Re: Mycoplasma pulmonis + bp
Survival of the fittest. Do you think a snake feeds on the biggest healthiest rats he can find? Why are rats so good at hiding illness until it is really bad? Survival of the fittest.
Your snake will not get any disease from it's food. Some people still debate on whether or not they can receive internal parasites from their food. (I dont believe that)
It is a safe assumption that any feeder rat will cary Mycoplasma. There are concentrated efforts by rat breeders with closed colonies that may have rats free from Myco or resistant to it's effects. Those breeders would never sell you a rat.
Some have more severe symptoms than others, but you can still feed it off. Myco likes to make an appearance when the immune system has been jeopardized by other illnesses and stress.
If this is a colony you are breeding yourself, keep that rat away from the others. Make sure it has access to fresh water daily, a near dustless substrate, some food (I also like to give them table scraps) and give it more heat. I give the rats a thermal gradient with a human heating pad taped to one side of the cage.
If and when you decide to feed it off, don't worry about the effects the rat will have on your snake. I think the worst a rat could do to a snake is bite it.
I do have a question though, in my experience, the younger the rat, the less likely they are to show the effects of Myco. How old is the rat your feeding off?
Re: Mycoplasma pulmonis + bp
i dont know the age but its about 150grams it was sold to me as a medium rat if that helps.
Re: Mycoplasma pulmonis + bp
A little on the large side, but not bad.
Re: Mycoplasma pulmonis + bp
Quote:
Originally Posted by
littleindiangirl
A little on the large side, but not bad.
large?? it was the smallest medium they had lol
Re: Mycoplasma pulmonis + bp
AH! what the heck happened with my response? lol oh well. Like I said, I know what your talking about, I often went to a local store asking for a weaner, and they would show me a hefty 5 week old rat.
