Feeder rat sneezing!!! help

[mis_gmh]

One of my feeder/breeding rat i brought wouldnt stop sneezing and had a noisy chest so i disposed of her. And another is doing it but she has babies. She had 1still born and have lost 2 this week (seem to have sufocated) I disposed of 2 others today out of the same litter cos they were struggling to breath. Im just wondering what to do? And could i feed them to my snakes if kept in the freezer for a period of time?

I have Quarantined the female with the babies.

Please Help!!

regards
laura

 

[Gussy-SMF]

are you sure its sneezing, it could be gasping for air or coffing
i had the same problem i just disposed of all the rats and cleaned the cage throughorly
and bought some more, its kinda like a bug.
and im not sure about leaving them in the freezer ... hope i helped

 

[Hetty]

She has myco, it's something rats with poor immune systems get. Cull her and her babies and find some healthier rats.

 

[swaddo]

i'll bet it is Myco ... does she have red mucus round her nose?

search for myco on this site. there is quite a bit of info on here.

 

[swaddo]

snap hetty

 

[LauraM]

Just give them some cold n flu medicen

*please dont take my advice not a good think to do

Hope it turns out ok
goodluck

 

[mis_gmh]

the one without the babies was sneezing and had a loud noise when she was breething so i got rid of her and then when i kept loosing babies i checked the mum and she doesnt look very healthy. She sorta looks sad. She isnt sneezing much but the babies are undersize (her first litter)

 

[swaddo]

From what i've read myco rats are chronic poor doers but they are safe to feed to your herps.

i bought a few rats recently and most are showing the symptoms you describe .. .they'll all be culled after they pop and relpaced with a more vigorous lot

 

[LauraM]

Look at this
http://maritimerattery.canadianwebs.com/custom3.html

 

[mis_gmh]

Yeah im definately guna kull the mother once the babies are weaned. Is it easy to tell if the babies have it? I have them quarentined at the moment as i have rats that i realy dont wana Kull

I was a bit worried about feeding them to my snakes so how long do you need to keep them in the freezer till the bacteria is gone?

The mother doesnt have any mucus but her breathing sounds like she is grunting.

 

[draqonfly]

i have no experience about this but all i can say is.... prevention is the best medicine.

i would dispose of the rodents thats infected instead of putting it in the freezer hoping the bacteria would disappear. The cost of your snakes are weigh much more than the rodents.

Just me opinion... good luck with your choice !

 

[seumas12345]

The rats have myco. I've had this happen to me before. Alot of the time the rats from the pet shop will all be infected because if one gets brought in, they all get it. I chose to keep mine and they got over it in about two weeks. I think it's ok to feed to your snake but hell, there's no way I'd be risking it! If you decide to dispose of the infected rats, clean the cage thoroughly before introducing new rats, but most importantly, observe the rats at the petshop before you buy! Watch to see if any rats are sneezing, because like I said, if one is sneezing, they'll all have it!

Just another note aswell, make sure you don't use clay kitty litter as bedding for the rats because it's very dusty and the babies can die from suffocation. Only use recycled paper kitty litter.

 

[Hetty]

The baby rats will have myco too.

All rats have myco but rats with strong immune systems don't get flare ups. The babies will likely have poor immune systems like their mother. Cull them all and find a good line.

 

[swaddo]

any suggestions on where a "good" line might be sourced? i recently bought 6 breeders (3x16 wks and 3x8wks) and all older ones are exhibiting symptoms .. so i'm guessing the younger ones will start showing in the next 4 wks

 

[Hetty]

Yeah swaddo, I have good rats, a bit of a trip for you though (and I don't have many at the moment). There are good feeder lines about.

And yeah, the younger ones probably will get sick swaddo.

 

[OdessaStud]

If the younger ones dont show symptoms they will almost certainly be carriers.Myco can be dormant until something like stress or enviroment change happens then it can flare up.I wouldnt breed from any of the litter but as for feeding them to your snakes myco is not contagious to snakes or other animals other than rodents and guinea pigs, do them a favor and cull the lot its a very nasty disease and causing the animals affected alot of discomfort, it can be treated but never cured baytril or amoxil can treat the symtoms but the animal will still carry myco and it will undoubtably occur again.
Good luck I know its heatbreaking
Cheers Odie

 

[HerpDr]

Your rats likely have mycoplasma which is a bacterial infection in their lungs. When they are stressed it gets worse and they can get secondary bacterial infections with other bacteria. Its really hard to gets rats without it unless they come from a lab. All your rats will have it but just manage it. Cull the worst ones that are thin etc. Make sure they are in a dust free draft free environment and clean them out regularly. The sick ones are perfectly fine to feed to snakes, snakes can not get the infection. You can treat with antibiotics but it just helps, its doesn't cure the disease. The only way to get myco free rats is to take the babies away as soon as they are born and hand raise them!! If you can get some that don't have it go for it but be careful adding in any more rats if you do as they will spread it if the new ones have it.