Had to let my little buddy go today

2 years back, always wanted to get a little pet rat as I heard so much great things about them, that's all the gear I rounded up for about $50 just before going out to the pet store to find my new buddy.

That's her, Nebuchadnezzar or Nebu for short, getting accustomed to her new house.

Cuddly little pet, always wanted to be around your neck

My gaming partner

How cute are those little ears.

Small as ever

Since rats are social animals, they told me to always get them in pairs but I was afraid that they wouldn't be as willing to be around humans, so I made sure to pet her everyday and take her out to get her socializing done so she wouldn't feel lonely.

My mom made custom hammocks for her, she'd chew through one in a day just to get underneath the first layer of fabric and sleep snuggily under.

That's her getting fatter and fatter by the week, sorry for the blurry image.

After a year and a half, she started to lose a bit of fur on her back side. I kept looking for signs of fleas or skin damage, but she looked confortable and I couldn't diagnose much, so I conclude that was only a sign of aging and that was normal.

This week, she started to behave a bit different, she had trouble moving around her cage. She looked unstable on her legs and kept flailing her tail around. She also became a bit more passive and less social around us. I knew she was having issues and that something was up. She got a round of extra treats everyday from that point on.

The last two days were the hardest for me, she was only laying on her side and didn't respond much to any stimuli.
I had to take the hard decision this morning to take her to the vet after two years of loving cuddles and scratches.

You will be missed Nebu, thanks for the companionship.