Pepper

A few weeks ago we lost our big cuddly baby, Pepper.  It was very sudden and we were totally unprepared for it.  He and Pippin had come out to play at night like they always do, and while Pepper was his usually naughty attention seeking self, we noticed there was some blood in his urine.  Pepper was a very naughty rat and he alway liked to pee on things when he was out, so we knew he hadn’t been bleeding when he was out earlier in the day.  There was no sign of blood in his cage, and because it was gone 9 o’clock at night we decided to leave him and see how he was the next day.

When we got up the next morning we found Pepper had passed away in the night.  It was a devastating day for us, Pepper was still young and with everything he and his brother had survived the last few months we thought we were through the worst of things.

I was aware there was a chance that whatever had caused Pepper’s breathing difficulties from before was something serious, and I guess now I know that it was.  Even though were devastated to lose Pepper, things got worse for our family.

Pippin

Pippin’s condition immediately started to deteriorate after the death of his brother.  He stopped washing himself and didn’t want to play with us very much.  We tried very hard to entertain him and lift his spirits and I even gave him some baths to keep his fur in good condition, but it wasn’t working and he stopped eating and drinking completely.  He just lay around his cage and didn’t even bother to look up when we spoke to him.  If we tried t pick him up he’d become agitated.  We stated trying to give him baby food and syringe water into his mouth, but it didn’t have much of an effect.

It was obvious our poor little Pippin’s heart was broken. Despite their large size Pepper and Pippin were big babies and even thought they played with us, they depended very on each other and it was too much for Pippin without his big cuddly brother.

Knowing Pippin was lonely and he was slipping away from us, we went up to the RSPCA, who had two gorgeous boys looking for a new home.  As soon as they were home we put them in with Pippin, in a hope to lift his spirits.  The new guys took to him straight away and before we knew it they were cuddling up to him.  It took a while but Pippin did seem to respond to them and although he was very weak he picked up.  The new guys also took to grooming Pippin so the condition of his fur also improved, which no doubt made him feel better.

Pepper and Pippin

It was lovely to see Pippin brighten up with his new companions and his appetite return and he even wanted to come out of his cage for a little walk around.  He really seemed to be getting better, but sadly it only lasted a few days before his condition began to rapidly decline again.  We tried to get him to eat and drink again, but sadly he passed away on Tuesday afternoon.

Derek and I are devastated, we loved our two cuddly boys so much and after we had got through all their previous health issues, we’d been hopeful we had plenty more time to enjoy our time together.

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