Today we said good-bye to Emerson. This morning, when I went to go feed the rats, I noticed that he did not peek out of his hammock to greet me. Lately he has spending the majority of his time in his hammock- he had loss about 80% mobility in his rear legs and would have to drag himself by his front legs, so I am sure that proved to be exhausting. When I didn't see him, I thought for sure he had passed, and was expecting it, given his age and his declining quality of life. It appears that he had suffered a stroke as he kept twisting and curling his body into a C-shape. He then became unresponsive- the only movement would be to straighten his front legs out and throw his head back. He would not even blink from one eye and did not appear to be able to close his mouth. Our initial plan was to end his suffering and assist in letting him go, however he passed on his own just prior.