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Ratless!
Poor ol' Scoundrel died about half and hour ago, resting on my chest.
He had a bit of a rough life; like his brother Ragamuffin he was a "rescue rat". He was also suffering a significant ear-infection which gave him a head-tilt which he never recovered from. Another side effect of the infection is that he would suffer sharp bursts of pain; causing him to attack, quite vigorously, whatever was around him at the time. Which would often be a human hand. For a short time we thought we had a pathological rodent - but when the infection was cured he turned out to have a very gentle disposition.
Unusually for a rat he was not overly fond of food and managed to keep himself fairly thin for most of his life. Even with his unbalancing lean and even into his last hours, he was an athletic little rodent, bounding about, jumping and climbing. But at the same time he was prone to illness; apart from the aforementioned ear infection, he also once caught a nasty case of bronchitis which scarred his lungs causing wheezing sounds when he breathed; and the final illness was the most recent 'flu.
For the first time in years our home is ratless. It feels slightly empty as a result. No doubt we shall have more again in the very near future and the ratty cycle will continue.
In the meantime, sleep well my little friend. You're at peace now, and we appreciated your most delightful company.
He had a bit of a rough life; like his brother Ragamuffin he was a "rescue rat". He was also suffering a significant ear-infection which gave him a head-tilt which he never recovered from. Another side effect of the infection is that he would suffer sharp bursts of pain; causing him to attack, quite vigorously, whatever was around him at the time. Which would often be a human hand. For a short time we thought we had a pathological rodent - but when the infection was cured he turned out to have a very gentle disposition.
Unusually for a rat he was not overly fond of food and managed to keep himself fairly thin for most of his life. Even with his unbalancing lean and even into his last hours, he was an athletic little rodent, bounding about, jumping and climbing. But at the same time he was prone to illness; apart from the aforementioned ear infection, he also once caught a nasty case of bronchitis which scarred his lungs causing wheezing sounds when he breathed; and the final illness was the most recent 'flu.
For the first time in years our home is ratless. It feels slightly empty as a result. No doubt we shall have more again in the very near future and the ratty cycle will continue.
In the meantime, sleep well my little friend. You're at peace now, and we appreciated your most delightful company.
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May he frolic well in rat heaven!
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Plural intended; one rat by itself can get bored and depressed...
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There's a couple of good sites on intro to your first rats...
http://firstrats.tripod.com/index.htm
and
http://www.dapper.com.au/
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My older ferret is three yeas old now and has a very weak heart. I have to be prepared that he can die any day, though usually ferrets live 6-7 years.
I'm really impressed by your attitude.
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A ferret! Lovely creatures, you can roll 'em into a ball! :)
But as you say, even the toughest animals can have a poor constitution.
I'm really impressed by your attitude.
Thanks. That means a lot. :)
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I'm sorry you are ratless.
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My niece's dog of 12 years died a few days ago.
It's always sad when our pets go, as we love them so much.
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There's something intrinsically awesome about rodentia.
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I give it far more to the sense of human-positive social behaviour....
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Mouse vs viper. Who do you think would win?
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Deadly_mouse_turns_tables_on_snake&in_article_id=348926
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At least Scoundrel had a good life, and you were there to see him through to the end :)
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maybe Scoundrel and my Buddha are playing together. :)
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One of my rats (passed away in August) had that same ear infection/head tilt problem and eventually succumbed to it. Sorry to hear about your loss.
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They are absolutely delightful creatures to have bounding around. I can't imagine myself living rat free for long these days.
Head tilt is a rather nasty problem. Usually it can be cured fairly quickly if it's the result of an infection; it's the case of a brain tumor however, recovery is less certain. :(