Contagious respiratory infection?

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chels02

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
Messages
7
Location
florida
So a couple days ago one of my rats sadly passed. I had two & both were on antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection for approximately 10 days. Today, i got another rat to be his new friend since i didn't want him living alone & being alone can be bad for his health. My rat Cheese (the one i already had) has improved a bunch since his medication, but he's still letting out some sneezes. When is it safe to house them together ? i don't want my new baby to get sick, i want to make sure Cheese is completely better before i put them together. & How long should the antibiotics take to clear him up?
 
The only contagious rat viruses are Sendai and SDA. They aren't common but often can be fatal if untreated. These viruses shed after a week and is the main reason people quarantine in a different air space IF they can. Most times respiratory infections are just mycoplasmosis flare-ups due to a weakened immune system. Since your resident boy has been on antibiotics he should be fine to introduce to. The issue with doing introductions with sick rats is the stress of it can depress the immune system again and make them worse, but if it's only a few sneezes it should be fine to start careful introductions.
 
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