[Athens]

RIP Samba (Late 2009 - 7/16/2012)

[Waragainstsleep]

Sorry dude. Is 3 years good for a rat? I have no idea.

[Uncle Skeleton]

The naked mole rat lives for up to 28 years. But they're probably not as good a pet.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Sorry dude. Is 3 years good for a rat? I have no idea.

I wouldn't be surprised.

I've heard that rats make excellent pets (they're clever and social), especially in a small place, but I've heard the same people say they're just too depressing because they don't live long.

Honestly, even dogs and cats are a little too short lived for my tastes, and Hippo the cat lived to 23.

[Nancy Z]

awwww may he rest in peace

[Athens]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Sorry dude. Is 3 years good for a rat? I have no idea.

3 years is pretty good, the Average is 2-3 years with the average being the lower. You can get up to 6 years out of a rat with a very careful diet, calories restricted but all the nutrients it needs, lots of activity and plan luck with genetics 3 is the upper max for the pet.

Just over a year ago his Brother died. I picked up to babies for him so he wouldn't be alone. Rats are very social animals. He took to them right away and acted like a father and protector to them right from the start. While always friendly with the dog and cat, if the dog or cat was near the babies he would become there defender lol.

[reader50]

Do you have a suspect yet? I'd suggest the cat based on prejudice and racial profiling.

[Athens]

Old Age, need to blame his cells for running out of telomere for continued cell replication and thus continued life

[Waragainstsleep]

Those bastard telomeres.

[Athens]

And the nice hedgehog died today, totally unexpected :'(

RIP Coco 2008 - July 18th 2012 :'(

2 Pets in 3 days, this really blows.

[reader50]

Jokes about cat suspects aside, the odds are getting strained. Perhaps you should look for a common cause, such as water contamination.

[Athens]

The rat was absolutely old age. Was on his death bed for a week. The hedgehog was a surprise. A few months ago the cat gave her a couple good wounds. This hedgehog was very docile, didn't ball up and that wound never really fully healed. I thought she was going to die months ago but the infection mostly went away, the antibiotics mostly worked. The last few weeks there was no sign of anything and seemed to be all good. Was not expecting this at all. She was only 3.5 years old and they normally live 6-7 years

[turtle777]

I recommend turtles. They might outlive you.

-t