Rats with diarrhoea

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I have two male dumbos roughly 6 months old.  A couple of days ago Badger had diarrhoea, it was loose stools rather than water and smells unpleasant.  it seemed to get better the next day but then his brother Crumble had the same thing yesterday and now Badger seems to have it back again today.  I am understandably concerned as I don't believe that it is a dietary problem.  My partner was not well himself a week or so ago and I am worried that the rats have picked something up from him. There is some debate as to whether rats can contract things from their owners, some vets say they can, some say that their anatomy is too different.

They don't seem to be displaying any other signs of being ill appart from being a bit more cuddly than usual and I have checked to see if they are dehydrated but they aren't (at least not yet).  I'm not sure how to get them to drink later if they do become dehydrated, if they aren't taking it themselves.  I could try to feed them with a syringe but I am worried about flooding their lungs.

I am taking the to the vets this evening but I wanted to get your advise also.  I am based in the UK and, although our vet is very good they are not specialists. Unfortunately, treatment for rats is not as in depth as it is in the states and the medication is limited (Baytrill is the most prescribed thing and it is difficult to get anything else) as is the choice of dietary options.  

I would appreciate your advice on this when you get chance.
Thanks

ANSWER: There are very few things humans can give to rats. One is conjunctivitis (pink eye) and the other is a nasty bacteria that is Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus and trust me, if we had that, we would be sick in the hospital than near our rats anyhow so no worries. Rats cannot catch the common cold, flu or anything else from us nor can they pass anything back to us either.  As for their loose stools...did you change anything in their food at all or perhaps give them a little more of something?   You can offer them baby food to lick since it is more water than anything else.  Watermelon is full of water too.  I would offer them dried oatmeal flakes to help firm up their stools.  A small pinch for each rat and they should eat the flakes right up.  Try several pinches and see how that works too.   What kind of foods do you use?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.  They are on Select food at the moment because they were picking out the bits they liked out of the food we gave them before.  Badger started with an upset stomach before the change though (part of the reason I changed it was because I thought that his problems might be from selective eating and he wasn't getting everything he needed).  The vets have said that they think it is an infection and have put them on Baytrill for five days and have then advised us to give them a small bit of probiotic yogurt after the course to help rebalance the bacteria in their stomachs.

Answer
Baytril for just five days, oh boy, this is not good at all. This is the WORST thing any vet could do to a rat.  This makes nothing but problems using this antibiotic for such a short time for any infection.  The shortest therapy should be no less than 14 days for infection and for any respiratory infection, at least a full 30 days.  As for food, if they are eating the mix from the pet store I advise you to toss it.  They do exactly what yours are doing, eating only what they like and sadly this is far from enough nutrients needed to be healthy. Please see my site, sandyscrittercity.com and refer to food and proper diet for rats.  Rats should not exceed more than 14% protein in their diet or this leads to kidney disease later in life. Fats should also be avoided as well.  You will get alot of good ideas as to what you can feed your little furry friends for them to be healthy and happy for a long time to come.