Rat Diseases

I have a colony of rats, and they all apear healty. Can they contract diseases from being in a colony? I don't ever have unquarantined rats put in, so can they ever get sick, or ever spread disease to humans on their own?

Thanks,
Jordan

It depends on your perception of a "disease".

Is it likely that a closed colony will all the sudden give you lime disease from ticks that just appear...NO It is also unlikely you will get something like distemper from a closed colony (that has been closed for some time)

But rats carry a lot of genetic issues that can pop up in a colony when they are breeding...like megacolon, cancer (just to name a couple).

Also, rats have very weak immune systems and are prone to R.I.'s. So you if fail to keep them clean the build up of ammonia can cause an RI which can spread throughout the entire colony.

So NO closed colonies are not immune to diseases they just come in different forms then you might expect.

thanks for the info.

Well one of my female non breeder rats looks crippled and has brown eye discharge. She doesn't move, she just lays there and twiches a little, and if she does crawl, she drags herself. Has anyone seen this before?

I separated her from the others, but i am afraid my rat colony may be infected!