please tell me if I'm understanding this at all, oK?
you QT rats not because of the chance of spreading myco, because they pretty much all have been exposed to that, right so far?
but rather because of those two deadly viruses that both begin with the letter S and one looks like Japanese,
am I on the right track so far?
and those two viruses will show up in a rat in two to three weeks, right?
(stop me anywhere along the way if I'm on the wrong track please!)
so- if a rat has been in a home for 2-3 weeks with no other rats coming into the home, and that rat(s) is fine, no signs of illness,
can it be said that the rat is properly QTed?
basically I am trying to assess the risk of rat sitting in my home with my own rats here
and also I want to know if there's anything I should tell the owners of these rats that would protect their rats as well as mine.
so far the biggest thing I've mentioned to them is that they need to have a back up plan
I've had rats for 3 yrs now and so I think ppl might expect me to know if this is a safe thing to do or not
I feel like I have to be the one to inform them of what their other choices are and the pros and cons of those
I know I don't have to, but I feel like they might expect me to know more than they do, and I don't.
I mean, I depend on the Rat Shack and you guys for all the difficult stuff (and my vets of course too)
it's not that I don't know 'stuff' but when it comes to health issues, I ALWAYS want at least one other trusted opinion.
I mean, should I tell this new rat owner who needs a sitter for 2 weeks that she should look into having a person come to her house, that it might be safer for her rats?
and is it really safer to have someone come to your house, as opposed to having the rats stay at the sitters with resident rats?
could the professional rat sitter who goes to your home be a greater potential risk if she is sitting for other rats or frequenting pet stores/vets?
me I don't go anywhere, basically- I'm home most of the time, so I don't worry too much about me carrying in viruses from outside
sorry if this rambles a bit, I'm trying to figure out all the potential issues involved- and who is responsible for what.
I tend to feel overly responsible for a lot of things in general, and I have a hard time figuring out where to draw the line.
I mean if someone were to ask you, will you rat sit for me in your home? and you've got your own rats,
what would you tell them?
if they were new to rats, would you tell them to research QT and the like, or would you feel like you should be the one to tell them about it?
assuming you were willing to take the risk, would you insist that they not allow any other rats into their home in the weeks prior to when you rat sit for them? and ask/tell them not to go to pet stores?
nothing in life is 100% risk free. I just want to reduce the risk as much as possible. I don't need the small amount of $ that I might* make from rat sitting badly enough to put anyone's rats at risk
theirs or mine
ya know?
(*I'm probably gonna do this as a trade thing for stuff that I need, rides to stores and whatnot, no for cash)
you QT rats not because of the chance of spreading myco, because they pretty much all have been exposed to that, right so far?
but rather because of those two deadly viruses that both begin with the letter S and one looks like Japanese,
am I on the right track so far?
and those two viruses will show up in a rat in two to three weeks, right?
(stop me anywhere along the way if I'm on the wrong track please!)
so- if a rat has been in a home for 2-3 weeks with no other rats coming into the home, and that rat(s) is fine, no signs of illness,
can it be said that the rat is properly QTed?
basically I am trying to assess the risk of rat sitting in my home with my own rats here
and also I want to know if there's anything I should tell the owners of these rats that would protect their rats as well as mine.
so far the biggest thing I've mentioned to them is that they need to have a back up plan
I've had rats for 3 yrs now and so I think ppl might expect me to know if this is a safe thing to do or not
I feel like I have to be the one to inform them of what their other choices are and the pros and cons of those
I know I don't have to, but I feel like they might expect me to know more than they do, and I don't.
I mean, I depend on the Rat Shack and you guys for all the difficult stuff (and my vets of course too)
it's not that I don't know 'stuff' but when it comes to health issues, I ALWAYS want at least one other trusted opinion.
I mean, should I tell this new rat owner who needs a sitter for 2 weeks that she should look into having a person come to her house, that it might be safer for her rats?
and is it really safer to have someone come to your house, as opposed to having the rats stay at the sitters with resident rats?
could the professional rat sitter who goes to your home be a greater potential risk if she is sitting for other rats or frequenting pet stores/vets?
me I don't go anywhere, basically- I'm home most of the time, so I don't worry too much about me carrying in viruses from outside
sorry if this rambles a bit, I'm trying to figure out all the potential issues involved- and who is responsible for what.
I tend to feel overly responsible for a lot of things in general, and I have a hard time figuring out where to draw the line.
I mean if someone were to ask you, will you rat sit for me in your home? and you've got your own rats,
what would you tell them?
if they were new to rats, would you tell them to research QT and the like, or would you feel like you should be the one to tell them about it?
assuming you were willing to take the risk, would you insist that they not allow any other rats into their home in the weeks prior to when you rat sit for them? and ask/tell them not to go to pet stores?
nothing in life is 100% risk free. I just want to reduce the risk as much as possible. I don't need the small amount of $ that I might* make from rat sitting badly enough to put anyone's rats at risk
theirs or mine
ya know?
(*I'm probably gonna do this as a trade thing for stuff that I need, rides to stores and whatnot, no for cash)