Potential Rat sickness

[Knowell]

So I recently purchased 3 med female rats and 1 male from a pet store to start my breeding project. On day 1 I noticed one was sneezing. I read up a little and thought it was common when using aspen. Well a few days later one female got a hunched back, started gasping for air and acting lethargic. I immediately fed her off to stop her suffering. 2 days later female #2 exhibited sunken sides walking completely hunched and slow with half closed eyes. The male started acting like female #1 hunched back, gasping for air and lethargic. I fed them both off. I bleached everything and gave female#3 a new tub. She has been sneezing a lot but her coat appears fine, she walks fine doesn't exhibit any other signs other than sneezing. I purchased another male after a few days of watching her I placed them together. The pair now seem to be fine other than the female sneezing. Will she likely get sick like the others or do you think I fed off the problem? I have changed bedding and bleach multiple time in the last few days. Thanks.

[Bogertophis]

No way to know...only time will tell. I've seen this before...long before I got into snakes (& rodents as snake food), I got a pair of rats as pets. The symptoms
were as you describe, came on quickly post-purchase...I took them to the vet & tried 2 different antibiotic medicines but they both died. Whatever it is, it's nasty
and keep in mind that many things rats carry can be transmissible to humans. (one of many zoonotic diseases) I'd let that pet store know, & also not buy rats
there again. Just like with people, some have better natural immunity than others. Keep in mind though that the stress on the female rat's body from reproducing
may tip the scale against her, or she may pass this to her offspring. (BTW, I've kept snakes now for decades & bred rodents, rats, mice, hamsters & a few gerbils
for nearly as long.) Isolating what is causing the illness would be pretty expensive.

[Knowell]

Well this is a bummer. Females are hard to come by around here breeders don't want you to breed so they hold them back. Those 3 females I purchased slipped through. Now I'm starting to think the breeder knew they were sick and sent them to the pet store knowing they would be no good. I guess I could keep the pair together and watch them. Raise the litter and pray it hasn't passed so I can get this off the ground. If it does I guess ill just have to feed them all off, give everything a solid cleaning and hunt for some more females. Thanks for your time.

[Bogertophis]

Well this is a bummer. Females are hard to come by around here breeders don't want you to breed so they hold them back. Those 3 females I purchased slipped through. Now I'm starting to think the breeder knew they were sick and sent them to the pet store knowing they would be no good. I guess I could keep the pair together and watch them. Raise the litter and pray it hasn't passed so I can get this off the ground. If it does I guess ill just have to feed them all off, give everything a solid cleaning and hunt for some more females. Thanks for your time.

I agree...the breeder sold those for a reason (ahem!). And yes, you could try anyway...do wash your hands well after handling & cleaning their cages etc. Good luck!

[Bogertophis]

One more thing, if you're going to try to keep & breed this pair anyway: giving them an enhanced diet may help them recover. Include bits of raw kale, carrot,
whatever fruits & veggies you may have along with nuts (for good protein, any kind but not salted- even a dab of peanut butter*) & hard-boiled egg. *Rats
are very skilled at licking an "empty" peanut butter jar clean enough to recycle, incidentally.

Commercial rat chow only goes so far...even healthy rats do better with these dietary additions, especially for the best success at breeding them, & keep
portions very small- they don't need a lot to help them. (you can even give them bones from well-cooked meat or poultry to clean off & knaw on) Treats also
keep them friendly & easily-handled for your sake. Rats love variety & need a balanced diet very similar to what makes us healthy.

Years back when I decided to breed Russian dwarf hamsters, I got a 'normal coated' pair from a breeder, & then a local pet store gave me a sick albino female
with a new litter of babies that they couldn't or didn't want to care for. I decided her genetics would be interesting if I could save her & her babies, and I did
so by giving her kale & cottage cheese. Even her pinky-babies happily consumed cottage cheese, since she was barely able to nurse them at the time. They
all pulled thru, and with the mix of her genes, I went on to breed all sorts of fancy-coated hamsters that I sold to pet stores. Snake-keepers make the best
sources of hamsters with good temperaments, incidentally: any hamsters that tended to bite were snake-food, and I even guaranteed all the young hamsters
I sold. Any that didn't measure up, even if it was because some kid mishandled them, I happily exchanged the next week (next delivery) so the stores never
lost money on "ornery" hamsters they couldn't sell, and for my part, I was happy to see all the really cute friendly ones go on to be good pets. (-those that I
didn't hold back for breeding) Anyway...don't under-estimate good nutrition!

[Knowell]

Awesome, that's a great idea I will give them something extra to eat for sure. In the last couple days the female the grown in size at a decent rate. I would assume that she will drop the litter this coming weekend. When I sit and watch her she grooms herself and acts completely normal so I have high hopes (fingers crossed). Thanks for your help!

- - - Updated - - -

Awesome, that's a great idea I will give them something extra to eat for sure. In the last couple days the female the grown in size at a decent rate. I would assume that she will drop the litter this coming weekend. When I sit and watch her she grooms herself and acts completely normal so I have high hopes (fingers crossed). Thanks for your help!

- - - Updated - - -

Awesome, that's a great idea I will give them something extra to eat for sure. In the last couple days the female the grown in size at a decent rate. I would assume that she will drop the litter this coming weekend. When I sit and watch her she grooms herself and acts completely normal so I have high hopes (fingers crossed). Thanks for your help!

[Bogertophis]

That's a good sign, I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya!