Their life span is about 2 1/2 years. Both my rats ended up having cancer, but I was still able to have them both almost 2 1/2 years anyway. I believe that all critters, whether short lived or not deserve to have good parents.....I just had to accept that life span & enjoy every minute I could with them. I wish all pets could live endlessly

I am exactly the same way. I have never lived without a pet except maybe the first year when I was married & before I got my second rat for my pet free apartment. However, as for the having something that doesn't talk back to me, I'm not sure that is really possible. It seemed that every pet I had let me know if they didn't like something. My dogs are the worst for this however or maybe I should say the best. I have 6 American Eskimo dogs that all communicate with me about everything. They let me know exactly what they don't like. I will sit & talk to Leo if I don't like something he's done, & if he doesn't like what I say, he will put his paw on my face. That's also his way of saying I'm sorry. When Tawny wants my attention she will climb up next to me on my bed then end up in my lap, pawing at me for attention & shoving me with her head. The strange thing is that Leo has horrible separation anxiety & he's never been separated from me other than when he broke his leg & ended up in the vet's office overnight. His way of talking back if I leave him home alone for any length of time is to terrorize my house. I have to attach him to a leash with nothing around him while I'm gone. It seems so cruel, but he will destroy anything within his reach otherwise just trying to get to me. He will remind me if I haven't fed them....he is sort of the spokes person for all 6 of the eskies. I know I would go crazy if I didn't have them in my life even with their talking back...lol.

I am sure that Miles is just feeling the change in his environment. I don't know if your summers are hot, but I know that the change in temperature with the heat also slows them down so they don't want to run around as much. I know this hotter weather has slowed down my dogs. Don't have a working AC right now, so we are all laying around in the heat of the day trying to stay cool in front of the fan.

How is James doing? His behavior is a good comparison for if there is something going on with Miles. They should be similar in their activity. I found that adding plain yogurt to their diet, was a good thing. It helps against any cancer also. My vet said that cancer is the normal thing for rats to end up with but if you add cancer free foods to their diet, it can only help. I even did that with my guinea pigs. I figured that even if I could prolong their life by a few months of healthy living, that was a wonderful thing.

I have been giving my dogs flax seed & yogurt in their food....wow, such healthy coats & dogs. I could see the change in just the 2 months of giving it to them. The food we feed our pets really does make a difference also in their life span. Who would think that what you buy in the store especially prepared for them isn't enough? I always hated yogurt until I started giving it to my dogs. I kept licking the spoon & soon, I was buying cartons of plain yogurt just for myself....now I'm hooked.

Hope Miles is well & is just feeling the weather or the change in his communal environment. There isn't anything more special in our lives than our pets....I find they are the only real JOY I have. I enjoy many things in my life, but real Joy comes from my babies & like you, would go crazy without them. I need someone to talk to (other than myself) & to share with......only my pets can fill that need.