Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female rat was making a strange weezing noise and in my research I think it might by mycoplasmiosis. I saw a YouTube video that sounded like my rat at www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLf8Umaj-Pk my ra doesn't sound nearly as bad as this one, but it is the same type of noise. My rate only does it occasionally and it's not very rapid when she does. I'm keeping her in Aspen bedding in an aquarium. I've got some questions.

1. What are the chances that this rat has myco or just irritation from the bedding or lack of oxygen from being in an aquarium?

2. I've ready that you should never breed a rat with myco. Is this if your breeding for pets to try to eliminate pets with myco? Or is it also important if your breeding for food? Can it be past on to the snake?

3. I've also read that almost all rats have myco it just lays dormant in some. How do you know if your rat is going to get myco or not and how do you know how serious it is as far as breeding is concerned?

4. I have a pet hamster it's obviously in a different cage, but is in the same room. Can the hamster get myco?

5. Can humans contract myco from rats?

I guess basically what I want to know is if myco is going to be important to my breeding operation. How can I eliminate it? From what I've read if a rat has myco then they will always have it. So it sounds like the only way that you could breed rats is to get a rat without myco and breed it to other rats without my o, but if it lays dormant you may never know if it's there or not. And lastly, If this rat does have myco if I take everything out of the tank and clean it with bleach and put it back in the tank then find rats without myco would that be sufficient for a clean tank? I know that myco is resistant to some antibiotics is it resistant to bleach as well?

Please help and thanks.

It could be Mycoplasma or it could be another species of bacteria, or possibly a virus, very hard to tell. However, one symptom that is usually present with Mycoplasma is the red staining around the eyes and nose. Sometimes bedding can be irritating to rats but usually not. Lack of oxygen in an aquarium is not going to be an issue. Most domestic rats in the U.S. carry the Mycoplasma organism, and most are not adversely affected by it. It is very host species specific and the strain that affects rats will not pass on to other rodent species, snakes, or humans. It is very difficult to eliminate and even many laboratory colonies have carriers. Mycoplasma is transmitted mainly by direct contact as the organism has very short term viability outside of the host body. Your best bet may be to cull the obviously sick rats and just continue the colony on with the asymptomatic individuals.

Kelly