molting

Question
my rat Stuart is getting old now, he's reaching 3 years, but he has started molting and i want to know if it's because he's old or if it could be a sign of an illness

Answer
If nothing else has changed in his behavior, food/water intake or obvious health; it's probably just age. If he has any symptoms of illness, then you need to get that checked out -- but he's probably losing hair because he's got the rattie-pattern-baldness thing going on :)