Quarentine for a new rat

Question
Hi Sandra!
I have an older female rat, (2-2 1/2 years,Snowball), and a new rat we purchased at the pet store yesterday(mothers day)(Penelope roughly 2 months.) Even though Penelope was quarantined at the pet store, do I need to quarantine some more before We introduce her to Snowball? My daughters got excited and put them on the bed for a short time(OH OH!) I told the girls to search online to see what the procedure was and it said to quarantine for 2 weeks. Did we blow it??? They were only on the bed for a short time because the older one, Snowball wasn't quite accepting yet. The two girls are in separate cages. Any answers or advice would be great!!! Thanks, Kris


Answer
Here is all the info you need for proper quarantine.  It is for 3 weeks, not 2.  Two weeks for parasites, three for viruses.

Pet shop quarantine is no good. There are still other rodents sharing the same airspace and I could pretty much bet my last dollar the people coming in contact with the rat in quarantine did not bother with proper decontamination after being around other rodents and going by yours.
Decontamination consists of washing up, blowing nose to rid the mucus membranes any inhaled airborne organisms; change clothes and do not wear the shoes around the rats either.  Germs adhere to fomites and live up to three hours.  

The bad news is, quarantine was broken already by letting the two rats in the same room, even for a few minutes.

Also, your Snowball is a senior rat. This introduction is going to take alot of time. Penelope is too tiny yet and Snowball can hurt her pretty badly.  Snowball will probably not appreciate the high energy levels Penelope has.  The problem is, Snowball is older and chances that you will end up with a lonely rat (Penelope) are high. The best thing is to buy a pair of rats to put with her rather than one.  This was, Penelope would have someone her own age to play and wrestle with becuse as soon as she tries to jump and wrestle Snowball, I am afraid she may bite her but proper.  Also, when Snowball has earned her wings and halo, Penelope will be solo and this of course is often heartbreaking esp if the rat is super sensitive and gets lonely and depressed.

What are the chances that you return to the petstore and buy one of Penelopes sisters?