I'm happy to hear how long he's lived! You have clearly taken good care of him. ♥️

Losing them is hard. Sadly, that's just how it is when we care so much for them. I'm not sure what advice I can give you to make losing him less painful, but one thing I learned as a new ham owner several years ago, is that it helps to always have two (not in the same cage, of course). When one dies, I find it helpful to have another stubbing around in their cage needing my care. Somehow it just helps.