# Elderly Rattie Care



## Drakmanka (Jul 27, 2015)

Hey all. I'm just hoping to get some advice on the best care I can give to an aged rat. My "baby" boy, Silvua, has been with me for just shy of two years, which if my estimates to his age are correct put him at around the 26 month/two years two months age bracket. I've never had a rat live this long and stay completely healthy before (hooray pet store rats), but he seems to be in this for the long haul. He's been sleeping more but is still springy every morning, begging for food and love, likes to play chase and tickle with my hands, and still has that bright, lively gleam to his eyes. It wouldn't surprise me if he lived another year - with the right care.
Since I've never had a rat live this long before, I have no personal experience in caring for elderly rats, and I want to give him my best. Please advise!


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

Even if he is acting youthful, he is still an old man and old men ratties tend to get weakness in the hind legs. (ladies too!) The best thing to do is take the levels out of the cage at the first sign of this. Until then, ramps are good exercise. Make sure there are no big drops. I like to put another hammock spread out flat under the senior's main one to catch any fallers. 

When my rats get too old to be in a traditional cage, I switch them to the "retirement cage" which is a modified guinea pig cage. 

As far as diet, I make sure my seniors only get Oxbow and unsweetened and unsalted treats. I stay with fresh fruits and veggies in moderation for my seniors. I also start supplementing with turkey tail mushroom. That is something I am very passionate about. 

Please keep in mind, all my experience with senior rats is for females. My only male isn't quite up there yet. 

PS - Some of the oldest rats I've ever had came from a pet store. 

Edited to add: start checking genitals regularly. As they get old, they tend to slack in the self grooming department and might need a cleaning from you every day or every other day.


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

I lost my first pair of rats (males) late last year, at the age of 2 years and 8 months  It would be amazing if your rat lived another whole year!
They got hind leg paralysis and started losing weight towards the end of it, they were definitely still eating lab blocks but I did supplement with soft foods such as baby cereal. I heard that vitamin b12 supplement helps with prevention of hind leg paralysis, so try look into that. Looks like you can get powder form of it quite easy in the US, I couldnt find any here so tried using B12 fish oil capsules (made cuts in the capsules to squeeze out the contents to mix into treats) but the oil was very smelly and bitter (I think) to the rats and they hated it. Hind leg paralysis makes it much harder for them to groom properly as well so its good for their morales to try fend it off for as long as possible. Flax seed/oil is another health supplement that is good for seniors i believe


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## Drakmanka (Jul 27, 2015)

Grotesque said:


> Even if he is acting youthful, he is still an old man and old men ratties tend to get weakness in the hind legs. (ladies too!) The best thing to do is take the levels out of the cage at the first sign of this. Until then, ramps are good exercise. Make sure there are no big drops. I like to put another hammock spread out flat under the senior's main one to catch any fallers.
> 
> When my rats get too old to be in a traditional cage, I switch them to the "retirement cage" which is a modified guinea pig cage.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the tips on old rat climbing and hind legs. Because Silvua has always been a slob and pooped literally on everything plastic when he was younger, I replaced all the ramps, platforms and whatnot with hammocks. When he and his late brother were younger, they would climb all over the place in them, but I have noticed in the last few months that he usually seems to be content to climb up only into the lowest-hanging of the four hammock, which is just a small stretch up from the top of his igloo. I'll keep an eye on him and when I think he's definitely done with the upper levels I'll switch him to a shorter cage for safety.

That's good to know about the treats. He loves to eat some of my food, but I'll start weaning him off the salty/sugary stuff now so it's not so hard on him.
What is turkey tail mushroom? I've never heard of it before, so I have no idea where to find it. What's the benefit of supplementing a rat's diet with it?

I have experienced the not-cleaned-enough genitals before. It's a bit harder to help a male rat though since they keep their genitals... packed up, so to speak. Any tips on how to keep up on that better?


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## Drakmanka (Jul 27, 2015)

Nieve5552 said:


> I lost my first pair of rats (males) late last year, at the age of 2 years and 8 months  It would be amazing if your rat lived another whole year!
> They got hind leg paralysis and started losing weight towards the end of it, they were definitely still eating lab blocks but I did supplement with soft foods such as baby cereal. I heard that vitamin b12 supplement helps with prevention of hind leg paralysis, so try look into that. Looks like you can get powder form of it quite easy in the US, I couldnt find any here so tried using B12 fish oil capsules (made cuts in the capsules to squeeze out the contents to mix into treats) but the oil was very smelly and bitter (I think) to the rats and they hated it. Hind leg paralysis makes it much harder for them to groom properly as well so its good for their morales to try fend it off for as long as possible. Flax seed/oil is another health supplement that is good for seniors i believe


That's great to know about the b12 supplements! Do you know how to determine the correct dosage? I'll look into both that and the flax seed oil. Thanks!


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

I haven't had to do it yet, but for cleaning a male's penis, I guess you check for a plug by gently squeezing the area so the penis emerges from the shaft. Someone who owns males would know more about that. I only have one neutered male in my mostly female mischief and he isn't at that age yet. I think the first indicator would be pee underneath him.

That is how I know to start cleaning my girls - when there is pee on their bellies. 

I second the flax seed oil. I add it to the turkey tail mushrooms. Turkey tail mushroom has been proven to be completely safe and fights off tumors. When any of my ladies gets a tumor or they hit two (whichever comes first), they go on it. You can either buy a bag of them on Ebay (dried), or you can buy the supplement. Since I've been supplementing my mischief with it, tumor rates have been WAY down and lifespans have been WAY up. My rats regularly live past 3 now. 

One interesting study about turkey tail mushroom was in dogs with cancer. They tested the longevity of dogs with terminal cancer treated with traditional chemo/radiation vs only turkey tail mushroom. The dogs given turkey tail mushroom and no other treatment had on average 8 more months of quality life than dogs treated with chemo/radiation.

In rats it prevents tumors, slows them, and in some cases, shrinks them. Flax seed oil is a great supplement to that. 

If you opt for the dried whole turkey tail mushrooms on Ebay like I do, I suggest using a food processor or a coffee grinder to turn them into a fine dust (more of a fluff) and add a bit to some cottage cheese or baby food with a bit of flax seed oil.


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## Drakmanka (Jul 27, 2015)

Grotesque said:


> I haven't had to do it yet, but for cleaning a male's penis, I guess you check for a plug by gently squeezing the area so the penis emerges from the shaft. Someone who owns males would know more about that. I only have one neutered male in my mostly female mischief and he isn't at that age yet. I think the first indicator would be pee underneath him.
> 
> That is how I know to start cleaning my girls - when there is pee on their bellies.
> 
> ...


Wow, that is amazing! I'll have to find some and start supplementing Silvua's diet asap then. He doesn't have any tumors, yet, but he has been getting a little bit of fat collecting under his arms which I know can increase tumor risk. Thanks so much for the tips!


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## Jcamp (Mar 4, 2017)

I have an old rat too. From what I'm reading, he's doing extremely well for his age. The only trouble he's had is with some bumble foot. And apparently he's FAT! He weighs almost 1 1/2 pounds! So we're working on that. I don't know his age exactly, but my daughter had him for 2 years, and he came to her already full grown. I've had him for 5 months now, so I bet he's 2.5. And he's always been a lone rat too. So I have an old, fat, lone rat! But he has a 3 level cage and gets around just fine still. He's out and about with us a lot. He loves to wander around on the couch. I've noticed he takes rest breaks a lot. He'll curl up with me for a while and then run around. I know I won't have him around forever so I try to make everyday special! I love my boy !


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