Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm sad, but far more shocked at how she died. Ivory was an almost 3 year old rat. She had a mammary tumor. It had started to spread across her chest and to the other side. Since she was so old I opted to not have it removed.
It wasn't her old age that killed her (though I knew her time was coming) it was her tumor. It had split open, opening up her whole chest. I assume she bled to death or died from shock.
I was not there to see this; my dad told me about it. By the time he found her she was already dead. I'm pretty sure this is what killed her.

I'm sorry that she passed. But honestly, if the tumor was big enough to split her skin open, she should have been pts before that could have happened. Its most likely her last few days were filled with extreme pain. As a pet owner it is your responsibility to make sure it doesn't get to that point...

Sorry for your lost. I know Tumors suck. Tis what made me put Warrick down. since he had started picking at it and then with the vet treatment he had stopped eating and lost weight, I put him down.

If she was acting and doing every thing she normally did then you were right to just let her live out her days... I know it is what is going to happen to my three boys.. unless they show signs of being in pain, and let me know they are ready to go... I probably will let them die at home.