Adult Issues, Baby issues...What is going on?

[Kourtneyhk]

Alright folks! If you saw my last post, I was having issues with my rats starting to sneeze and snuffle. They're located in my shed (which is currently half insulated, most will be finished tomorrow) but I added a small space heater to keep the shed temperature up during the drops. It is an easy 70 degrees in there constant now, maybe a little bit warmer.

In the past week (starting just before I got the heater and continuing to now) I have had 5 of my breeders die. Two very large males, three females. All have been in my rat rack. All rats are checked on twice a day; once in the morning, once in the evening. Food (Mazuri 6F) and water refilled as necessary. None of these animals have shown signs of being attacked by others.

My question is; could this be due to the fact that they did get cold and, unfortunately, succumbed to a sickness?

Secondly: One female has given birth (about a week ago). She came to me pregnant, and had 7 pups. I believe this is her first litter, as she is a fairly small female. One pup died nearly immediately, which I know is to be expected. But slowly, more have died, to the point where I only have one left, and who knows if it will make it. She is in a bin with another pregnant female, who has not shown any signs of stealing babies, fighting, etc. These two were housed together previously and got along fine.

Any advice on either of these issues? My mice are breeding like CRAZY and doing great! These rats have just got me stumped!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[CptJack]

http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/...oplasmosis.php

(I would post a more detailed reply, but everything I'm thinking and you need to know about what I'm thinking is in that link and I'm trying to type mobile so.)

[Rhasputin]

What are you feeding? Is your source for your rats reliable?

[Kourtneyhk]

I'm feeding Mazuri 6F. I got all of my rats from other rat breeders. All animals were initially healthy, I didn't have a single worry when I examined them.

CptJack, that's what I was wondering about, but the question is, now what? Do I just need to cull the colonies and start over?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Rat do die breeding for food does take it's toll on them so depending on their age and if they were about the same age this could be an explanation

You mention sneezing, there could be several issues, the most common dusty bedding which is not really a big deal and it does happen.

Bigger issue URI, you animal got sick the other became sick etc, hence why quarantining is very important when bringing new blood.

With proper ventilation, regular cleaning (so ammonia does not build up), healthy stock, proper quarentine etc URI should not happen or should be rare.

I have kept 1000's of breeders in the past 6/7 years and have kept them as low as 48 degrees and never had an issue with URI

[Kourtneyhk]

Rat do die breeding for food does take it's toll on them so depending on their age and if they were about the same age this could be an explanation

You mention sneezing, there could be several issues, the most common dusty bedding which is not really a big deal and it does happen.

Bigger issue URI, you animal got sick the other became sick etc, hence why quarantining is very important when bringing new blood.

With proper ventilation, regular cleaning (so ammonia does not build up), healthy stock, proper quarentine etc URI should not happen or should be rare.

I have kept 1000's of breeders in the past 6/7 years and have kept them as low as 48 degrees and never had an issue with URI

I'm wondering if they just got hit with a LOT of changes all at once; transportation stress, new housing, I tried to keep the bedding the same/similar, but still a new environment, etc. The shed does ventilate, and I do clean them out once a week or more often if it gets really bad, so I might just have to clean a little more often to keep them even cleaner. I haven't had any die in the past few days, and one of the females that came to me pregnant gave birth to a large litter (12), but I'm not sure she is caring for them.

Hopefully, with some time, they will settle down.

On a side note; how small will the males successfully breed? With the loss of my two largest breeding males, I still have one large male and several smaller boys, just not sure if they're old enough to be successful, considering they are about the size of my smallest breeding females. I've heard they breed fine at a younger age than the females, but was curious about others experience!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Males and females are sexually mature at 5 to 6 weeks of age however that does not make it optimum.

If the males are the right age but are significantly smaller than the female this can be an issue from not getting the job done to being bullied.

[auhsojnacnud]

Its Ebola. I am sure of it

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Its Ebola. I am sure of it

With a post like that there is one sure thing about you