Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought several rats from 2 diff. places. The rats from what I observed had minor respiratory problems and was going to wait until today to get some meds from my vet. Here is the crazy thing. Then last night I saw one breathing heavily. All the rest were fine except one that had an occasional sneeze. Both the heavy breather and sniffles were from the same shop. My male is smaller and from the same place but has yet to show some sort of problem. The vet said it had an 85% chance of living. He gave me some meds to give it for the next 20 days. He also gave a dose at the office. He said it could be viral or bacterial. So he prescribed Sulftrimethoprim. On the way home I stopped off at a cousin and left it in the car. The windows were all down, parked in the shade, not to mention we were outside on the porch. It was all but 1/2 hr and went to check to make sure he didn't chew out of the critter keeper and saw it was stiff as a board. He told me to treat the other with the same med and at this point am thinking otherwise. He gave me other meds to add to the water to get rid of resp. infection on the rest of the group and mice if they may have something.

Its got to be the meds, right? He said I should just put the group down and start from scratch again. He said if it was viral then the whole group has it and they gotta go. Do you agree? Or do you say, keep the group that is left, treat with the water med, and wait for the rest do go down hill. If that should happen they would have to go to the trash and a total loss as the meds may affect the lizard if eaten later after being frozen...........
Thanks......

If it's viral, the antibiotics aren't going to do anything but treat the secondary problems. If it's bacteria, the antibiotics can help wipe it out.

Since you only have one sick rat, I would isolate that one and see how it goes. If the rest of your group starts to have trouble, then consider putting them all down and starting fresh.

I don't know why your rat had such a hard time...rats are usually more hardy than that. But, if the other one is sneezing, it could be something minor, like a piece of bedding caught in the nose. I wouldn't act too hasty but you should do what your instincts tell you to do.

Feeding a rodent that has been treated with antibiotics to your snake shouldn't hurt your snake. However, I think it's good practice make a rule of never feeding away a sick animal.

Snakey,

I never take rodents to the vet. It's not because I'm cheap or mean, it's because I'm responsible for the colony. Sick animals need to be removed from the colony immediately and put down. Period. Even if they recover, they can not be reintroduced to the colony. Put them down and feed them off.

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble. I can only assure you that once you have a colony established, things will be better.

Rodent's needs are pretty basic. Clean nutritious food (lab blocks, dog food without red dye or grain mixes), clean water, clean litter, appropriate cages, protection from extremes of weather.

Here's what I do. I house in sterilite 32 Qt. or 66 Qt. tubs. (These have had some problems with chewing and in the future I might use cement tubs from the hardware store.) These are covered with 1/2" hardware cloth with feed hoppers (made from 1/2" X 1" hardware cloth) in one end. I use alfalfa pellets (rabbit feed) for bedding. I feed either dog food or rodent chow (16%). I now use edstrom valves in an automatic watering system, but water bottles worked fine at first. I keep them in a shed I built between the garage and the back yard wall. I don't use a rack. I just stack them up, a little offset, or you can put 2" X 4" s between them. This would not be a good system if you had alot of animals, but since I only have 4 tubs going now, it's fine. I rotate the male, so that he is with the most pregant 2 females. Four days after one gives birth, she gets moved to her own cage and the next most pregnant one goes into replace her. That way she is gestating the next litter while she is nursing this litter. Other breeders seperate the female before birth so that she is not bred back to back. I whack and freeze the pups just after they open their eyes usually, although I have raised a group to start another colony.

BTW, the title of this post is an old saying among sheperds. The first thing you need to know to be a sheperd is the four Ss. Protect the herd, since 'sick sheep seldom survive', cull them.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in this forum. We all learn from each other.

DeMak

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Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

Feeding off the sick ones will in no way endanger your reptiles unless the animal is suffering from one of the FEW zoonotic diseases reptiles can catch from Mammals.. or is parasite ridden. I've been feeding off any of my rodents that die for a couple years now (Whether from sickness or old age) and none of my reptiles has ever gotten sick from it... Snakes and other predators routinely pick off the weakened and sick of a group... keeping the rest healthy. Their immune systems are geared to handle such things.. So why not make use of the food you've raised for that specific purpose anyway.

It really depends on why they are sick, or why they died.

I've had a few that have had delivery complications and died before they could have the babies. I have to qualms with feeding them away. Or, just a simple skin tumor...no problem there either.

However, if the rat has some kind of infection and/or is severely underweight due to illness, I would not give that to my snakes. An animal in that shape has little to no nutritional content.

I believe that if I am going to keep any animal, I should feed it well and giving it sick food is wrong. Yes, the snakes may have natural protection, but why test that tempt fate when we can give them healthy and healthful prey?

The rat that died yesterday was at a perfect weight, not pregnant, and appx med size (so age wouldn't be a factor). That is why I couldn't tell they were sickly. The only sign is the sneezing. But now I have seen today that the whoel group is sneezing somewhat but remain active. The meds in the water may bring them out of this. The other that came from the store is just lethargic, sneezing, and is separated from the others. This one doesn't have the bloody nose but is not looking so good. This one also appears to be pregnant but in the early stages of gestation......
Hopefully this will leave as quick as it is coming......

DeMak,
I was wondering where you are located and what are the temps in your shed?
I am planning build something to house my rats in, but I am worried abot the temps.
Is your shed insulated?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Stede

>>DeMak,
>>I was wondering where you are located and what are the temps in your shed?
>>I am planning build something to house my rats in, but I am worried abot the temps.
>>Is your shed insulated?
>>Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>>Thanks in advance,

Stede

I live in the San Fernando valley, North Hollywoodish. The temps in the summer in the animal house are from 70F at night to the mid 80Fs during the day. Unless of course it's hot that day, then mid 90Fs. I have foam insulation in the roof and door. I have 2 fans. One is a bathroom exhaust fan near the cieling and the other is a muffin fan mounted on the door vent that blows in. So far, no major changes have occured in production. I did not keep great records for last winter and spring so while I feel production has slowed, it hasn't dropped so much as to be a disaster.

DeMak

DeMak,
Would it be too much to get some measurements from you (shed wise)?
I live in South Louisiana and it gets HOT.
I have window A/C unit that I could use, but if I can keep the temps down by using fans and vents, I may go that route.
...I do miss the weather in Cali., lived in a few places in that great state. (San Diego, El Cajon, Long Beach...I miss it)
Also, are there any pictures posted that I can view?
Thanks for all your help,
Stede

>>Would it be too much to get some measurements from you (shed wise)?

The shed is about 8' long, 6' high, 3 1/2' wide. The roof is a single length of plywood.

>>I live in South Louisiana and it gets HOT.

So why breed rats if you can get nutria? LOL, you have to have anacondas! I spent a year in Morgan City. Hot is not the word...

>>Also, are there any pictures posted that I can view?

My pics in Kingsnake photo gallery

n/p

;

Mycoplasma is a well known respiratory disease among rats and it is contagious. It cannot be cured, only treated to help reduce the symptoms.

More information about myco and rats can be found at the website called Just the Rats. The article in question you will want to check first would be this one:

Mycoplasma pulmonis

Good luck with the rats.

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PHWyvern

Thanks. Lots of info here. I have to go back and read what else they have in there..........

Toss the rats and start over fresh. It is too much of a headache to deal with.
Kevin