Question about Quarrantine Time

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J

jujubeespmud

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
150
Location
Baltimore, MD, USA
Hi eveyone, I just got a new rattie girl last Friday. She is very social and sweet! She is also healthy. My Jazzy is also healthy. However, both rats are depressed because they have no cagemate. It's only been 1 week since Jazzy's cagemate Ruby and Sister GG left for Rainbow Bridge. She was very hyper the first 4-5 days but know she does seem a little more settled. I know she is depressed though. I sit and type on the forum and I look over my shoulder and 9 out of 10 times she sits at the corner of her cage staring at me. I then go to her and bring her out for a while. I know she misses having a campanion. My new girl, who had been named "Branwen" has also been alone for 2 months. Belive it or not, since she was a baby rattie (she's about 1 1/2 yrs old now I'm told), she was left a my friends work in a box with a mouse! Someone had left it at the pet hospital where she worked with a note saying "my mom won't let me keep them". She said they've lived together ever since and loved each other very much. She said they slept together, played and the rat would groom the mouse. She has since been alone for 2 months and is depressed. She is however, very social and she is trusting too. She comes up to the cage door when I get near the cage and wants to come out. I wanted to know what you think of me doing the intro this saturday, as opposed to waiting 2-3 weeks. I think the longer I keep them apart the more Sad Jazzy will become. Please let me know. Branwen hasn't been around any other rats.
Julie
 
Whether you break QT or not is your choice. You don't know what type of situation Branwen came from, or what all she could have been exposed to.

Was she kept in a rat free home after your friend found her at the vet's? If the mouse wasn't there for 2 months, and she was in a rodent free home [and stayed there], then she's already had her QT.

If not, you really should observe QT. Rats can be carriers and not show a single symptom. They're also prey animals, and hide any illness very well. Especially when they're in new surrounding or are nervous/uncomfortable. You can't just look at an animal and say that they're healthy.

You can try spending more time with Jazzy, taking her out for alot of playtime, spending extra time with her yourself.. If you have a hoodie or a small bag you can pop her in there and keep her with you for periods of time. Same with Branwen when you visit her at the QT house. It's not a replacement, but it usually does help some, especially with well socialized rats.
 
People are going to hate me for saying this but... I don't do quarantine unless I think the rats are sick.

In the five years of owning rats, I've taken in so many and I've done maybe a handful of quarantines and usually for just a week.
The only thing I watch for is mites or lice or sneezing. If your rat has a really bad illness like SDA or Sendai, 2 to 3 weeks wouldn't be enough of a quarantine anyways. If they have a myco flare up, well, they can have a myco flare up after the 2 to 3 weeks quarantine, this usually happens when there's stress like when doing an intro.
When I go pick up a rescue, I check them out, fur/lungs, I medicate as needed and I give them a couple of days to get used to me and then I start intros in which group I believe they work best.

I've never had a mass break out of sickness. (knock on wood :wink: )
 
I want to tell you what might happen without quarantine: Often I do transports for different unknown people and then I keep quarantine, but then I was doing a transport for someone I know as a responsible and knowing breeder to another breeder, I trusted them, and went straight home. The one breeder had made one small mistake (a pregnangt pet-shop-girl was in quarantine for 2 weeks, then 1 week later she had a litter, hence 2 weeks wasn't enough for SDA), this breeder got a serious attack of SDA and 24 hours after she had the outbreak, I had it too, I've lost MANY (didn't count), it's been horrible, spending hours medicating, spending nights with icy-cold rats in bed not knowing how to save them, not to mention the vet-bill and the lack of pay from sick-leave from work. I highly recommend learning from my mistake and take quarentine :wink:
 
The difference, Jo, is that you're in Canada. SDA and Sendai aren't rampaging through colonies up there. I think there have been maybe a couple of incidents over the past 5 years up there.

Down here in the US, it's a common thing, with dozens of reports within a given state within a year. Pet shop rats are generally the culprit, but sometimes even well bred pedigree rats can be exposed.
 
I think a lot of QT variables depend on the area. Maryland has a lot of SDA breakouts. :( In Canada it is extremely rare, so rare our last confirmed case was years ago in Ontario. Sadly the British Columbia rats have a chance to get it because of the proximity of a rat mill across the border where most of the B.C. petstores get their rats.

SDA will rear its ugly head within the 3 week quarantine, and then you would treat, and wait for the symptoms to clear before starting QT again. By the time the QT is over the virus would've shed.

As you are in Maryland, I really think you should do the full QT to be safe. :)

I have learned a lot being on US rat forums and having US ratfriends.
 
jorats said:
I've read a few times though that with SDA, a rat can "carry" it, or not show symptoms for a month or two?
Click to expand...

The pregnant girl who 'caused' the SDA-attack with me and the breeder showed no signs at all, and her babies were completely fine all of them. You are just so lucky to live a place almost without SDA, it's horrible, and if I go to a petshop it has to be planned so that after I go to work for many hours not to bring home SDA
 
From RatGuide:

Once exposed to the SDA virus rats can begin to show symptoms as early as 5 days (porphyrin staining) with respiratory involvement and cervical swelling by 7-8 days. In a laboratory setting the virus remains active in a single rat 7-10 days and doesn’t have a carrier state. In a multiple rat colony this time frame must be altered as the disease spreads form one rat to the next. In a breeding colony the time frame must be altered to include litter transmission as well as multiple rat transmission.

On QT:
Anytime there are new rats coming into a colony there must be a strict isolation period . Generally 3 weeks at a separate location where there are no rats is considered safer than the standard 2 week quarantine. A two-week quarantine should be fine if you are isolating a single rat. A group of new rats require a the longer time period. If the quarantined rat(s) becomes ill then there must be a new quarantine put into effect that begins when the rat is no longer showing symptoms.
 
I read the rest of the ratguide on SDA, so the 2 to 4 months is for a breeding colony.

I'm really glad that this is not common in Canada. To be quite frank, we wouldn't have any way of doing a "real" quarantine which requires a completely different house, different air, no touching of the animals unless you shower.

I asked my vet once what would be the best protection against our rats. She told me to only acquire rats from one source, never bring rats from somewhere else into your existing colony. It does make sense but then, I would not have rescued all my current ratties. :(
 
Well, you have all given me very good information. I appreciate you sharing your experiences also. That is exactly why I asked what you thought. Branwen was the only rodent in the house. She had been alone (from the mouse) for the past 2 months. Her previous owner said she has not been ill. I trust her as a friend & also she is a vet tech who has been in the field for a good while. My rat has not been ill either. I think I will still continue the QT. Even though Branwen was the only rat in the past 2 months, My vet did mention that the stress of coming to a different home can trigger something that we are totally unaware of. I willl wait at least another week, if not more. Besides, with Thanksgiving week coming up, I'll have more time at home to get them together. Thanks! Julie
 
Well, since Branwen was the only rat (rodent) living in her previous owner's home, I did QT for one week in another room in my house. Then I took both girls and put them into the bathtub (no water of course) and let them meet for at least 20-25 minutes. Here or there one or the other would try to gain their place as alfa rat, but neither one really was that aggressive. One time Branwen (the newbe) held Jazzy down and was cleaning her and then briefly Jazzy did the same with Branwen. I moved Branwen's cage into the rat room next to Jazzy. When I would come into the room to get on the computer, I noticed they were looking at each other a lot, as if to say they want to be together. They were meeting every day for this past week and seem to be doing well. I scrubbed the cage down and bought some new toys and litter box and new hammocks. They've had a few scabbles and Jazzy is staying on the top level and Branwen is stayin on the bottom. She seems afraid of Jazzy somewhat. I know I should give it more time. I'd like to keep them together overnight, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea. What's your opinion?
Julie
 
Hi Julie,

I'd say do it. Usually if things go bad it's almost right away. Keeping to their corners is normal, they will eventually get used to the idea of a buddy. :wink:
 
Mine still have crazys squabbles and they've been together since August. Also I sometimes see Lily sleeping separate from the other two. But not for long, mostly in the morning. They will get used to each other. Maybe they are playing shy.
 
I let Branwen in with Jazzy and Branwen lays low and creeps by Jazzy as if she is afraid to walk past her. I guess that is all normal. I still do not feel comfortable leaving them together in the cage unless I'm there. If something were to happen during the night I wouldn't hear them. So I guess we will need to do more intros and over the weekend I will let them stay longer in the big cage together. Here are the pics of Jazzy & Branwen. Branwen is my hooded girlie, Jazzy the Agouti dumbo girl. :lol:

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/ ... ats058.jpg

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/ ... eet069.jpg

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/ ... eet074.jpg

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/ ... eet061.jpg

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/ ... ranwen.jpg

Julie
 
They are adorable!!

I would wait for a day that you can completely watch them for 4 to 5 hours and then if there's nothing after that, I doubt very much there will be any attack, maybe the odd boxing, squabble or pinning but not an outright attacks.
 
Thanks Joanne. I will try that. You know, each evening I come into the room and get on my computer or sit in my chair and read or write and Jazzy gets up to her bell and pulls on it. I look over and she sits there poking her little nose out of the cage...so cute! Then she acts as if she wants her friend. I let them get together, but Branwen lowers herself and walks slowly beside Jazzy. It looks as if she is afraid. When I give the girls snacks, Branwen takes hers and runs out of Jazzy's cage to get into her own cage! It's almost as if she says she wants to stay in her own home! I don't get it. Maybe I need a new cage...ah ha...excuse to get the r695 from Martins. It would be nice.
 
:exactly:

That's what I thought too!!! :D It's quite comical to see how she acts. I swear she wants my attention..and I give it to her of course. I let her run on my orange chair that I don't even let my daughter sit in! haha...she is a fast little ratty too I might add!

Well, I will talk with you again soon. Have a great night.
 

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