On Febuary 15th Pepper was adopted from a young mother who was re homing some of her rats. Pepper was adopted along with a 2-year old names Stella and a 1.5 year old named Cinnamon. Pepper was 1.5 years old. She was very curious of her new surroundings and loved the hammock. On the first night of her new home she was eager to explore the playpen and even tried to jump out a few times. Pepper was very friendly and loved to boggle, so she settled in quickly. Even on the 2 hour ride from her old home, she was layed back and boggled often.
On Febuary 17 Pepper was quite content. She had some pasta and loved it. Because all the rats were in a new home, we decided to introduce them to different parts of the house one by one. Pepper was the first to snuggle in blankets downstairs while we play video games and she was having a great time exploring the blankets and being cuddled. However when picked up at the end of the night she began breathing through her mouth. WhenI examined Pepper further she briefly became antsy and I could tell she was struggling, but Pepper took her last breath and suddenly passed away.
I wish I knew what happened. Pepper was so happy and curious. She boggled and nothing seemed wrong at all. While Pepper was older, she wasn’t what I consider to be geriatric yet. I speculate that maybe she had a stroke, heart attack, lung clot, or maybe there could have been some stress from the move to a new home, though there were no signs. Rest in Peace Pepper. We only had you with us for a few days, but those days were full of personality.
