Rat Colony Disaster

Thanks again for the replies. I've had my current colony for about three years. I was at the point where I needed to start adding more female breeders, either holding back, or bringing in new girls. I kind of thought that at this point, pretty much every rat was related to every other rat in the colony, so thought some diversity would be good. What a costly mistake that was. I don't know. I think from now on, I'll just hold them back until/unless some problem (genetic deformities, etc.) develops with that. No more new gals/guys. Thanks again for the input.

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Originally Posted by dfisk5

I kind of thought that at this point, pretty much every rat was related to every other rat in the colony, so thought some diversity would be good.

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It seems to me that if you're wanting some "new blood" in the colony, it would be a little easier to hold back females, and get new males. That way one or two new males can be the equivalent of as many as 8 or 10 new girls as far as genetics goes (depending on the ratio you use). the way i see it, the fewer new specimens you introduce, the less risk you run, and also it is cheaper to by 2 rats than 10 rats.

I see your point, but there are other factors to consider. First, I already had enough males (I rotate females through the males) and didn't want to start a new breeding tub. Second, I wanted to buy females that were sub-adult, rather than raise them from pinkies (quicker to breeding size). When I need a new male, I can raise one up in five weeks, tops. And, I only introduced two new girls, not ten as you mentioned. Their babies could lead to a pretty large number of new genetic crosses, without breeding them back to relatives. Of course, now with the five rats who died, I need two new males (holdbacks this time, of course) and new females (same thing). I guess it all depends on your set up. But it's almost always easier to raise up new males than females, at least from a timeline perspective.

I guess i was looking from more of a general view point than this specific case. Good points.

i don't know anything about rats, but, i do know when i had my horse taken to a new place, a bunch of horses got the horse version of flu. diffrent animals can cary diffrent germs that they become immune to, and others are affected by...horses can just deal with it, rats are so small and a lot more fragile so they probably can't just shake it off. quarintine is always a safe idea.

The other option which I know some of our members use is to trade rats with other members or folks they know that also have very healthy breeder/feeder colonies going themselves. That way you both get some fresh blood in but you aren't risking the issues that can come with some pet store stock.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

The other option which I know some of our members use is to trade rats with other members or folks they know that also have very healthy breeder/feeder colonies going themselves. That way you both get some fresh blood in but you aren't risking the issues that can come with some pet store stock.

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This is still not a perfect option, each seperate colony can carry any number of different pathogens. So although each colony may have been heathly for prehaps 10+ years, they could still carry a new pathogen to the other colony and cause disease. Although granted its much more unlikely to happen than it is with pet store rats.
The only option i can see is if new rats are being planned on being brought into a colony they should be kept in a very different part of the house/facility and after quarantine a single rat from your own colony should be introduced and then wait another 30 days, if the rat you introduced is still alive then it is (99% of the time, some pathogens have longer than 60 day incubation periods) safe to introduce the new rats into the colony.

Graham

Hey, now there's an idea I like! Not fool proof, of course, since some of my old rats were unaffected by the new girls, but definitely a better plan than just introducing the new girls without any quarantine. Plus, I could use a male as the guinea pig (so to speak), so less of a loss than the breeder females. I think it's a terrific idea. Thanks!

Just thought I'd post a follow-up. No more rats have died, or have any symptoms of illness. I think the plague has passed. The new girls of course, look as healthy as ever. Two female rats are pregnant by a male who died in the disaster, so I wonder how it will go with their pups? I assume, that whatever immunity the mothers obviously have, will pass to the pups? Let's hope so anyway. Also, I don't know if it's related, but two female rats that had pups during the disaster, have very small pups. Not typical for the two females. The pups seem healthy enough, but small. I assume it must be related, but it seems odd. Anyway, it seems that the worst is over. Thanks for everyone's replies.

Im glad to hear everything is doing better now. Hope it stays that way.