Caring for Elderly Rats 

My female rat turned 5 years old. Survived a tumor in her neck + the surgery that came with that to remove it. She lived a long and happy life and died of old age, still being really hyper. I miss that little angel :(

Aw, poor old man Uno! He's doing well for such an old guy!

He is so cute. It is sad to watch them slow down. I hate the lifespan of rodents, not enough time! Very informative video, thank you for sharing!

My poor boy Peace just died 2 weeks ago. He was about 2 and 7 monthes. I miss him terribly. It was awful watching him die. He stopped drinking and eating, and when it was over he was already practically a dried husk. Had such a sweet disposition. Would lick my hand/fingers forever.

"2 to 2 and a half years" and I have two nearly three year old male rats and I love the heck of them

I'm holding my rat right now. He's 2 years and 4 months, extremely tired and underweight, but he still eats and acts like the same animal he's always been.

Aww Greasy little Uno is so sweet

*sigh* My first pair of rats just turned 1. I'm gonna miss them terribly when they pass 😫 I got them from a local pet store ( I know not the best idea. ) So I'm doubting they are gonna reach 2 years. but here is to hoping they will! I WUV U BEAR AND CODA! Update: Bear died of Phnemonia in February, I adopted a pair of ratties to pair up with coda

This video is very helpful! I have a rat who is approaching 3 years old, but she seems to be quite comfortable.

You've been so helpful though out my years of owning my rats. I cannot thank you enough.

Thank you for this. My Merlin is still pretty active and still popcorns. But I have noticed he's relatively slower than before. I know that day will come it's good for us to learn this ahead of time to aid and facilitate. So thank you.

two years ago my brother brought home two rats. one was hyper and one was rather shy. one day, our hyper baby (we call her mama) had four babies. since two were male, we gave them to other safe homes, and kept the two girlies. now, every rat besides mama has a tumor. mama is blind, skinny, and hardly able to eat. her privates are brown-stained, and she is very confused and can hardly walk without falling over. my poor little angel. my brother went off to the military a while ago and i just hope her time doesn't run out before he comes home next month :(

Im laying in bed with my old boy with me right now hes three years old and has hind leg degeneration ive completely fixed my room for his comfort and i let him stay out 24/7 i leave his cage open incase he wants to go back in and i let his brothers visit him for 30 minutes a day hes the love of my life❤😍 he lived through a bad respiratory infection when he was little that killed his brothers so he was very depressed for a while so we cuddle ALOT until finally i decided i couldnt see him like that any longer and i went out and got him two brothers and he was so happy he started playing again i was sooo happy i cried then not too long after my sister in law came home with a mate for him. And they had a baby just one he loved playing with her but sadly his mate passed last year at 2 due to cancer we never caught and just 2 weeks ago his daughter has passed also at 2 from cancer sadly we couldnt do anything about it so we put her down to put her her out of her misery poor old mans outlived so many of his friends but right now he has five perfectly healthy younger brother who are the light of his life

One of my rats lived for 1,5 years, the other 2,5. I've never spent so much time and bonded so much with an animal as my rattie when she was left alone when her sister died... I know rats aren't supposed to be alone, but I didn't have school at that time and I worked only a few hours everyday, so I had her with me all day long. She was the best

Never got 1 URI. Maybe we were lucky, but using thin cotton baby newborn blankets and keeping a super clean tile environment made a diff. We did not use water bottles, either. We used heavy glass and ceramic bowls and changed daily. We also kept an open habitat concept and never had any hind leg issues. I don’t think I’d ever have the heart to mostly cage rats. They seemed to really enjoy all the freestanding climbing furniture and the continual running around. A wonderful experience, but losing rats just breaks my heart. They are wonderful creatures.

My original pair of girls are 2 years old. I'm sad seeing my coco not running around and playing anymore like her other elderly besty, lucky. I made their new cage better for just her, so it's safe and nice. She also went blind recently. I hope she lives a long life, she's my heart rat and my everything. I'd be torn if she died. Even the thought of her eventually passed away makes me want to cry. Rats are the absolute best pets

That is so sad, Uno is such a good rat,he looks like he lived a good life!!

Uno is still so handsome.

Awww give Uno some kisses, cuddles, and scratches for me. He's too darn cute! I recently lost my old male rat to kidney failure and I was and still am a little heartbroken. It got to the point where he would only stay in one corner of the cage and hardly move but I was making sure to syringe feed him ever 2-3 hours with water and a high protein baby food along with giving him doxy ever 12 hours. I thought he was just really sick and he did have a bit of a myco flare up but in the end I had to put him to sleep. His poor back legs hardly worked by the end and it got so bad that he couldn't hold any thing in his hands. Captain Morgan was almost 2 years old but he has a really good life. He was a spoiled prince but in the end I know he loved me and he let me know that I was doing the right thing and that he would be ok. I really do love rats, they are amazing creatures. Also I loved your hairless cat in the background.

aww, i love uno ♥ im adopting my first rat next week. super excited. hes a old rat & I didnt want him to spend te rest of his days in a shelter. he will be very loved and spoiled.i wish they lived longer.

You scared me at the end yelling "Yuri." That's my little sister's name and I thought she did something bad in the other room.

Thank you for the informative video. It’s obvious you love your rats and videos like this help the rest of us become better pet owners. Keep up the good work!

Hind end degeneration sounds like what dogs often get as they age- peripheral neuropathy. All the nerves weaken and don't transmit signals as well but this has the biggest effect on the bodyparts furthest from the brain as the signals have to travel a longer distance through weakened nerves.

This video made me cry. Poor baby. I just lost my cat to old age so maybe that was a factor in my over emotional reaction haha

Precious boy! Love Uno! Hard to see him get old. Thanks for all your informative videos.

Thank you so much!! I was having trouble with my elderly rat and now I can give him a better retirement!

Thank you for this video my boys have turned 22 months and can see some decline in their health. I have four Himalayan boys three have hind leg degeneration and one is hyper as ever keep up the great vids!

My litter sister rats are 2 and a half years old. They both have hind end problems and are super bald. My one rat Jane has a tumor on her one leg which makes it hard for her to move it in addition to the hind end problems. She gets around really well despite the problems and being skinny definitely helps. Her sister Ruth is still chunky and has a harder time walking around. I hope she loses weight so she can walk better. I put fleece and binder clips on their ramps so they get some extra traction and have something to grab on to. Their upper body strengths is pretty amazing and still try to climb the bars. They are ridiculous. They live with 4 younger rats but my old ladies are the bosses and can quickly get the babies to stop bothering them with nips and squeaks.

I have a 2 and a half old rat that I adopted from a girl who couldn’t take care of her anymore. She was recently recently diagnosed with two tumors and I considered surgery, but my vet told there was great chance she wouldn’t make it... I enjoy every minute with her and hope she will be able to see me graduate this year

Thanks for this video, it was very informative :) My older rat is two years old now and he's still in good shape but it's nice to know what to do for when he'll be older.

Thank you so much for posting this. Our girls will be 2 in October and I'm dreading it. Every morning I run to their cage to make sure they're both still with us, and every evening when I get home from work I do the same. I know endings are inevitable, but I just love them so. Thank you for sharing all your wisdom and experience, all your videos are always so helpful!

Thank you very much for posting this very helpful video! My rattie Dapper Dill is a uniquely patterned Siamese that is 3 years and a month and he really started showing his age about 2 months ago. Now he just eats and sleeps on the bottom of my critter nation. His hind leg degeneration has been getting worse these last few days, but despite his condition he still loves to cuddle and hang out. He was alone for about 2 years when I read online that they do best in pairs and 5 months ago I got a tiny black speckled silver English-Irish dumbo whom I call Wesley Christopher Fox. It was difficult at first. Lots of fights, and Wesley now has a permanent scar on his tail. Nowadays, Wesley and Dapper cuddle and are constantly grooming each other. Your videos have helped me throughout my ownership of my beloved rats and I would like to thank you on all of your advice and suggestions. Without your videos, I probably would of never got my boys!

awe thank you so much for the information, Uno is such a sweetie

My oldest rat is around 2 years and 3 months old he’s definitely showing his age we have 3 around that age their fur is thinning and it’s sad they’re slowing down

I have a rat that just turned 3 coming to live with me. His little buddy passed away a couple days ago from old age. (he was 4 years old) his owner doesn’t want him anymore because of this which makes me so sad :(

Hi! Thanks for the video, it's very helpful and your rats are just so cute 😍 I have a very old lady named Szotyi. She's more than 3. Since yesterday she didn't even move when she was in the cage, and before that when she was out, she couldn't move her left back leg. Now she had eaten a lot of tasty soup with pasta (she loves human food, but we have to be careful with it), and she's trying to fall asleep in a blanket on the table... She's very old and the doc thinks she has a brain tumor but it was okay til now... We are taking her to doc again today. Some say that it's just a rat, get over it, but for me she's everything. She's my sister, my daughter, my best friend. I hope she's okay and she'll just get some medicine. I don't know how could I get over it, if she would leave today. She's my third rat, but I still can't say goodbye to them 😔 I just love rats so much 😍 Thanks again, byeeeee 😘

right now my female is 2 1/2 years and is still running around like the first day when I brought her home ! where as my 2 year old has had a minor stroke and is definaltly a lot slower than before.

He is in pain and in kidney failure. He is adorable! Precious blue boy RIP

my rat is 5 years old and still grinning with pride. bald as a turtoise and crippled as a apple tree but boy o boy he has charisma

I love rats.Always have,got two wild babies I'm caring for.People need understanding of these smart tough creatures

My male rat turned 2 in april so this videi helped a lot! We noticed hair loss and hind leg deteriation signs and wondered if something was wrong with his health other than getting a little old, thanks!!

My female rats easily made it to 5 years and only died because of tumors that grew super fast. I've been feeding them an organic diet and they showed little signs of slowing down even with the tumors weighing them down. They were feeder rats too which makes me question why they lived so long.

nice video I was just curious if you could give them holistic stuff to keep them alive longer like vitamins and stuff

It's hard to watch your pet go through this part of their lives. Uno is so sweet!

thank you ! my Hanna turns approx 2 years this month and she is such a hyper :)

My 6 year old rat has hind leg degeneration . But he gets around good. I had to change his cage set up to make it more "disabled" friendly for him

I just had to put my rat down today. He would have been two in a few months

Thanks so much I have an elderly rat and I was starting to think she was sick or something

I started with 4 female rats. They are just over 2 years old. One just passed away a few weeks ago and I have another with a tumour who I don't think has long left (probably a few days). They are in a large cage with various shelves. Once she has gone, I am wondering if it might be best to move my remaining two girls to a smaller cage or not. I have one which was theirs when they were younger and smaller. They are both in good health and still pretty active. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thank you, your videos are so helpful! X

I have a four year old rat a two year old rat and one that's just a few months old. My oldest two are the best of friends and it makes me sad knowing my oldest girl will be passing soon especially because she will be leaving her best friend behind with someone she doesn't get along with at all. I don't know how to fix this. For now all I can do is wait and hope they will eventually get along.

Both of my rats lived to 4 but when they got old the both became very skinny even though I fed them lots, is that normal?

This was so helpful!

I adopted 2 male rats and they are 4 1/2. I love them and they are so sweet

hi! was just wondering what you're using as bedding at the bottom on the cage?

Loved your vedio helpful for my older rats my girls has tumors lost weight

What bedding you use? Great vid thanks. Sweet old man

Such a sweet boy.

This video made my heart all fuzzy

I have six females, sadly my first rat is a year and a half old so I'm watching this to get some tips and tricks to care for her. I want her to be happy while she's older,,

You are so cool! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. You are doing a great job with rats!

My last rat she was almost 4 when she passed on.

My rat popcorn is going on 3 years and he’s definitely like yours. A little worse even. But despite that, I see him all over the cage. I thought maybe he would stick to the bottom but nope, he still goes to the very top and will chill in hammocks😂

Aww Uno,very awesome info ratgirl 😊❤️🐀🐀🐁🐁

my rat, Cheeseburger, died at about 3 and a half. His brother Cheesecake is still going strong, but has health problems now and then.

My princess is almost 3 years old!! She'll be 3 in October but she needs a major tumor removed.

My rats are both 2 yrs 7 months and all the stuff they need is very low in the cage now. They sleep alot and daisy can't move her back legs as well as she used to. They are both still eating but daisy has moved to baby food aswell. I shall miss my maisy and daisy.x

I'm so scare for my rat, she just hit the one and a half mark :(

Uno is such a cutie 🐀❤

I have a 4 year old female and her back feat don't work anymore :c but she's always happy

I had to put my rat Daisy to sleep because she had a pituitary tumor. :( she was only 1. She was 2 months away from her second birthday. I still have her two sisters though. Made me so sad. I had to put her to sleep on Saturday. I owned 2 rats prior to my 3 (now two,) and my first rats lived to be about 2and and 2 months. I had to put my first rat to sleep due to a PT. This is so hard :(

my girl echo recently got put down for a pituitary tumor :, ( we tried everything and nothing helped, she didn't even reach 2 she would have been 2 in october but the other girl I got with her that was the same age is perfectly fine. I also have a male that's a year and he is reeeaaaalllyyyy fat, any suggestions on how to get him to lose some weight? he is neutured and I wonder if that's why?

So around 6 years ago I had gotten three babies I was only able to keep two of them and the recently one of them just passed away due to the body thinking it's pregnant so now I only have one of my babies and she's been getting very emotional and I have alot of time that I take her out of her cage let her run around on my bed I give her as much treats as she likes she's gotten very chunky

You should always have ramp covers for those wire ramps or they might break a toe or a leg

My rat squid is coming up to 2 and 1/2, she has a mammary tumour but is still active

i love your vid i have been loving rats for 30 plus years i love your set up you are a beauiful rattie mom good for you iam a big fan thanks so much.

What is the ideal height for the water bottle? :) What is the most comfortable position for adult rats (stretched out, lunched, laying down, etc) I keep my bottle pretty high (they have to get on their hind legs to drink) but I don't know if that's good or bad, it's just how I see it at pet stores.

He's so butifull

It's funny because my boy Bear is two and a half now, and he is my most hyper and crazy rat, and he annoys my youngest rat Binx and he is about a year old! XD

My rat pearl is good at climbing the the bars to each of the first second third and fourth floors

I've been heartbroken so many times! All my rats needed surgery (i´m chronically broke). But I didn't learn anything. Soon I will adopt two girls. 🐀😍

Where did u get the metal pan for bottom of ur cage

How do you know when to take your rats to the vet? My baby Frej is going to be 2 this December. Recently she has been much less active, staying at the bottom of the cage much more often, and sometimes even falls when climbing in out of hammocks/going up and down levels (I'm planning to re-organize the cage tonight because I must admit it is tricky for her to get around). She occasionally sneezes (I hear her sneeze maybe 3-5 times a day) and has some red discharge around her eyes (she's always had that, since she was a baby). I've done a lot of research but I still can't decide if I think she's sick or not. I think her lack of balance could just be a mixture of being overweight (she's currently on a diet) and her being older. Her appetite is as hearty as ever, and she still enjoys her playtime. I think the red discharge could possibly be due to dust (changing to fleece bedding this weekend), but since she's had it her whole life I'm just not sure. Her sneezing is probably what worries me the most, even though I want to clarify she does not do it excessively at all. It seems like most elderly rats are on some kind of medication and it worries me that my baby isn't. I have her along with her sister who is perfectly healthy (but also much less fat). We also recently adopted an 8 month old rat so I am thinking her behavior could be due to the new young rat annoying her as well. If you have any advice Frej and I would greatly appreciate it!

Uno is a sweet rat doing so well for that age ❤

Uno looks EXACTLY like my Sniffie, except for the baldie bit, mine has a lumpie tho'. i love him so much...carry on...

How do you keep female and male rats together? Do I have to get the female spayed? Or how does that work?

What bedding do you use for your fur babies ?

I just got 2 new babies a velveteen dumbo and a Russian blue moon named morrice and spot. This is the part that makes me kinda sad

Do you have any rats that back feet aren't working if so please show me.

You may have mentioned it but why is he balding or do they bald like humans when they get old?

I just had to put down one of my female rats due to heart failure. She was about 2 years old and has left her sister, is it better to introduce another young pair or should I wait? We keep her out of the cage as much as possible and she’s acting fine without her. I don’t want her depressed but I also don’t want her too stressed with new rats.

My little buddy is also having these problems and since a few days I started seeing a tumor beside his hind leg and I am afraid that it is going to slow him down even more. He is 2 years and 5 months so I don't think putting him to surgery is a good thing? Anyone experience with this problem?

I've got a 3 year old girl. Shes half-blind deaf and is missing a bit of her tail. But she's really spritely. Grateful my rat could live so long.

what kind of litter/bedding is that?

What bedding do you use

what about food for old rats? is it the same? fruits,oats ect.

Thank you.year 2020 my pet rat name is Mickey and he is 3 years old no use of back legs.i am trying to make his cage@time happy

The women I got my baby rats from had a girl that was 6 years old and she looked great. I was really shocked. (She’s not the mom. Lol.)

i saw you have a walking wheel. Is or isn,t that bad for the rats back. ? I don,t know if i have the buy my rats one.

My half hairless has been dragging his back legs, not eating and pooping clear / blood in poop

So sad, mine is going to be 2 in Nov but she is just as young looking as she ever has. She doesn't look old at all. I think being her spayed had increased her life expectancy but alot. Hey fur is still silky and shiny and she runs around and jumps and climbs the same. I'm going to be so depressed when she dies :(