Rats and Respiratory Issues

[FoxReptiles]

Had a horrible experience with a female rat that I picked up a few days ago. Got her home and she had a really cool personality. She was making quite a bit of noise but seemed otherwise fine. I just chalked it up to her being a "more vocal than normal" rat and was really looking forward to breeding her.

Unfortunately, I found her at 4am this morning in her hide. She was lying on her side, unable to move, breathing erratically and making that same kind of chirpy/barky noise. She was obviously in distress, suffering and near death. I was tempted to try and feed her off, but decided it would be best to euthanize her immediately to end her suffering. I was also concerned that her condition might potentially cause some harm to my snakes or other rats... Should I chance feeding her as F/T?

There was another rat in with her that I got from the same source. She doesn't make any noises and seems completely normal and fine. Should I be worried about her? Is there something I should at this point to prevent problems for her? I'm hoping it was something isolated to the sick rat, but would hate for something to spread to the other new arrival or my new Mom/Litter...

Luckily, I quarantined the new arrivals to another room at least. Hopefully the chance of something spreading is lessened.

Any thoughts, advice or concerns I haven't thought of? Thanks in advance.

[FoxReptiles]

Read the following article about rats and respiratory disease. I thought it was a good read for anyone interested in the issue.

Good introduction to what Mycoplasma are and why it's a problem. Definitely geared more towards rats produced for laboratory purposes, but good none the less.

It talks about how they were able to create strains of rats without Mycoplasma. But unless you're ready to deliver babies by C-section and bottle feed in a completely sanitary environment, I don't think Mycoplasma-Free animals are realistic. Selectively breeding for rats that tolerate the disease better is something a bit more feasible.

THE RAT-LOVER’S GUIDE TO RESPIRATORY DISEASE

[sorraia]

Mycoplasma is like so many other bacteria (such as staph), it is everywhere. Even humans can have forms of mycoplasma. It's just out there, you can't get rid of it. But you CAN breed animals who have stronger immune systems and are more resistant to it. Part of that has to do with environment and good husbandry: keep them clean, provide a good diet, constant access to clean water, do not overcrowd them, keep stress levels low, etc. Part of it is breeding the healthiest animals to the healthiest animals and eliminating the weak or sickly animals.

The specific rat you had a problem with, it is hard to say if it is going to affect your other animals or not. If it was just a mycoplasma infection (likely turned to pneumonia), then you may not have to worry about it. There are however some other diseases (likelihood depends in part on your area and what is common there) that are more serious, can cause similar symptoms, and are more contagious. There isn't any way to know without doing lab tests (and if the sick rat is already frozen, it might be too late). Just keep the other new rat in quarantine for a minimum of 3 more weeks, and watch any other rats you have closely for any symptoms of anything being wrong. If you start seeing symptoms, either euthanize the rat or take it to the vet to get a diagnosis and prescription to treat it.

[snakesRkewl]

Should I chance feeding her as F/T?

No worries feeding rats sick from myco to snakes, they don't transfer anything to snakes, especially after being frozen, but even if you fed it pre-kill it would be fine.