Hi Everyone! This is my first post and I apologize now for the question[emoji26]. I have had pet rats since I was little and my boyfriend has had many as well. A month ago we had to put our 4 y/o rat Speedy to sleep. We woke up one morning and he was not breathing right, refused to eat or drink and we could tell he was going to leave us so we ended his suffering [emoji24]. Horrible experience his brothers had already passed on their own randomly the passed year. We currently do not have any.
I was looking for a local breeder as all the ones we have gotten were from Petco, I honestly had no clue that there were local breeders until I got Speedy, Vadar, Chubbers and Hoodie(my daughter helped name them lol. Unfortunately they were bred as snake food so NOT a good breeder. I have found one that looks reputable.
So hopefully I haven't lost anyone with my long story so onto my question [emoji16].
As I was searching I came across Rat Bite Fever. I feel like a horrible mother my daughter was bit by one a few years ago, luckily she was totally fine no blood drawn. I want to get my boyfriend a hairless dumbo for his birthday on Saturday but now I can't help but be an overly paranoid mother. My daughters do not clean the cages their only contact is petting them. So now I'm extremely worried about getting another one( I know how stupid that sounds given we have had so many) but my girls come first. Is their a test the vet can do on the rat to check? And what is the likelihood that a rat from a breeder would be a carrier? I have been up all night reading everything I can about it but I'm not getting all info but luckily I found this forum. He's a rat man and the look on his face when he sees old pictures is tearing me up so any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the novel [emoji16]
I was looking for a local breeder as all the ones we have gotten were from Petco, I honestly had no clue that there were local breeders until I got Speedy, Vadar, Chubbers and Hoodie(my daughter helped name them lol. Unfortunately they were bred as snake food so NOT a good breeder. I have found one that looks reputable.
So hopefully I haven't lost anyone with my long story so onto my question [emoji16].
As I was searching I came across Rat Bite Fever. I feel like a horrible mother my daughter was bit by one a few years ago, luckily she was totally fine no blood drawn. I want to get my boyfriend a hairless dumbo for his birthday on Saturday but now I can't help but be an overly paranoid mother. My daughters do not clean the cages their only contact is petting them. So now I'm extremely worried about getting another one( I know how stupid that sounds given we have had so many) but my girls come first. Is their a test the vet can do on the rat to check? And what is the likelihood that a rat from a breeder would be a carrier? I have been up all night reading everything I can about it but I'm not getting all info but luckily I found this forum. He's a rat man and the look on his face when he sees old pictures is tearing me up so any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the novel [emoji16]