Straw was definitely not moldy. Was only in there a week, mixed with pine, and was they were the driest tubs of the lot. If it was mold strong enough to kill off rats 15 feet away, it would have harmed more than just the two pulled out of the straw racks. Total of two rats died from one single straw-tub. First was the male breeder among the 6 a few days ago, replaced him with a different male breeder, who was dead this morning.


Quote Originally Posted by angllady2 View Post
It is rare to see something kill so fast, but I suspect mycoplasma. All rats carry the bacteria, and under certain circumstances, the bacteria explodes and overwhelms the immune system and causes death.

The only way to be sure would be to take one of the newly deceased rats and refrigerate it until you can get it to a vet for testing.

Gale
I was thinking mycoplasma as well... I've just never seen them die so quickly. If it is illness, I'm hesitant to treat them, and just contribute to a colony that is weak and will pass on weak offspring. Unfortunately, VERY limited on funds until Friday (waiting on money from my slacker roommate who is always a month late in paying her share of utilities). Will see about getting a rat in for a necropsy as soon as I'm able.

At the very least if I can do that I will have an idea if it's safe to continue feeding them to the snakes. If it is safe to feed to the snakes, I'm leaning towards a mass gassing/cull, freezer bags, and starting a completely new colony.