breeding...

Question
Hi, a few months ago I rescued an unwanted, beautiful baby dumbo rat who was 2-3 months old, and had been very poorly cared for. When I got her she had pneumonia because of her lack of care, and I had hre on 2 weeks of doxycycline and baytril and daily nebulizer treatments for a week. She is now almost 6 months and the most beautiful, healthy little rattie princess you've ever seen. She has not even sneezed once since finishing her treatments! My question is, can you breed a rat who has been sick in the past? I know all rats carry myco and I know a lot about it. She just seems like a perfect mommy (she's always taking care of her cage mates and storing food for them!) and I have a rattie line that I really want to continue and she seems perfect...as long as that's a safe thing to do. Can you breed a rat that has been sick in the past, even if she is very healthy now?
Thank you!

Answer
Hi Lisa

To be honest....  I would not breed her at all because you do not know anything about her genetic inheritance such as her parents and grandparents and what type of health problems they may carry, such as mega colon, heart defects, aggression, problems with lactation, malocclusion, and other problems that may be genetic. Although her poor care probably contributed to her ill health when you first got her like you said earlier, she still may carry genes that may not make up the most healthy pups. If you knew more about where she came from, it wouldnt be so bad.  To breed rats means to produce a more healthy rat, and not knowing what your rat may pass on may mean an entire litter of pups that may be doomed to live a life of illnesses.  I hate to be a party pooper :(  You can always ask Janell, the other expert. She is not as experienced as I am in advance medical ailments but is way ahead of me when it comes to breeding since she is an excellent hobby breeder herself.  I would ask her, but she will probably say the same thing I did.