Things you should know

Disclosures when getting rats

As a breeder, I have a huge responsibly to breed the best animals I can produce, do everything I can to protect customers and hopefully give everyone an amazing experience having pet rats.

When I breed my rats, Im picking the best possible parents, I make goals, and I'm doing as many things as possible to create the best babies.

Some breeders do adopt our every animal they produce but I DO NOT.

When I do my available babies I’m looking and evaluating sooo many things before I put a baby up for a home.

- I look at that animals temperament

- I look at that animals build/type, does it have any physical defects?

- I look at it’s parents, grandparents and all related animals to see quality, did they have issues?

- Is this animal growing at a great rate? How is its healths

Even after the first round of evaluations Im still looking at that animal, even if a deposit is placed I may change my mind on placing a animal, and customers may need to repick.

Reasons I might change my mind include:

- the rat starts showing signs of stress, illness or temperament issues

- a very close relative shows a problem that could be genetic (rare but I’m very cautious)

- the rat passed away, very rare but can happen

- growth is slower then I like

- something happens in my Rattery that makes me decide that animal needs to be a keeper (extremely rare I think I’ve done this once)

- the animal hurt itself and is needing treatment, is this something I still want to place.

Our Program Disclosures

At my rattery I work hard to limit issues within my rats but there are factors outside my control at times and new homes need to be aware. Any rat, while rare, still could have any of the following issues AFTER being placed.

Hormonal Aggression: This is often seen in males but can present in females, it refers to abnormal attacking of other rats. This is mostly a genetic issues but environmental issues can make it worse, that normally surfaces around 6 months of age.

At my rattery no animal with known HA is allowed to be bred or sold. I am constantly working hard to prevent HA. My set up however, does not allow for lots of testing for Hormonal aggression as normally it will only show when multiple adult males are housed together. There are situations where males live together for short periods of time, and I do not see issues.

Maternal Aggression: This refers to any aggressive behavior in females during pregnancy, labor or raising of her litter. This of course only applies to homes APPROVED to buy breeding rats. MA is much easier for my rattery to see as I am witnessing all these life stages with all my females. It is good to be aware of MA even though I work hard at it on a genetic level, some females still could have these issues. My rattery maybe set up differently then yours so things may be different when you go to breed.

Disease Disclosure

It is important to understand that your pet rat can be a vector for diseases, just as any domestic or wild animal can be. Your rat may or may not show symptoms of these diseases but can still transfer them to you. Many of these diseases do not affect a healthy human adult but for those with immune-compromised systems, including but not limited to: children under 5 years of age, pregnant women, the elderly, those on immune-suppressant drugs, or with viral infections, rats may need to be reconsidered as pets.

Below is a list of the zoonosis diseases and the symptoms that may be carried by pet rats:

Seoul Strain of Hantavirus
Seoul Virus is a type of Hantavirus commonly associated with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Symptoms appear within 1-2 weeks and in rare cases up to 8 weeks.
Symptoms include:

• Intense headaches
• Back and abdominal pain
• Fever
• Chills
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Later symptoms include low blood pressure, acute shock, vascular leakage, and acute renal failure. In rare cases, it can be fatal.

Seoul Virus is transmitted through the feces, urine, and saliva. The most common transmission happens when feces, urine, or saliva is dried into dust, the dust particles fly up and we breathe them in. Seoul Virus cannot be spread from person to person or person to rat.
To prevent infection, wear a mask and gloves when cleaning cages, do not use a vacuum or sweep particles into the air, spray down any bedding before moving it, and wash your hands before and after handling your rat(s).

Rat Bite Fever (Streptobacillus moniliformis)
RBF is an infectious bacteria. Contrary to its name, RBF is found in more than just rats: mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and squirrels can also carry it. Infrequently in dogs, cats, ferrets, weasels, cattle, koalas, non-human primates, and turkeys, but it is not well documented. Symptoms appear within 3-10 days of infection but can take up to 3 weeks.
Symptoms include:

• Fever
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Rash
• In rare cases without treatment, Rat Bite Fever can be fatal.

RBF is transmitted through a bite or scratch from a rodent, handling rodents with the disease, even if they do not bite or scratch you, and through ingested food/water contaminated with rodent feces. It is not transmitted from person to person.
To prevent RBF, regularly wash your hands, wear protective gloves when washing cages, and avoid putting your hands in your mouth when handling your rats/cleaning cages.

Salmonellosis
Salmonellosis/Salmonella is a common disease which most people associate with undercooked chicken. All common pets can carry salmonella in their digestive tract including: dogs, cats, rats, mice, rabbits, lizards, and snakes. Salmonella infection can occur in humans and the animals.
Symptoms for humans include:

• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Abdominal pain
• For the immune-compromised, the symptoms can be life threatening.

Symptoms are rare in small animals but include diarrhea that contains mucous or blood, lethargy, or they may vomit or have a fever. Prevention of transmission to humans includes making sure to buy animals that appear healthy, animals with severe diarrhea should be avoided. They should be bright eyed and active. Always wash hands after handling an animal and avoid eating and drinking around your pets. If you do become infected, rarely is hospitalization required, the treatment is just lots of fluids while the bacteria moves out of your system. Symptoms should fade within 5-7 days.

Leptospirosis
This is a bacteria called leptospiria.
Symptoms include:

• High fever
• Headache
• Chills
• Muscle aches
• Vomiting
• Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)
• Red eyes
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Rash

Some infected people never show symptoms. They will become sick within 2 days to 4 weeks after exposure. If the first symptoms progress a person may experience kidney or liver failure or meningitis. The second part of the infection is called Weil’s disease. People can become infected with leptospirosis through contact with urine or other bodily fluids (not saliva though) and through contact with water, soil, or food contaminated with urine of infected animals. Prevention of transmission includes avoiding urine and infected animals, wash your hands after handling, do not eat or drink around your pets.