Attending GLFRA events – All rats must be at least 8 weeks old to attend any club events, ie rat is weaned at 5 weeks old, then goes through a 3 week quarantine before attending. Please note: All rats must be quarantined before and after attending club events.
The term quarantine means: To separate and isolate to prevent the spread of disease.
Who to Quarantine
ALL incoming rats (and rodents) should be quarantined properly before coming into your home and being introduced to your current rats. Whether they are coming back into the colony or if they are new to you, they should be quarantined for the proper amount of time.
Reasons for Quarantining
There are viruses, bacterias, funguses and internal/external parasites that can cause a lot of damage to your rats or even kill them if you don’t properly quarantine. Many of these are airborne and can be easily spread through air ducts as well as in your nasal passages, on your clothing, skin and hair. Some of these illnesses and parasites can be spread to/from other rodents such as mice or hamsters. See the list below of contagious illnesses and parasites that are most common in rats.
Illnesses and Parasites
These 3 affect the immune system and respiratory system causing respiratory problems and pneumonia.
SDA--Sialodacryoadenitis virus or Rat corona virus: Only affects rats
Sendai Virus--Parainfluenza: Affects rats, mice and hamsters
Mycoplasma Pulmonis--Bacteria: All rats carry this bacteria and it cannot be quarantined out.
External parasites can cause itching, scabs, anemia, hair loss, abrasions and ulcerated skin. Lice, fleas and mites are the 3 most common blood sucking parasites that affect rats. Rat lice only bite rats while fleas and mites will bite rats, other animals and humans.
Where to Quarantine
Always quarantine in a separate airspace/building from your current rats. You must have a completely separate airspace/building to prevent the spread of these illnesses. Some possible locations are, a friend’s home, the home of a family member, a neighbor, a climate controlled out building, or at your job. It is advisable to have someone else care for the quarantined rats rather than risk bringing diseases home that can be carried on your person, or clothing. If possible, stay away from your current rats for at least 3 hours. Most viruses are only contagious when away from the host for about 3 hours. Quarantining by putting any new rat(s) in a separate room is not effective for containing airborne viruses such as SDA or Sendai.
How long to quarantine
If you are unable to quarantine in a separate location and choose to quarantine in your home, please do not bring any other animals in for at least 30 days after you end quarantine.
The absolute minimum quarantining for bringing rats in is 21 days. When acquiring a new rat from a show, pet store, breeders, or rescue facilities, check it over for signs of illness first. This will help reduce the risk of exposure to your other rats. This will be enough time to detect certain dangerous viruses (such as SDA and Sendai), obvious bacterial infections and external parasites.
The quarantine time for external parasite infections is 21 days. Quarantine begins on the first day of treatment. Treatment must include the environment and the rat.
If any health issues arise while in quarantine seek immediate treatment from a qualified veterinarian. The quarantine will start again after the rat has recovered and is off any medications that may mask signs of illness. If any rats are introduced into the group it also necessitates starting quarantine over.
During an active infection no rats must enter or leave the colony. If you are a breeder, all breeding must be stopped to prevent perpetuation of the illness. After a colony has been exposed to a contagious disease it is essential to quarantine them for 90 days so as not to spread the illness to others.
When to start your 90 day quarantine:
- After all of the rats have recovered
- All rats are off medications that may mask signs of illness
- All breeding is stopped
- Any rats born or conceived during exposure are weaned
When your quarantine is over:
Once a colony is determined to be in good health a persistent quarantine scenario can help keep it that way. In addition to the stand new rat quarantine there are additional recommendations that you can follow:
- Avoid pet stores that sell rats
- Do not handle rats at pet stores or shelters
- Have fellow rat fanciers wash up before visiting
- If you are exposed to outside rats, clean up as soon as you return home or wait a while before going into your home.
- Avoid housing rats in areas where wild rats have access
- Avoid taking your rats to rat inclusive events
- Avoid constantly adding to your colony. It is safer to get rats less often and quarantine them well.
- If showing rats, quarantine them at a separate location before returning them to the colony.
Many thanks to the writers of the Rat Guide for this highly valuable information.
..these other Rat sites!