old age. . .

[buddhaRat]

Well. . .Sam is starting to lose weight and act a bit "old". . .he is over 3 and been a very healthy rat all his life.  He has always been friendly, but more standoffish than his brother Chuck who always begged for attention. 

Now. . .as he is getting older. . .he is the first to come to me & climb on my shoulder. . .just to rest. 

Sam, Chuck and their sister Doris were all the offspring of a tiny little rat I rescued. . .and so I raised them all from the time they were babies (glad at the time the mother only had 3 so I could keep them all. . .the rescue ended up being too sick to last much longer than the delivery). . .it's tough to see them age. . .but cool that they have all been extremely healthy for the 3 years that I've had them. . .considering the shape the mother was in when I rescued her. . .

Anyway. . .just thought I would share as my standoffish rat has become my best friend. . . 

Do rats always start to lose weight as they get older?  I guess people sometimes do that too. . .??

[Dearpie]

Wow, 3 is a great age!!  I hope to have rats get that old some day!  But unfortunately, loss of weight and muscle is quite normal and typical, especially on their back and backend, where you'll start to feel their spine.  Give him plenty of high calorie and protein foods such as oatmeal, scrambled eggs, cheese and nutristat or nutrical.  Mine love to have their diet suppliments with Boost or Ensure as older ratties.  Lots of love and attention is what they crave the most at this point in their lives... I'm glad he'd getting to be your shoulder buddy now!   

[DebW]

Wow! Three years old for a boy is terrific! My oldest boy, so far, has been Ted.  Ted turned 2 1/2 a little over a week ago and is still going pretty strong. 

At 2 1/2 he's still walking, but dragging his feet a bit at times.  His weight is distributed differently and there is a definate lack of muscle tone.  His appetite is fantastic and, as Dearpie suggested, I suppliment his diet with extra healthy treats.  he can still manage ramps in his cage, but I've lowered them to handicap level.  He reminds me of a typical 80 year old human man.  Ted is also quite cuddly, like your boy.  He doesn't balance as well as he used to on shoulders, so he has the run of the computer desk while I'm on it and loves to cuddle and lick my hands.

Like your guy, I've had Ted since birth.  His mom was also a rescue.  I always seem to get extremely attached to the ones I've raised since birth and they only seem to get sweeter as they get older.