Animal death

[TuX]

I found my Tux lying dead in the cage this morning,

I knew he was dying because he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer last friday,but myself and vet thought he'd live for longer yet as he was in a good way despite the fact he had so many tumors (I know one was benign but that wouldn't change anything if it was removed),

Last night,I had been hoping he would die in his sleep/gently because the vet mentioned euthanasia-it's awful the way they euthanise rats/small animals,I guess my wish was answered.

 

They have all had a bad start to life,they were originally dumped along with over 40 other rats in boxes besides a canal in Bury,I got them from a rodent rescue in Radcliffe,they're all visually impaired as well.

Here is a photo of Tux,Bucky and Shadow-taken by my sister with her mobile:

http://www.deviantart.com/view/22698186/

 

Shadow/Tux's brother was diagnosed with terminal cancer on the same day as Tux also,although he is doing well despite the amount of tumors,he's not going to be here sooner than later,and Bucky will be left on his own,i've no idea what to do-do I get a group of baby rats to introduce him into,or do I attempt to introduce him to my group of young adult hooded rexes?

 

It's only been a few months since my cat Blackie had to be euthanised from cancer,and her sister/Sam almost died from complications of a tumor removal operation around the same time Blackie was diagnosed,if only there was a cure for cancer,but I doubt they'd bother letting animals have it.

[smiley]

Sorry to hear that TuX <'> <'>

[Viper]

So sorry Tux, it's someting rats suffer from unfortunatly. We had a rat with a tumor, paid ?30 to get it removed and it grew back within a month, she died soon after.

 

I don't know about introducing Bucky to the other rats. They have a kind of pecking order similar to Apes and he may get beaten up. I think you could try but it would be risky. If you give him extra attention he might be ok, male rats are usually solitary animals really. Can you keep his cage next to the others so he can be near them?

 

Viper.

[asereht]

So sorry to hear about this. I love animals.

[Guest flutter]

<'> <'>

[something vague]

Sorry Tux , that's sad news

[lindy-lou]

sorry for your loss <'>

[adamsmum]

So sorry about rat I know it's hard my boys hamster was put to sleep before xmas i cryed so much. I don't think you can put male rats with baby rats i'm shore someone told me once they kill them and it would fight an adult. I think the idea of putting cages close is really good. And get it out loads take care

[phasmid]

That's sad. We have pet rats here (along with birds and dogs and children) too. We lost one just before the end of November. It's always sad when a pet dies.

[TuX]

Thanks for replying everyone!

 

 

 

Viper,was your rats' first lump felt to be "attatched".....I mean...if it was held between two fingers,was it able to move around,or was it staying in the same place?

 

Re.risky introducing Bucky to existing rats.

That is a definate concern then,i've heard of some successful adult rat with adult rat integrations but not completely sure I'd trust it with this particular group-Khan especially- http://www.deviantart.com/view/23876459/ is very dominant and is always doing the 'toss the other rat on it's back and lie on it' territory game with his brothers,but Bucky is a bigger lad and has more strength,looking at it that way,it does sound a major risk putting two dominant bucks in together.

I think Bucky would get depressed on his own as he's a very group orientated rat,he's never on his own and was usually found piled ontop of the other two.

The cages are next to each other in my room as far as I can get them to be,which is quite difficult because one of them is a slanted outwards sort of around 5ft long zoozone plastic cage with a thinner in width wire rat cage built onto the top,and the other is a Marchioro Tom rat cage (which is like a ferplast jenny but a bit bigger,square/rectangle kind of shape).

Would a double cage work just as well as putting two next to each other?

By double,I mean tall cages that are either two together,or one that can be blocked off to make two cages.

I have been thinking about getting a Super pet ferret kingdom for a while for freeing up some space (and because it's a great cage ) this one can be blocked off to make two cages,so one group would be on the bottom,with another on the top.

 

 

 

adamsmum,what was wrong with the hamster?

I should have been more specific with 'baby' but then,I'm not sure of the suitable age myself I have asked on a rat forum before,but no one replied.

The young rats have not built up the same dominance skills as adults have,so they're easier to introduce to adults,I tried one little meeting with one of the himalayans and the hooded boys when they were 10 weeks old and the hoodeds had no problem with the older boys,it's just I panicked when I saw the older rat do the flip onto back and lie across them trick,and didn't carry on with introducing,then I found out that sort of thing should be expected when they're just getting used to each other.

 

 

 

 

 

On a slightly off topic point,if I do buy a ferret kingdom or similar,my himalayans' cage won't be used again,

and my dad has told me I will have to give it away,would anyone here want it, if I upgrade?

It's too big and awkward shaped to be mailed anywhere (bottom cage is part see through and part green plastic,around 5ft long,attached cage is of the metal/wire type),I would say it's big enough for 4 bucks or 5 does,

I would be either giving it away for free or if possible,in exchange for making a small donation (eg ?5) to the Manchester Rodent Rescue.

It would have to be picked up from where I live (Trafford,Manchester),I don't think it'd fit into a small car,but it is fairly light and can be split into 3 parts.

If I can't afford a Ferret Kingdom,I'll end up buying another Marchioro Tom probably or a Furet XL so the other cage is probably almost definately going to be available for a good home sooner than later,hoping to get a new one for my birthday next month.

Sorry for taking so long to post this,i've been on and off the computer for a while.

Edited January 5, 2006 by TuX

[TuX]

That's sad. We have pet rats here (along with birds and dogs and children) too. We lost one just before the end of November. It's always sad when a pet dies.

What colour/varieties are they phasmid?

Edited January 5, 2006 by TuX

[adamsmum]

Hi tux.My hamster was over 3 years old the vet said it was the the oldest he new but i heard of one reaching 5. We called him hammy. he was white with red eyes just like hamsterville of lilo and stich. I still miss him

[phasmid]

I'm not sure off-hand, I'll ask and get back to you. On the subject of cages we use a large old parrot cage for ours, lots of room for toys and shelves for different levels.

[Kathryn]

Sorry to hear about this, Tux.

[Auriel]

I thought that TuX was a penguin.

[Strange girl]

Sorry to hear about your rat. I lost rats to tumors before and it's heartbreaking. It seems to be a very common problem in rats sadly.

[TuX]

Hi tux.My hamster was over 3 years old the vet said it was the the oldest he new but i heard of one reaching 5. We called him hammy. he was white with red eyes just like hamsterville of lilo and stich. I still miss him

Hamy must have had good genetics to live that long,did he have sight problems?

I found with my three himalayan rats (same colour as your Hammy but with grey shading on nose)they all had visual impairment,himalayans have one of the albino genes I think,was Hammy pure albino?

 

5 years old-----it's supposed to be the oldest ever recorded,can't find any older than that on google,and the guiness book of records site isn't coming up with anything on hamsters.

 

phasmid,have you got any photos of your cage set up with rats in it ?

Is the cage one of those big aviary types like the brio,or less tall?

 

Auriel,

Tux wasn't a penguin,although it was a logo of a cartoony type penguin,I name my rat after the logo as it was either going to be that or Gnome (after the linux desktop environment),and I thought Tux sounded better.

 

Thanks for replying Strange Girl,

Is there a reason for why tumors are common in rats compared to other living creatures? I've been lucky in that previously only one of my very first group of rats-Tom had a tumor (cancerous),i've seen a lot of topics on the rat forum I use argue that pet shop bought rats are more subsceptible to problems like myco flareups and cancer than those bred by knowledgeable breeders whom carefully select breeding rats.

Edited January 6, 2006 by TuX

[adamsmum]

Hi tux don't think hammy had a sight problem. He moved very qwick when cat tryed getting him. All my hamsters have long lives i think it's all the loving i give them. I will get a rat one day when i no longer have cats and boys grow up a bit. I new someone who bred rats years ago she said certain colours had a tendency to blindness. One of her rats had baby and a big lump appeard strait after the birth it died.very sad. I herd some hooded rats can have sight problems can't remember the color of them.

[~Jonathan~]

Awwww TuX <'> I am so very sorry to hear this <'>