet tomorrow.

 

[SQ]

When rats can not get up into hammocks, you can hang them low enough so that they can crawl into them …… also an easily accessible dish that can not be upset