quarantine rescue rats from a local rescue??

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DarkRider2k3

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
191
Location
Pennsylvania
When I eventually get my new pal, does she need to be quarantined from my pack, even though its a respected and trusted? I mean I know rescues won't adopt out unhealthy rats, so does this mean I can skip quarantines and go straight to intros? Especially considering I'm only getting 1?
 
I think I would keep her quarantined just for a few days atleast she maybe perfectly healthy but sometimes a rat could have respiratory infection that they may have over looked that you could keep an eye on and just see over the next few days its better to be safe then sorry it's easier to take one rat to the vet instead of all of them just incase it does have some sort of infection.
 
unfortunately just getting 1 new rattie still brings out risk's of spreading diseases that the rattie may have. Though the rescue is known, this does not change that the rat's history is more then likely 100% unknown as far as health factors go.
I would do a quaretine for at least 1 week. Personally, I would do it for at least 2weeks, but thats just me. Sometimes it takes a while for health issues to show and this would be the best way to go to prevent your current ratties from possibly getting sick and raising vet bills for yourself if the new rat is sick.
 
if you have the option to quarantine its really best to do it. I just got hit by SDA (very uncommon in Ontario but is here) so a rat that seems a little off could be incubating the virus. if you are unable to do a full quarantine (different airspace, usually meaning someone else's home that has no rats, 3 hours away from your own rats after handling the QT rat, or showering/changing your clothes and blowing your nose before handling your rats) just be very careful with an in-home QT.
 
When I added to y group I contacted the rescue group nd asked thema botut heir q procedures. they todl em they do full long qt before placing them in foster care adn the fosters all adhere to strict rules regarding exposure to toher rats ( the 3 hours rule etc) to prevent diesaese inth efoster home. So I didnt qt my boys because I was satisfied wit the procedures already in place and was certaint h eboys were free of disease.
 
I'm not sure exactly of the rescues name, but it's local in Pittsburgh PA. Nikki (littlematchstick) knows who she is.

Anyways the best I could do in terms of QT is a separate cage on the opposite end of my room. I have a "bin cage" that I made a while back for hamsters that was thoroughly cleaned and is fairly large in size.. definitely not something I'd keep a rat in, or want to, but could be used as a temporary home for QT... my mom has an allergic reaction to fur, so can't keep the rat there, and my girlfriend definitely couldn't QT the rat due to her own colony. The bin cage, in case you wanted to know, has mesh around the sides and the top "lid". It also has a cutout for my water bottle. The only thing I wouldn't have for it is a wheel, but I could easily add toys and would have her out a lot for playtimes. Though that might be tricky with the other girls near and if I QT her I'd want her as far from them as possible...

I also heard about your incident lilspaz and I'm so sorry to hear this :(.. I didn't get to post in your topic yet but I'm praying everything goes good. I did see it's improving and that is awesome!
 
Quarantine means a seperate air space and measures are taken re clothing, & carrying germs on your skin or in your nose.
As previously mentioned, you need to check with the rescue to see what type of quarantine they did and for how long.
SDA and other rat diseases are much more common in the US so taking precautions is very important.
 
I didn't ask them yet about their QT procedures, but I did send an email out to the girl who helps run the rescue. However, she has told my girlfriend that she does not adopt out single rats.. she only adopts out in groups of 2 or more.

Do you guys think that my cage (Petco Rat Manor) is too small for 4 females? That to me seems a bit... much... ya know?
 
I have one of those and I agree way too much ratties for a small cage even for two I think it's big enough while they are small but even then as they get older you may want to get a bigger cage. Strange she doesn't adopt out one if its going to another home with the idea to be put with other rats but I can totally understand her reasoning and is actually a good idea
 
Lol then the only real upgrade I guess would be the critter nation....but I feel like only going for the single unit isn't as cost effective. You pay around 150.00 for a single and 220.00 for a double... So you actually save with the double....
 
It doesn't seem like it is all that rare to have viruses in Canada anymore... There have been a few on here in just the past year. That's no less than you hear about on American forums. Most cases of it aren't posted about, but it is a very real threat to your rats.
 

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