quarantine?

[fireworks]

Sorry I haven't been on much. Been busy! I will post new pics and updates of the boys soon. They are doing very well and going into the vet to have a checkup before they are neutered.

Now to my question.

Quarantine.

I know it's really important to quarantine rats when you get them, to make sure they can't spread diseases to your existing rats. But my question is, what if you have lots of people in the house and can't exactly make everyone take a shower/change clothes and stuff before they touch each rat? I know my little siblings love the rats but probably won't do that. Could I immediately right after getting them without going home take them to the vet for a checkup before bringing them home? Could that work?

If not I can TRY to convince my mom to let them stay at her house... but how will I know if they're healthy even if I do quarantine them?

I don't have new rats yet, but I'm considering asking my dad to adopt 2 more from a rat rescue not too far away (2 hours or so.)

 

[Dahlas]

That is the bad part....an animal can appear healthy and still carry disease. That is why it is important to quarantine. I have a foster cat right now that appears perfectly healthy....He is in another room...and I wash thoroughly and change cloths before being around my own cats...I will do that for 2 weeks........
I did not quarantine my new rats but did wash my hands and put on a different t-shirt before handling my other rats for the first little while.
All you can do is the best you can.....Explain to the little ones how important it s to wash hands before touching the rats and maybe have a special t-shirt to pull on when holding them.....

 

[fireworks]

Hmm...
Could I board them at the vet until we know for sure they are healthy?

 

[Moon]

My concern with that would be the possibilty of an ill rat or small animal coming to the vet and them getting something that way.

Also, would your vet office be ok with you coming to visit them daily if you did do that?

 

[user 78]

Unless your vet sees no other rodents [rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, and so on] boarding them at the vet is sort of pointless. They'll get something from an ill rodent that was brought in for treatment.

Also, if you're only keeping the new animals in another room, it's not a true QT. Showering or changing clothes is only going to prevent spreading lice or mites to your current animals, not anything else. So, if you're not able to do a true QT [in a completely separate air space] then I wouldn't worry too much about trying to make younger siblings shower/change or anything like that. Just keep an eye on your current rats and the new rats, and be prepared for [usually] a resp issue to pop up.

 

[fireworks]

That's a good point - I wouldn't know if they would be boarding in the same room with sick rats or something.

How long would I have to quarantine them? I think my best bet is to quarantine them at my mom's house, where there are no other rats. Of course I can go see them every day if they're there. I'm not sure the vet would be cool with letting me in to see them every day, which would be a problem.

 

[user 78]

Oh, we posted at almost the same time, hehe!

Keeping them in a rat free house, like your mom's, would be ideal. 2-4 weeks is the suggested quarantine period. If the rats are coming from a high traffic home [lots of rats in and out as in some rescues] then you may want to aim for 3-4 weeks. Just shower, change, and blow your nose before going and seeing your current rats. If they were coming from a dedicated foster home that hadn't had any new rats in or out for a while, then 2-3 weeks would probably be fine.

 

[fireworks]

Okay. =] I'll have to 1. convince my dad to adopt more rats and 2. convince my mom to let the new ones stay at her house.

Joy.

So by 3-4 weeks if the rats look good I should intro them, or take them to the vet to make sure?

 

[user 78]

Within 2-4 weeks, any viruses they may have will have shown up. If they have a resp infection starting, this will also present itself during the QT time. If they get sick [other than New Home Sneezes which don't last more than 2-4 days] during that time, you'll need to treat them with antibiotics and start the QT all over again when they've stopped showing symptoms.

If after the first 3-4weeks they haven't shown any illnesses, they're safe to take home to your other rats.

 

[fireworks]

Okay, cool! Thanks for your help everybody.