contagious

Question
I bought two classroom rats for school and for home.  Both have died from
myco.  When the second one was dying and I was giving him Baytril, I held him a
lot because he was very attached to me.  He loved to be held and pet, even when
sick.  Someone brought up the subject of whether or not this is contagious to
humans.  Is this a possibility?

Answer
Hi Janet


I am sorry your rats passed away.  As for myco being contagious, it is NOT contagious to humans at all. Mycoplasmosis is found in many strains, but the specific strains our rats are born with and may possibly cause active infection during their life time is only species specific(rat to rat)  There isnt much we can catch from rats at all other than pink eye and  ringworm. We can pass it to our rats and vice versa.  

People have stereotyped rats for centuries as these disease infested, vile animals when in reality, they are cleaner than dogs and cats alike, spending most of their time cleaning and washing themselves. They also can be litter box trained and many rats have been known to actually pick up their own feces and toss it out of the cage because they dont want it in their cage!!  

Hope this helps you out!