RATZILLA (VIDEO): Goro the Irish rat, 27 months and going strong as of January 2015

Goro the Irish rat, 27 months old as of January 2015

Meet Goro, my Irish marking rat. (An Irish is a rat marking with solid color throughout its body with a white triangular band on its chest.) What's special about him is that he's turned 27 months old as of January 2015. Pushing further to his 28th month this coming February, he's by far the longest living pet rat since I began my journey with them on January 2, 2009.

Here they are celebrating with Thoriel's 1st birthday this January 2015.

Further Reading:

Thoriel and Agatha's 1st birthday

January 10, 2015

Normally, my rats would suddenly lose their body mass and grow thin a month or two short of 2 years old. Other symptoms of rats this age are the crouched body posture which means they're having difficulty with their movements. I also noticed that they tend to become disorient and just dart off in different directions.

Goro is no exception when it was his 2nd birthday on October 22nd 2014. I felt sad knowing that rats only have a short lifespan of 2-3 years. Around the same time, I received a cat treat from my aunt in the US. The treat contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Those two are taken by people who suffer from arthritis (like my mom). I don't want to jump into conclusions yet, but the treats might have helped somehow.

This treat is made of little strips of meat, and I give it to him once a week. That's not much dosage but it seems to work. I noticed that after one month, he began to regain body mass and his movements were smooth like he were at his young age. He's just as active, alert and present-minded as he used to be.

Here's an affordable alternative, which are rich in nutrition.

There's nothing special in my rats' diet -- 95% barley, occasional treats like chicken bones (rich in Chondroitin, calcium, and proteins), leftover food, rice, and other treats. I've been looking around in local shops but no luck so far. If anyone knows of any treats that have Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin, please let me know. Salamuch! =)