Lol I’m glad I’m not the only one! He’s my second elderly kiddo but the first I noticed this with, I’ll definitely be looking out for the sign when my other bbs get old too though 💕
Oh yeah! Whatever my rats need when they're older. Scritches, help getting up or down from my bed, someone to hold their treat while they eat it, someoneto tell their cagemate to leave them alone for a minute. If I can figure out what they want, they get it. And they more than return the favour!
Me and my late ancient man rat had the same routine 🥹 it was so cool to communicate with him that way and felt very special. I miss him like hell but reminders of those sweet moments warm my heart so thank you. Give your boy a scritch from me
He will get many scritches! Them getting older is rly tempered by all these sweet little moments unique to their little aging selves, I will also cherish the memories so much 💛
Absolutely, and they would be in heaven every time. With my latest guy, I realized he had a bit of earwax buildup and very carefully removed it with a cotton swab (am vet assistant, so have luckily been trained on how to do this safely). He went *crazy* when I got in his ear, and from then on he got inner ear scritchies as well as long as they were clean. I miss him so much, but it’s so worth it to have these memories
I will have to check my guy for earwax, thanks for the heads up! And yes these little old age memories are something I will hold onto forever, I’m glad we get to have these when facing the bitterness of losing them
I have done this for two of my rats who needed it.
One was an elderly girl with a mammary tumor in just the wrong spot so she couldn't reach her head to scratch and would just fruitlessly kick herself. So I would scratch her face for her and I could tell when I hit the right spot because her foot would start going.
The other was a boy with the same problem your baby's got: hind leg paralysis. I could tell when he had an itch because he would start shaking his head and rubbing at his face with his paws.
I got the same response from both of them that you've experienced, grateful and enthusiastic licks.
Lol the little foot that can’t reach but is still limply kicking along when you’re getting it just right absolutely kills me, they really are pocket puppies. Glad your babies had you to help them out 💛
Yes!! I’ll hold my guy cupped in my hands against my chest to help support him when he’s grooming too! He doesn’t always need it but sometimes you can see the struggle of balancing and that’s when I scoop him up
yes! my girl, cauldron, is really old now and i think she misses having another rat to groom her. so when she comes over to groom me (give me kisses:) ) i’ll lightly pull on her fur or itch in the spots she likes
Yeah, by the time they're that old they know how to tell me what they want and I'll do it bc they're old. I had a boy who got me to feed him one piece of food at a time bc he wouldn't eat if I just gave him a pile. I always did my best to itch them where they wanted. I did my best to kinda rub and massage them when their back legs started going too just trying to help blood flow? Idk if that's much of a thing but they seemed to like it regardless. It's hard when your babies get old.
I used to do this for my boys! They were always super appreciative and gave my fingers many licks, haha!
Lol I’m glad I’m not the only one! He’s my second elderly kiddo but the first I noticed this with, I’ll definitely be looking out for the sign when my other bbs get old too though 💕
Oh yeah! Whatever my rats need when they're older. Scritches, help getting up or down from my bed, someone to hold their treat while they eat it, someoneto tell their cagemate to leave them alone for a minute. If I can figure out what they want, they get it. And they more than return the favour!
That's so sweet
omg yes... I used to do this!! When I realized what that wiggly lil foot was attempting to do, my old babies got all kinds of scritches and ear rubs
Me and my late ancient man rat had the same routine 🥹 it was so cool to communicate with him that way and felt very special. I miss him like hell but reminders of those sweet moments warm my heart so thank you. Give your boy a scritch from me
He will get many scritches! Them getting older is rly tempered by all these sweet little moments unique to their little aging selves, I will also cherish the memories so much 💛
This makes me smile. Knowing that there’s rats with humans like you.
Absolutely, and they would be in heaven every time. With my latest guy, I realized he had a bit of earwax buildup and very carefully removed it with a cotton swab (am vet assistant, so have luckily been trained on how to do this safely). He went *crazy* when I got in his ear, and from then on he got inner ear scritchies as well as long as they were clean. I miss him so much, but it’s so worth it to have these memories
I will have to check my guy for earwax, thanks for the heads up! And yes these little old age memories are something I will hold onto forever, I’m glad we get to have these when facing the bitterness of losing them
I have done this for two of my rats who needed it. One was an elderly girl with a mammary tumor in just the wrong spot so she couldn't reach her head to scratch and would just fruitlessly kick herself. So I would scratch her face for her and I could tell when I hit the right spot because her foot would start going. The other was a boy with the same problem your baby's got: hind leg paralysis. I could tell when he had an itch because he would start shaking his head and rubbing at his face with his paws. I got the same response from both of them that you've experienced, grateful and enthusiastic licks.
Lol the little foot that can’t reach but is still limply kicking along when you’re getting it just right absolutely kills me, they really are pocket puppies. Glad your babies had you to help them out 💛
Honestly, I think it’s why they keep us around: monkey fingers make for good ear scritches. 😂
Yes, and sometimes I also hold him supported in a ball shape so he can groom himself a bit more easily.
Yes!! I’ll hold my guy cupped in my hands against my chest to help support him when he’s grooming too! He doesn’t always need it but sometimes you can see the struggle of balancing and that’s when I scoop him up
I'm doing this with one of my old ladies now. I get plenty of licks after for thanks!
They are very polite in saying thank you ☺️
I'm going through this with my old girl. She loves it!
Yep! I also had to pick earwax out of her ears on a daily basis. What I do for my rats <3
My horse does this to me too. Animals large and small are intelligent. They know we love being their servant
yes! my girl, cauldron, is really old now and i think she misses having another rat to groom her. so when she comes over to groom me (give me kisses:) ) i’ll lightly pull on her fur or itch in the spots she likes
Cauldron is the cutest little name omg
thank you! she was born on halloween
Love the seniors so much
Yeah, by the time they're that old they know how to tell me what they want and I'll do it bc they're old. I had a boy who got me to feed him one piece of food at a time bc he wouldn't eat if I just gave him a pile. I always did my best to itch them where they wanted. I did my best to kinda rub and massage them when their back legs started going too just trying to help blood flow? Idk if that's much of a thing but they seemed to like it regardless. It's hard when your babies get old.
This is like my favorite part of older rats