rats tail

Question
hello

My rat lost abit of the skin on his tail and started to bleed.  We soaked it in salty water and ensured he was eating and drinking etc.  he is now back to normal bnut the tail is still in a bad condition (judging from the look).  ould you recommend I contunie to worm him??  Can we catch a disease from him??

He is booked to go the vet,  however in the meantime I am worried that my daughter will catch something as she is only 5years of age.

regards
lavinia

Answer
Hi Lavinia


What do you think your rat may  have that your child can catch from his tail?  
Let me put your fears to rest; there is nothing your child can catch from the rat. In fact, we are more of a threat to the rat since we can give it Streptococcus pneumoniae, (pneumococcus)bacteria which results in death in rats: conjunctivitis (pink eye) and even ring worm, as these diseases are human diseases we pass to our rats.

Is the tail of the rat black and crusty? It will dry up and fall off. Continue to clean it and add some antibiotic ointment to the area that looks bad.

Also, to ease any fears now or in the future about rats and disease, esp with our precious children, please refer to my website, Sandyscrittercity.com, and the very last link, Fears! Disease and children, will lead you to a page that may put any fears to rest. You will also know what to tell concerned family members should they ever question the cleaniness of your pet rat. They are cleaner than any family dog or cat thats for sure!  In fact, pet rats do not require any vaccines, not even rabies, like dogs and cats and even ferrets do!
Here is the URL to the webpage so you can get there faster! :)
http://www.sandyscrittercity.com/fearsdiseaseschildren.htm