Rats are prone to respiratory illness...I've kept rats since '98, so I'm well-educated about that. My question is, though, what do you do with the feeders that get sick?

I ask this because, what I do is treat them with the antibiotics they need, and they then become full-time "pet only" animals. I don't want to be overrun with rats, though I very much enjoy their company. The pet-onlies are held everyday by my sister, or myself, and are usually on a shoulder with either of us doing work around the house (non-snake related work, of course!!). I just fear that, since I have a soft spot for rats, we will soon be smothered with them.

They actually don't get sick that often, but my colony is rather large, so when one does, naturally, they get seperated, put in a "hospital" housing unit and treated...that's when we bond, and I just can't let them go.

Should I humanely euthanize any sickies in the future? Should I still use them as feeders? What do I do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't think feeding sick food items to my snakes is a very good idea...should I just try setting the sickies up with new homes? I don't know what to do! I have too big a heart to let these guys (and gals) go after I've treated them.