Teddy - Little Old Man - RIP

Pollux is 28 months old, is pretty advanced on his HED, and he loses a lot of weight weekly - from 20 to 30 grams. I'd say it's pretty normal, no matter how sad it is. He is now just the shadow of the 750 g rat he used to be (I think he was around 620 g last Saturday, maybe less)

Thanks! I thought it was normal ..when people get old we loose weight too.

Talking about walking shadows ..Teddy at his biggest was 700 grams ..now he is only 435.

I love knowing that he has gotten to this age, and this point (he is my first rat to actually get old - all the others had cancers & tumors) ..but since he has become this way ..I have grown 100 times more attached to him, because he depends on me SO much now ..I know when he goes, it's gonna be a sad sad day, even though I know he got to his ripe old age.

Teddy was never a rat who LOVED people ..he was always independent (very friendly ..but not needy) ..now he is attached to be at the hip :heart:

 

[ChrisK]

Just viewed the video. Teddy looks awesome to me! I can't speak to the weight loss issue, but he seems to still be getting around and living his life. What a lovely old man rat :wink:

 

[jorats]

Awww... what a cutie, loves his cheerios. His HED is getting worse but still not too bad. The weight loss is a concern, but I'm sure you are already supplementing his diet with mushy foods like baby cereal or something like that.

 

Awww... what a cutie, loves his cheerios. His HED is getting worse but still not too bad. The weight loss is a concern, but I'm sure you are already supplementing his diet with mushy foods like baby cereal or something like that.

Yes, I have been supplementing his diet with olive oill for healthy fat, Ensure, mushed up lab blocks, baby cereal and he still loves his hard blocks and veggies.

His weight is starting to level off now!

 

[Unepuce]

I love knowing that he has gotten to this age, and this point (he is my first rat to actually get old - all the others had cancers & tumors) ..but since he has become this way ..I have grown 100 times more attached to him, because he depends on me SO much now ..I know when he goes, it's gonna be a sad sad day, even though I know he got to his ripe old age.

Teddy was never a rat that LOVED people ..he was always independent (very friendly ..but not needy) ..now he is attached to be at the hip :heart:

Don't I know what you mean! I have never had the chance to see any of my girls get old, but all my boys have and their neediness made us bond to no limits. Container was already old when I got him and degraded really fast - I had him for only 3 months and he is the one who started all this for me. Picolo (my avatar) got old too, plus he was my heart rat - seeing him get old and sick was already hard enough, but that night I was convinced he was leaving me and I took him to a dark room with me where I held on to him crying and telling him how much I loved him, he just started licking tears off my neck... to me, that was love. Gosh I miss him... Then Mac got old too, and that abcess came and never left, and developped into a tumor that I had to treat with hydrotherapy twice a day... how can you not bond with a sick boy you spend so much time with and who is a trooper through all the tortures he has to go through in hopes of getting better?

Yes - I know exactely what you mean...

 

My handsome man :heart:

 

Its soon going to be time for my old man.

We started him on pred + baytril 4days ago due to the rapid weight loss ..but it has not helped at all. He was 700 grams at his biggest just 2 months ago ..today is is 425.

He has gotten weaker over the past two days ...not overly excited for food ...will only take his meds sometimes.

I''ll be bringing him in this week ..not sure what day yet ..I'll let him help decide.

He is 27 months old, had HED and kidney problems ..it's time ..as much as it kills me to say it.

 

[lilspaz68]

I found steroids increased weight loss personally.

 

I found steroids increased weight loss personally.

Our vet wanted to try the pred incase of a tumor growing ...just like Oscar when he had his chest tumor ..we put him on pred and he gained weight an he was with us for another 4 weeks (we never did xrays with Teddy because in the state he is ..thatwould have stresed him out. Since he has started the pred, his weight loss has been a little slower ..but nothing major. I am starting weaning the pred now ..but to be honest I seen him getting weaker last week ..I won't let him go until he tells me it's time ..but I can see that being sooner than later ..but who really knows.

I know what crappy genes this family has ..and I know 27 months is REALLY good for Teddy.

I love my old fart ..and I want to do whats best for him.

 

[MissGuardian]

I don´t know what to say :hugs:

 

I don´t know what to say :hugs:

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Trying the pred was better than doing nothing IMO ..I mean going from 700 grams to 425 in 2 months ..is a bit concerning.

It could be cancer ..which pred helps sometimes ..we never wanted to do the xrays ..because thatwould have stressed him out too much at his age and the state he is in ..so it's trial and error right now.

But since the pred has not made any difference, I am weaning him off of it..since it cannot be good on the kidneys either.

 

[arresai]

Awe, say it ain't so..... :sad3: My Dobby is getting on as well, he's now blind, skinny and bald. I hate that they age so fast.....

 

[Dazzle87]

I am so sorry to hear it :sad3: :hugs:

 

[Joanne]

I'm sorry to hear that Teddy is declining so fast. Snuggles to your boy...

 

[victoria]

If you suspect kidney issues, one of the biggest things you can do is adjust his diet. You can also talk to your vet about giving sub-q fluids to help him get rid of waste. There's a lot of info if you google kidney disease in rats, most of it in the form of peer reviewed articles but there are a few pages geared towards domestic rats that give some diet suggestions.

 

[mamarat]

Sending good thoughts for your old man.

 

Thanks everyone.

I will think of something ..im not giving up on him ..but I do not want to stress him either athis age with HED ..and I know some of you consider 27 months old not too old ..but considering his family history (brother died at 16 months of colon cancer, other brother 24 months with a chest tumor, sis PT at 18 months, mom PT 24 months, brother, heart attack after neuter 14 months
) ..he is very old.

Kidney problems is not confirmed ..he just drinks a bit more water than normal ..to change his diet now, when he will only eat select things now?

I can see that he is aging ..getting weaker ..HED is not helping ..poking and picking at him would be mean to him ..I don't want him to go like that ..I don;t want him to be stressed ..and teddy is not a rat that likes being picked at ..but I don't want to give up on him either ..

this is so hard :sad3:

I will continue to wean him from the pred, feed him ensure, baby food soft blocks etc ..I'll let him tell me when its time. Right now he still eats his veggies and hard blocks ..so he is not terrible ..but I can see him going down hill

 

Maybe he was just having a bad day? ..he is a lot more active tonight, eating a fair bit too ..

[youtube:3qcj2ikt]A9AVoaI64VI[/youtube:3qcj2ikt]

This is him after eating. Ignor my boyfriends conversation with the internet people haha

[youtube:3qcj2ikt]Z2IcdyX9nvs[/youtube:3qcj2ikt]

What would I need to change in diet wise if his kidneys were bad? - He eats oxbow, veggies, baby cereal and ensure.

 

[jorats]

He sure was eating that grape like with gusto. In the last vid, he looks quite tired... a lovely old man rat.
I'd keep that diet regardless of kidney damage, he's old now... and probably needs the Ensure.

 

He sure was eating that grape like with gusto. In the last vid, he looks quite tired... a lovely old man rat.
I'd keep that diet regardless of kidney damage, he's old now... and probably needs the Ensure.

ok.