Care of the elderly rat - Critter City

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CRITTER CITY
BY SANDRA CONTI- TODD OF ALLEXPERTS.COM

Beautiful and brave little Wanda, who joined the rainbow bridge 5-27-2010 at the ripe old age of 3 years old with her owner, a Critter City reader, Miss Amanda, from the UK.

The "Grand" elderly rat~*~

Caring for older rats
There are many things to consider when taking care of the aging rat.

Inactivity
When rats get older, they do slow down and prefer sleeping and cuddling more with their cagemates and may also start to want to be held more by their owner too. This is when many rat owners start to bond even closer with our rats....when we see how they want to turn to us for comfort. We finally have our "squish" rat to cuddle with! Unfortunately, with age comes reduced mobility. Older rats are prone to weakness caused by muscle wasting, degeneration of the spinal cord, pituitary adenoma and possibly stroke. Hind leg paralysis is quite common, particularly in male rats. Treatment with anti inflammatory drugs (like prednisone or metacam) can help make the rat more comfortable. Actually, most paralyzed rats get along amazingly well despite their lack of mobility.

Changes made in their living quarters: This may now be the time to make some changes in the elderly rats cage to help accomodate him/her easier.

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Be sure to make his home safe and easy for him/her to navigate. A few things to recommend: 1. Replace steep ladders with low, wide ramps with good grip Coveri them with fabric or rubbermaid easy grip sink mats etc..to help ensure they are able to grip easier. My elderly rat oreo used to simply SLIDE down the ramp, but went up it easy. 2. If the rat is really having a hard time getting up and down the ramps, replacing the cage with a single story cage may be the best choice. 3. Keep food and water on each level of the cage so he doesn't need to travel far to eat, that is, if you decide to use a multi story cage. Sometimes changing the cage entirely can actually cause the rat to really slow down more since he has lost his room to roam. 4. Provide a hammock or soft cloth as a type of "net" below shelves in case of a fall. This way, the hammock will catch the rat instead of having him hit the bottom. An older rat may become a bit unsteady on his feet and this happens more often as they age. 5. Cover any exposed wire flooring. The weaker rats are more likely to get their feet or claws caught in the wire flooring. 6. Lower his water bottle so he can reach it without standing up. 7. Hammocks in general may be difficult for the elderly rat to climb in and out of. Dont remove it altogether, but offer another place to hide/sleep such as an igloo or waffle house or even a homemade house out of cardboard, providing the rat doesnt urinate in his sleeping quarters. 8. Make sure he has not become the target for other rats to pick on him. Most often the elderly rat gets respect and the other rats do not bother him but there may be an excetion. Keep an eye out for that. 9. Keep the air temp at a comfortable level. . older rats are more prone to respiratory problems and generally have less fat for warmth. A heating mat placed under one end of his cage may be used during winter or if A/C vents cause the room to get chily. You can also use a reptile lamp on one end of his cage placing the lamp 2 feet above with cords out of reach.

Keeping clean When rats get older, they can have a harder time grooming due to weakness. In a male, buck grease can collect and can actually cause a nasty skin infection. You may need to wipe your rat down daily due to the rat losing some control of his bladder and wetting himself more often. Pay close attention to their belly area too. Urine can burn and irritate his/her tender skin and cause a rash such as urine burn. You can also buy a soft bristle baby brush to use to brush his coat. My rats LOVE this and both young and old rats appreciate this! You may need to remove built-up wax with a Q-tip once a week if the rat cannot reach good with his feet and toe nails like they usually do.

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Eating habits may change with the older rat. This is now the time to make sure you provide your rat with nutritious foods and high calorie treats wont hurt either every now and again. Nutrical may be helpful in this case as well. Elderly rats may have a hard time holding food and may need to et foods that they can lick like baby food and soft smashed/mashed food such as fruits and vegetables. You can soak lab blocks in soy milk. My older boy Patterson LOVED this!! Provide a low dish for your rat instead of them trying to reach into a deep bowl. Male rats may not be able to clean their penis very well anymore and they are prone to developing a penis plug. This penis plug is simply a build up of a waxy substance that collects from oils and also urine build up. It can clog the sheath causing tremendous pain and problems urinating. All you need to do is to check for a plug by feeling for a hard lump and if you do, that means it is plugged. In order to rid the plug from clogging the sheath, you will need to gently but firmly push the sheath down and pop out the plug. I would inspect this area on the boys daily just to be safe. If you feel uneasy about doing this,by all means, see the vet, but dont let it go on like this either. It can cause serious problems.

Health problems As rats age their immune system declines and they can become more prone to respiratory illnesses. They also take longer to recover from this than they did when they were younger. There are vitamins and other health supplements many people use for older rats, especially when they are not eating well. Once I research them I will list them here. Other health issues associated with limited mobility in the elderly rat include bladder infections, skin problems and fall injuries.

Your rat will be able to live his life out, with a good quality of life with your help. We know that time is not on our side with our elderly rat so to show our love, why not make them as comfy as possible?

Some of my senior rats below:

Oreo lived to be 3 years and 6 months old. The only sign that showed her age was her black hood became mixed with gray fur right around her 3rd birthday.

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Holly (above) was my one and only wild rat that I tamed. She was around 11 weeks old and was very aggressive. Trust training took about a week and she became one of the sweetest rats ever, although she did have to live alone (her choice) since she tried to kill any rat that she came across. This petite darling had no idea she was so tiny and tried to over power even the largest rats. Holly passed away 2 months shy of what we were going to celebrate has her 4th birthday, although she may have been older than twhat we thought since she was wild and only guessed her age when I first found her.

Charlotte lived to be 3 years and 4 months old and Patterson lived to be 3 years and 2 months old.

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HELP FOR HIND LEG PARALYSIS:

Templeton, who loved his medicine, lived to be 3 years and 6 months old! Degenerative Osteoarthritis: Spinal Joint Disease

Degenerative osteoarthritis is a disorder that is caused by cartilage breakdown. Normally, cartilage provides a cushion between the bones of the joints. Healthy cartilage acts as a shock absorber during physical movement. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage wears away, which in turn causes the bones under the cartilage to rub together. Pain and swelling along with loss of the use of the limbs due to the inability to move the joints is experienced. Our rats may face gradual loss of the use of their hind legs, often starting with being unable to climb or jump as well as they did when they were younger. They may limp at times or you may notice they are very stiff. Eventually, this progressive disease can cause the deterioration of the cartilage in the joints and continued pressure on the spine can cause total compression on the nerves, thus in turn, the rat may experience total paralysis of their hind legs.

Lets face it, rats skeletal systems are just not made to last beyond, say, 2 years of age. However, due to better care of our furry friends, they are living longer, healthier lives due to rat owners being educated on proper care of their rats. However, with age comes some problems, esp in older rats. Remember mycoplasmosis? Well good ole myco can also play a hand in your rats skeletal system as well, often being the cause of arthritis. Yes, arthritis in rats can be caused by mycoplasmosis. Typically, it acts the same as Osteoarthritis, with the rat limping and moving with great difficulty. As with most conditions like this, it will affect any joints, esp the hips and legs of the elderly rat. That said, as discussed before, there are things to do to treat this condition but recently, someone wrote in to me with questions about Glucosamine/Chondroitin to help relieve symptoms. I told her that to be totally honest, I was skeptical about this and my usual route of treatment in most cases is more medical than using vitamin supplements etc.... but I went ahead and shared with her the proper dose to use etc.. I asked for an update and I was more than thrilled to hear good news when she wrote back to me telling me her rats were in complete remission, able to run and jump as before. I will publish her first message to me with the update after her rats had been treated: Monica was using 1/4 tablet per day of 1 tablet that contains both ingredients of 250 mg glucosamine and 200 mg chondroitin.

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Here is her success story: It has been a little while on the vitamin for my little old men and here are my findings/thoughts. On the few days it took before I was able to pick up the tablets I noticed Chocolate was losing more movement in his legs - walking slower, slipping and unable to jump or climb as well. After just a couple of weeks giving Pinky and Chocolate both a 1/4 of the 500mg tablets I have seen: In Chocolate - From being the best jumper in the world, to falling off the side of the bed trying to jump up on to it. Back to jumping, from a pillow that I placed on the floor for them to land on, up on to the bed again! Being able to climb up on to my shoulder again just so he can hide inside my sweater. Also, from having his tiny little feet poke out from under him while he eats or cleans, basically sitting on his bum, back to having them right under him where they belong. He is MUCH stronger, I can see it clearly when he jumped up onto the laundry basket ...and its a high one, with ease. He is free to enjoy sitting on the computer arm rest as he pleases...again! Pinky -- has ALWAYS been an AWFUL jumper, he's a pretty big rat -- he enjoys his food, more to love. Never being able to jump from the floor to the bed. Always taking the night table/laundry basket route (which is purposely all connected so its an easy walk over to the bed when its full, or a small jump from the night table) to ATTEMPTING TO JUMP FROM THE PILLOW UP ON TO THE BED! Unfortunately he has been unsuccessful..so far... and as I watch from where I sit and see his cute little face pop up ....hold on for 5 seconds struggling with me going COME ON PINKY! and then falling back on to the pillow...he has gained a new confidence that was definitely not present before. I do believe that this vitamin is an excellent way for them to keep their back legs strong and healthy. Although, I do wish I had begun them a while ago. Pinky has gained new skills, and Chocolate has regained ones he lost for a while. Sadly I do still see a small hop in their walk, slipping while climbing, loosing balance while cleaning , and other little things that come with age. I believe that stating them on this vitamin before old age kicks in, will help prevent it from starting so soon and we can begin to help keep these little guys around longer, as well as using all 4 cute little paws for much, much longer. Thank you so much Sandra, my little guys are very thankful for your help as well as my boyfriend and I. Thank you. Monica Pinky has always been pretty slow, so I am going to say about a year and a half he started losing strength. And chocolate was just over 2 years when his kicked in, pretty quickly if I might add. Id say it would be safe to start around a year and a half. My other rat only lived to be 1 so...it's hard to say when exactly.

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And as for mixing it: I was crushing it with a spoon...which worked but took a ton of time. I tried mixing it with Ice cream -- which made it too thick and it got chewy, they would just leave it. Juice -- made the vitamin clumpy, which made for a lot of time mixing. They would not eat the clumps if you missed any, and its almost impossible not to, so again mixing and mixing until 20 minutes goes by; or trying to get them to eat it off of your finger. Pudding -- this worked the first time, and then they didn't like it anymore. SO. This works for my guys every time, haven't even had to change the flavor and the spoon gets licked dry. Now the vitamin smells AWFUL so I can only imagine what it tastes like, so you must make sure it gets crushed into practically dust. The spoon crushing method works fine just takes up an unnecessary amount of time and can be messy. So I went out and got a Mortar and Pedestal. I wouldn't recommend a wood one. Some kind of metal or marble, I got a marble one. If you don't know what it is. google it! =P Mine cost me $12, Ive heard you can get them cheaper. So the magic mixer is.YOGURT, yes yogurt. I used Vanilla. Its great because its white so you can see how mixed in the vitamin is because its a pinkish colour.

Meet Pinky & Chocolate, happy as can be! Proudly owned by Monica of Canada
INSTRUCTIONS ON USING GLUCOSAMINE/CHONDROITIN

Here is how Monica used the glucosamine/chondroitin.

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1/6 tablet to 1/4 tablet per day of 1 tablet containing 250 mg glucosamine and 200 mg chondroitin. 1. Crush vitamin into dust 2. Place crushed vitamin on a spoon 3. (This is how I measure it) Using one of the plastic syringes you get from the vet for the meds, place 2.0 CCs of yogurt on TOP of the crushed vitamin. 4. Stir yogurt and vitamin. Making sure there are no tiny pieces of vitamin in there. At this point the mixture should be nice and pink (if you are using WHITE yogurt, if not, I dont know what colour it will be) 5. Add another 1.0 CCs or 0.5CCs of yogurt. This will make the mixture a pale pink colour masking the awful taste of the vitamin and creating a delicious treat. Thats it! Took a while to figure out but it works. At first it seemed like a lot of yogurt but I made sure I got a healthy one with LOW sugar and nothing added to it. Monica, London ON, Canada

Critter City 2004 Webmaster: Sandra Conti-Todd All rights reserved.

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