Having some bad luck

Question
Okay, I will start off by saying I LOVE rats!! My boyfriend got me two female rats and they were about 6 months old when we got them, I fell in love. Well about two weeks ago one of them was not acting like herself, so after some debating with my b/f who isn't as sensitive about these critters as I am, I decided to take her to the vet in a local PetsMart whom was familiar with these type of animals. I told her (in tears) I thought my rat had Mycoplasma, because she was showing these symptoms. Basically they never told me what was really wrong with her, LIED and said she was fine and gave me Baytril, well my pet rat only lived for 6 hours after the visit! I bought two new baby females and put them in with the other one, the other one fell ill and passed away a week later even though I tried giving her the Baytril as well. I'm thinking the Baytril was the cause in both cases, it seems to me it's simply a quick way to put your pet out of its misery beings there is NO CURE for this type of disease. I am terribly worried about one of the babies, she was really skiddish and hard to touch when I got her now she's acting a little tired... Is Mycoplasma contagious?? Please help me I can't go through a third loss and I can't afford another vet bill!!! I know a vet visit is the only way but no one around Virginia seems to care enough about rats to help them... :(

Answer



Hi Shelby

First of all, I am sorry about your little girls.
I will tell you a few things first, starting with mycoplasma.
All rats are born with this organism. It is an organism that   usually remains quiet until the rats immune system is compromised or they are exposed to something that irritates their respiratory system. Often, a cage that has too much urine build up can trigger mycoplasmosis as can using pine or cedar bedding too. These irritants can stress the respiratory tract which in turn stimulates the myco organism. Also if the rat is stressed and their resistance is lowered, myco can develop.
It is a bacteria that is passed from mom to all babies. It can effect the respiratory tract, cause bladder infections, ear infections and uterine infections in intact (not spayed) females. This bacteria has no cell wall. Most antibiotics work on the cell wall to destroy the bacteria but are worthless with myco. This is where baytril comes in. Baytril is a great antibiotic that works on myco (one of the very few that does) and destroys the organism itself.  Baytril and zithromax are the two that work best. Rest assured your little girls did not pass away from the baytril. That was just a fluke.
They didnt pass away from mycoplasmosis either. Myco doesn't start to fully develop until the rats are older, more like 8 months old to be exact. What they had was a secondary infection, possibly strep pneumonia, which is highly contagious and also fatal in young rats or sick older rats.  There is no cure for myco, this is true, but it can be controlled and treated and no rats need to die from it when treated properly. They should be on medication for a full 30 days when they do have true mycoplasmosis. This prevents relapse. If they do end up with it again, they should be on a daily dose of baytril for the rest of their lives to prevent another attack. ALot of vets are not aware of this  but exotic vets with alot of education about rodents will know this and follow through properly.
The vet should have told you this and alot more rather than scare you into thinking the worst. I am glad you wrote me and hope I have helped set aside some of your fears!
One thing you need to do is watch the new rats you brought home.
Normally, you should never bring any new rats near the rats you have without a full 3 week quarantine. Pet store rats carry alot of viruses because they are around so many other rodents that are not healthy.
Keeping them isolated for those 3 weeks and doing your part to wash up and follow quarantine instructions yourself will also help. See my website for all the info you need on quarantine and myco and other illnesses as well.

Here is my website:
Critter city: I linked you straight to the quarantine page.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/thequarantinepage.htm

I would suggest that perhaps you find an exotic specialist. I know the boyfriend may frown on this (I Hear this alot...boyfriends and husbands dont like us to spend money on a five dollar rat but we love them and know they are animals that feel pain and suffering and deserve medical treatment just like a dog or cat would)  

Anyhow your new girl is probably skittish because most of the time pet stores do not properly socialize these rats properly. Let me know if she settles down in time and I can tell you how to trust train her. She needs to trust you and right now she is probably unsure of what is going to happen to her and her cagemate.

Hope this helps. You did good  by getting the rat to the vet and I am sorry they passed away. It hurts our hearts so badly when they die..I hope yours heals fast!

Sandra