Signs of Old age kicking in?

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shade

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
199
Location
Burbank, CA
Man it just seems one after another my rats are getting problems. Right now I have Quasar (2 years) and Mouse (1 year) who have been doing very well together since the death of Ben and Batty. However, quasar is worrying me.

Occasionally while he's sleeping he'll make a sort of "chirp" sound. It's random and he only does it one time. Today I went to pick him up and he "chirped" at me a couple times in my attempt. Normally with quasar, he's real wiggly when you pick him up. A lot of the reason is cause he's just so big and I suppose picking him up makes him a bit nervous but afterward he's fine. Today when I picked him up he seemed... lethargic (if that's the proper term). He just layed in my hands and when I moved him around he just kinda went with it. He's not cold or anything but he's just... idk... on top of that his belly was yellow and wet, like he'd peed all over himself. Mouse seems quite worried about him. He wasn't too happy about me picking quasar up and as soon as I returned quasar to the cage, mouse rushed to him and snuggled up against him.

my boyfriend thinks it's just that he's getting old, but i'm hoping there's not anything else I should be worrying about. He still eats and drinks fine but he sleeps A LOT and hardly ever leaves the bottom floor of the cage.

What do you think?
I do have some baytril left over but I don't think that's what he needs. Maybe just some good ol TLC ?
 
It could very well be old age. But I usually see that in way older rats but it seems that rats are aging at a younger age more and more.
 
Well I feel the health of my rats is based off the fact that Ben, Quasar, and mouse were all from pet stores and Batty was the result of accidentally breeding Ben and Coccoa (both pet store rats). So could their early aging just be the fact that their genetics are not well due to being from "rat mills" and not breeders who breed for the health of their rats instead of the ones that breed for quantity?
 
I've seen breeder rats age far too fast as well so don't attribute it to pet store rats. But you are right, it could be genetic.
 
Update***

I think it's much more serious than I thought. Quasar can't even stand up. Is it possible he had a stroke or is that common in old rats. I put him back in the cage this morning and tried to stand him up and he just flopped over on his side and he tried to move a little but his legs just gave out underneath him so he kinda crawled on his belly to where he wanted to lay. Also now his belly is covered in pee like he hasn't moved all night and just peed where he was. *worried*
 
Poor lil guy :(
I would advise taking him to the vet, if that's possible for you at this time.
 
jorats said:
It could be a stroke or a pituitary tumour which is much more common in rats.
Click to expand...

What's a Pituitary tumor? is it something I could see/feel on him?


Just a quick video of how he's acting:

[youtube:2h3x0fln]mqBUEmICvpw[/youtube:2h3x0fln]

if it doesn't work, give it a few minutes cause I just uploaded it.
 
Ratty Momma said:
Not sure about anyone else, but the video is really dark, I can't see anything.
Click to expand...

I also couldn't see anything. Not that I would be of much help, but I would like to know how Quasar is acting so if one of MY rats starts acting that way I'll know more.
 
Well Unfortunately... Quasar just died. *sobs* I'm not sure what was wrong with him, I think it was age but it could have been something else that took him over the course of a couple days. Last week he was walking around and eating and drinking fine. He was breathing kinda hard though, like gasping almost but not quite and he was very Lethargic.

At least now he's in a better place and will join his friend batty at the park. May he rest in peace.

Now the only problem is that mouse is all alone, I hope it wont be a problem for him.
 
I am brought here from a Google search of related symptoms and another website suggested a blockage in the throat. But in my case she ate her treats (banana and blueberries) Chanel is going to the vet tomorrow but for now its LOTS of snuggle time. Stoke perhaps?? We shall find out... she is just over 2 and her sister is bopping around just healthy and fine...
 

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