Sunday, February 7, 2010

Do petstore rats carry disease?

Im interested in purchasing a rat as a pet but Im concerned if they carry diseases. Any info will be appreciated.Do petstore rats carry disease?
Domestic pet rats come from three sources. Feeder breeders, pet stores, and reputable breeders. Feeder breeder and pet store rats have the worse health issues because of mass breeding for one purpose only, reptile food. Yes these are the same animals that we buy to keep as pets. Since the animals are not meant to live long anyway, little care is taken to produce rats with strong genetics that resist disease. Carefully-bred rats makes the reputable breeders' rats more resistant to two common health issues of pet rats:


Mycoplasma Pulminosis


http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=My鈥?/a>


News Flash: a resent conversation with a lab technician reveals that not all lab rats are Myco-free.


Mammary tumors


http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=+M鈥?/a>





SDA, Sendai, KRV are sadly becoming far too common among pet rats.


http://www.rmca.org/Data/


These are the diseases that prompted strong quarantine guidelines among rat keepers.





And just like with every other pet and human, rats are also affected by the diseases of old age and malnutrition. Humans cannot get any of the above diseases from their rats.





As for Zoonosis, when diseases can be passed on to humans from pets


http://exoticpets.about.com/od/healthand鈥?/a>


No one should ever tell you that you can't get anything from your pet rats. First, let me tell you what you *can't* get from your rats; rabies, hanta virus, and the plague.





The people that might get diseases from pet rats are those who are immunocomprimised (cancer, aids, babies, etc.) and those who keep their rats in filthy conditions. In the 10 years that I have been on 5 active pet rat forums, no one has reported getting a serious illness from their rats, even though the doctor wants to blame the rats for any illness due to ignorance.





Some ailments that have been reported are:


*Salmonella


http://exoticpets.about.com/od/healthand鈥?/a>


This is simply avoided by keeping yourself and your rats clean.


*Allergies


http://www.ratfanclub.org/allergy.html


Some people are allergic to the protein in the rat's urine and itchy welts come up on their skin if the rat scratches them. Inhalant allergies just like the allergy one gets from cats and dogs.


*Rat bite fever


http://www.ratfanclub.org/fever.html


Far more common in wild rats then pet rats


*Ringworm


http://www.afrma.org/med_ringworm.htm


In these cases it has been found that a pet other then the rat started the process. The rat just fell victim when it was handled after the affected pet was handled.


*Infections from bites





All other diseases that are common and associated with wild rats are not found in pet rats.





There is a type of Strep (no it's not the common human strep throat), that we can pass onto our rats, it's Streptococcus pneumonitis, and this can kill them.





As for myself, I have become healthier in the keeping of pet rats. I use to get sick with a cold/mild bronchitis every winter when we moved to the Prairies, in 1986. I started keeping rats as pets 11 years ago, and I've had 2 colds in that time. I think it's psychological though. I know I have to stay healthy because there is no one else but me who will take care of my rats.





spazrats


';my life had gone to the Rats';Do petstore rats carry disease?
generally they will be healthy, but also they are bread to have tumors. They are also sold to labratories that do tests on tumors.
Ok heres the deal.


Petstore rats - indeed any rats can carry diseases. What you should be looking out for is sneezing or wheezing. The problem illness rats mainly have is called mycoplasma - and the only rats that are guaranteed free of it are lab rats, that are born from caeserian.


Choose a couple (same sex) rather than one, as rats need the company of their own kind. Males are more chilled out, generally, while females are more active. Choose a pair that are friendly, and allow you to handle them.
no they dont, some might but mostly no. make sure to check the rat/s before u buy them to make sure they dont have anything wrong with them
Only a disease that other rats can get. Not a contagious-to-human disease no...
Any animal can get a disease but generally -- no. If we have any reason to suspect we have a sick animal, we take it to the vet. If it's sick, it goes into isolation until it's healed.





I wouldn't worry about it too much.
all rats, whether they come from a breeder, rescue, or pet store, carry a disease called myco. well, that is what it is called for short. the only myco free rats are lab rats.


it just depends on the pet store and how well they care for the rats.
Do you mean like diseases that will effect humans? These are very rare, but can exist. As far as animals diseases...Mycoplasmosis Pulmonis has been mentioned(respiratory disease). But for the most part, they are healthy. Here's a few links for you to look at...


dave%26lt;:3}~...OWNER/ SHAGGYMOUSE YAHOO GROUP

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