Paralysis

Quarantining a new rat by Carole Nelson

A quarantine should always be done when introducing any new rats into another colony. Rats from one colony can carry different things to another and our rats are not vaccinated. Even if it is only one new rat that is introduced to another rat in your own home this procedure is very important. It is done for the protection of your rats to eliminate or minimize the risk of introducing any viruses, bacteria, or parasites.

When this is done properly, the virus, bacteria, or parasite should remain with the quarantined / infected rats and not be spread to your own. If a problem does occur you will then have to treat any specific infected rats. If this happens I highly recommend you take them to your vet to have them treated.

When introducing any new rats it is best to quarantine them for a minimum of two weeks before introducing them to any of your other rats. If you can keep them at a friends’ home, in your garage or another separate building all the better. If you can't do this then try to keep them in a separate room, upstairs or at opposite ends of the house where your own rats are.

There are bacteria and viral type diseases that can be transmitted in the air and even on your clothing and shoes. It is advisable to shower and change clothes after handling any pet store or new rats before handling your own.

If during the two-week quarantine period you notice any unusual symptoms such as respiratory problems, sneezing, wheezing, chest noises or excess chattering, ruffled coat, eyes and nose discharge, neck swelling, bulgy eyes or lethargy and loss of appetite you should immediately get the rat to a vet for proper treatment.

Unfortunately if any rat does get sick or die, then you must immediately put your entire colony in quarantine. The new quarantine period will be determined by what the results come back from the veterinarian/pathologist as to what you are dealing with.

Sialodacryoadenitis Virus (SDA) can be deadly to your rats. There is no cure for it and rats can die from secondary infections. High energy foods, lots of liquids good ventilation and cleanliness along with proper antibiotics is about all you can do to help save your rats.

You will also require a complete quarantine of your rodent colony for 2 to 3 months starting from the date of the last litter born. During the quarantine period for SDA, you must not have any litters born and do not take in or give out any rats while you are in strict quarantine to be successful in eliminating SDA completely.

Other diseases may just need to have the animals treated with medication for a specified period of time until the symptoms are gone. Unfortunately, for some viruses and bacteria, once the animals are exposed they can still carry them (we call them silent carriers) but they show no clinical signs.

They could have Mycoplasma plumpness or Mouse Hepatitis Virus (MHV). In the case of SDA virus, once the animals have recovered from the virus, they are supposedly immune to it. I believed that there are more than one strain just like our flu bugs and rats can catch a new strain again as early as 6 months later.

It is also possible you could be dealing with more than one pathogen in infected animals and you will need to treat all the different diseases accordingly. There are many viruses that by themselves just show mild symptoms, but when combined with several other viruses and bacteria, you end up with a deadly outbreak and loss of numerous animals.

Paralysis

As a rat progresses in age it can start having hind end paralysis. This can happen as early as 18 months of age but more than likely will happen after a rat is two years old. It seems to be more common in boy rats.

This could be spinal degeneration. Spinal degeneration comes on slowly over time and a rat will start to drag it's back feet and legs and whole back end. It will continue to progress slowly but your rat can go on for some quite some time, still getting around okay. Eventually it will have a harder time moving around or climbing at all.

Sometimes their feet and toes will even start to curl under and they start to drag their back end having difficulty gripping onto a slippery floor. You should at this point cover the floor with something your rat won't slip on or get it's feet stuck in either. You could try some rubber gripping cloth or tack down strips like we put in our bath tubs on the floor plus lower everything in the cage to prevent your rat from falling.

The water bottle must be low enough for your rat to be able to drink out of along with a heavy low dish for holding food. A nice comfy bed of old towels or washable blankets folded up on the floor will also be appreciated for any tired achy bones and muscles.

Twice I had two older rats who were cage mates living together and it was absolutely amazing at how one would care for another. I could hardly believe my own eyes when I saw Cappy push food over to Porgy, groom him when he had difficulty doing it himself , keep him comfortable as he could by being a head rest and at the last stage when his quality of life had completely gone down hill, he actually gave me a sign it was time to let my precious Porgy go by clearing a clean spot on the floor free of shavings and literally dumped the water bottle out twice in a row so Porgy could have drinks. It brought tears to my eyes to see his fellow companion do his best to provide for him till the very end and we both new it was time to say our good byes.

Malocclusion

The rat's four front incisors grow continuously, at a rate of about 4-5 inches a year. They require constant grinding to keep them at a functional length. This is done through the rat's natural gnawing behavior.

Cause:
If the upper and lower incisors are not properly opposed to one another, normal wearing cannot occur and the teeth will eventually curve to the side, penetrate the roof of the mouth or under the tongue.

Symptoms:
Drooling, weight loss, lack of appetite, rat rubbing at mouth with front feet, bleeding from mouth (if teeth have penetrated mouth), and visible protruding teeth.

Treatment:
Teeth must be trimmed periodically to allow the rat to eat and to prevent sore in the mouth. If sores have been made or bleeding from the mouth has occurred the rat may need to go on antibiotics to prevent infection at the site.

Rats with malocclusion should not be used for breeding, because this harmful trait is passed to the offspring.

Trimming teeth:
With the rat securely restrained, you can use human or dog nail clippers to clip the teeth. You should aim to clip them to a length of about 1cm. This is generally not very easy to do and you may prefer to let your vet carry out this procedure.

Vaginal Bleeding

Female rats do not menstruate, so if your female is bleeding vaginally then something is wrong and you need to get her to the vet. Vaginal bleeding can be a symptom of a uterine tumor, genital mycoplasmosis, a urinary tract infection, miscarriage, or the beginning of labor. If you can eliminate a miscarriage or labor from this list, and if after antibiotics have been given to rid her of any infection she is still bleeding, then the only treatment left is to have her spayed.

Spaying will eliminate the problem altogether and may extend her life. Be sure to find a competent vet to perform the surgery and make sure your vet gives you post surgical antibiotics to prevent infection.

Remember, this surgery involves going into the body cavity and should not be decided upon without considering the risks. If she is a young rat then the benefits will probably out weigh the risks, but if she is very old, it may be best to let her live out her life in peace. Some females bleed vaginally on and off for over a year before leaving this world.

Treating Abscesses

This is not a do-it-yourself manual on how to treat abscesses. It does discuss what needs to be done and I can relate it from a personal perspective. Please don't mess around with treating abscesses on your own until you have been shown how by a veterinarian. You are cutting into a living animal, through skin and enervated and vascularized muscle tissue. You risk cutting tendons or joints and may cause worse problems than you started with. The treatment of abscesses is a surgical procedure and, like most surgical procedures, is best left to those who are trained to do them in them a sterile surrounding using sterile instruments and proper irrigation solutions, packing, wound dressing, and antibiotics - and anesthetics. Ask your vet if you can watch and learn and to teach you how to do minor follow-up treatment at home. The more you learn the more you will be able to do...and the more you will realize how important it is that the procedures be done correctly.

Abscesses are interesting things... They do not necessarily occur at the site of an injury, and often do not occur in any proximity to an injury - they may form where there was no injury, and may form months after an injury was apparently well-healed.

What is an abscess?

Abscesses are localized infections that generally occur in conjunction with systemic infections. The site may swell noticeably, or the abscess may reside well into the underlying tissue with little change in the skin above. Often there is a slight swelling which can come to a head and begins to ooze a yellowish liquid which may form a crusty scab.

Why do abscesses form?

Bacteria could get into a wound, say from a minor scratch or puncture wound, from sharp claws, a sharp object for example or a small squabble between cage mates.

In healthy animals, the immune system marshals a defense and kills the bacteria before it can cause a problem, forming antibodies to recognize and fight it again.

Sometimes a rat has a weakened immune system and cannot always effectively fight off infections, some micro organisms will manage to proliferate to the point of causing illness.

Treating Abscesses

Abscesses that occur in fleshy tissue can be lanced with a scalpel, the caseous pus removed using dental or bone curettes and swabs, and then flushed with an irrigation solution, such as 1% chlorhexidine diacetate Nolvasan).

Even if all the caseous pus is removed from the site, and the site is kept open and irrigated daily and treated with systemic and topical antibiotics, more pus may form at the site, sometimes within a couple of days of the initial treatment. While this can happen even when the rat is being given systemic antibiotics, it is more likely to occur when only topical antibiotics are given.

Failure to start antibiotic treatment may result in a worse infection if the site is not cleaned out thoroughly. Even when on antibiotics, particularly resistant infections may cause repeat abscesses to grow. This is because, even though the antibiotics used first are broad-spectrum (effective against a wide range of bacteria), the bacteria causing the infection may not be responsive to that particular antibiotic. Baytril is a good antibiotic for abscesses.

If the infection remains resistant, a culture should be done, with a piece of the caseous pus sent out for culture and sensitivity. This takes a couple of weeks, but will identify the organism and the best antibiotic to use in treating it.

Abscesses in bony areas (such as jaw, eye area or joints) may cause further problems, especially if left untreated for some time. Not only can they affect the mobility of the joint and adversely impact the animal's use of that limb, it can eat away at bone and cartilage; this can get very expensive surgically and radio graphically. It is best to treat such abscesses as soon as possible, with antibiotics and aspiration (if loose pus or fluid) or lancing and excision (caseous pus).

Pre-Treating with Systemic Antibiotics

There are times when, upon opening the abscess site, it is found that the caseous material has not formed a consolidated lump, the vet may remove what he can, and then close the wound and begin a 10 day course of systemic enrofloxacin. This antibiotic is especially good at reducing the blood flow which make it easier to remove and decrease the likelihood of its reformation at the site. Depending on the vet's assessment of the situation when he goes back in to remove the remaining pus, the rat may or may not be prescribed another course of systemic antibiotic therapy.

Working with Abscesses

When working on abscesses, wear disposable surgical gloves, have your Betadine or Nolvasan solutions ready at hand, your gauze sponges, sterile swabs and and other necessities close at hand. It is best to work with someone else who can keep the animal wrapped and restrained while you use both your hands to accomplish what needs to be done.

Inner ear infections

Inner ear infections are common in rats. They may be caused by mycoplasma or a secondary bacteria. It is a serious infection and causes inflammation in the inner ear, affecting the rats balance. It causes the rat to hold his head tilted to one side. Without proper treatment from a vet it will advance till a rat starts rolling over and over and can even cause facial paralysis. Early treatment by your vet can prevent serious damage.

E-MAIL: rats@lilratscal.com