I wanted to share this one here, because it's message is very important for new and prospective rat care takers. This video highlights one of the most rewarding yet heartbreaking aspects of rat care taking.
Also I wanted to share because the mini turtle sandbox being used as a food bowl is the cutest thing I've ever seen and now I need one desperately
This so much. Even more so with mice because so many times it happens that mice don't even reach a full year (though they can live upwards of 2) they're like the betta fish of mammals. It sucks but for me it's a matter of accepting their nature- their strategy for survival is live fast and have a ton of babies, and while my individual friends don't last long, on the whole, it works very well for these adaptive little rugged survivalists.
Probably the hardest part of rat ownership. Besides thinking of the good life I give my rats compared to the alternatives they could of faced, I find some weird comfort in the fact that their short lives allows me to give more rats this good life. I struggled a lot with their short lifespans when I got my first few groups of rats. It is hard. I kept taking breaks between them but always found myself wanting rats again. I got rats again after several years ratless in 2015 or so and I have just kept adding to my group since then so my rats are never lonely even if they are the last of the group they came to me with and im never without rats.