Rat Owners Please Help.

[FiveHoursSleep]

My DD got a pair of rats for her 8th Birthday, she is now almost 10.
One of them got very ill, he had mycoplasma and was sneezing,rough fur, lost weight etc etc
He died last night, and now we have one 2 year old, very lonely, almost certainly mycoplasma positive rat.
Has anyone else had this problem?
What do you do? I don't want to infect a couple of youngsters because it's such a horrible disease, but the other rattie could live for another year and they shouldn't be on their own, should they?
Any advice welcome.

[lljkk]

If it were me, especially given your boy is nearly 2yo, I would not try to get him any new colony-mates. I would give him loads of love & attention every day instead. It's the safest strategy & should keep him happy if it's truly lotsa love.

[SockMunkee]

Keep your rattie on his own, just make sure he gets loads of attention and cuddles. As long as he is not on his own a lot he will be fine.
Sorry about your little rat dying :(

[stinkyfluffycat]

If the remaining rat is definitely sick (check with vet?) are there any rat rescues which might be looking to rehome another rat with the same condition, so they could keep each other company?
Would a 2 year old rat get along with another one he'd never met before anyway, would they not fight?
Sorry, not being much help here (clueless ex - rat owner!)

[belindarose]

Poor little ratties. I have to say though, when my loveliest rat was left alone at aged 2, he just became even friendlier with people and seemed really happy. Like the rescue idea though.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Yes, mycoplasma is very contagious, so other rat def will have it. In fact from what I can see, it's very hard to find rats without it- it's just most of them don't get as sick as our little one did. Ours were from PAH and it seems they sell strains that are very prone to mycoplasma.

I was advised to get a couple of youngsters as the older rat will accept them more easily, plus they will have company when our old one passes away. Otherwise, we'll just be left with a lone rat again.

Old man seems to have settled down today, so we'll see how he goes over the next few weeks. Have people kept lone rats then? I thought it was a real no no?

[GobblersKnob]

Are you a member of Fancy Rats? You could ask there and look for a suitable rescue friend?

Keeping one alone is really considered a massive no no now if it can possibly be avoided

[Wolfiefan]

I had two and the second was happy alone once I lost the first. Neither of mine went much past 2 so you could have trauma only to lose the first one. What is mycoplasma? Mine were often snuffly and olbas oil often helped. Tiny bit on a tissue well away from tank. In the meantime lots of cuddles so he's not lonely.

[notjustme]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your rat :( I think at 2, you are within your rights to keep him alone and just make sure you cater for his needs and give him plenty of attention.

Just wanted to add though that mycoplasma is carried by ALL rats and mice, except for barrier raised stock (rats born by caesarian in a sterile laboratory environment and not really at all available to pet owners). If/when and by how much a rat is affected by mycoplasma depends entirely on the immune system , which as in humans is totally individual to each rat. Some rats have weaker immune systems which allow the mycoplasma bacteria to multiply and become a major infection, whereas in a rat with a stronger immune system the bacteria are kept in check and do not become a major problem. Rats in PAH aren't prone to mycoplasma any more than any other rat, but they aren't bred for good immune response, and that's why they suffer more of the effects.

So, whilst mycoplasma is infectious, it's almost a certainty that both your rats had it from birth, and so would any other rat you could buy, so that shouldn't be a reason not to get friends.

Did your boy have any other respiratory symptoms than sneezing? Wheezing, rattly breathing, gasping etc?

[FiveHoursSleep]

Notjustme- our sick rat had all the signs of a severe infection. He was very poorly in the end. His brother has the odd sneeze but is still very lively, despite having a HUGE tumour taken off him a couple of months back!
He is definitely lonely though, and we can't have him out as much as we'd like because of the dogs, so we sill get a couple of babies when we can find some that aren't from a pet shop.

[notjustme]

Whereabouts are you based? I could try and point you in the direction of someone, though at this time of year a lot of the reputable breeders shut down to avoid people buying rats as last minute xmas presents. Having said that, most will make allowances for lone rats as they understand it's important for friends to be got.

The only reason I asked about his other symptoms is that you mentioned he was sneezing, had weight loss and lost his condition but don't mention any other respiratory effects - without any other respiratory illness it doesn't suggest mycoplasma to me at all, and would instead point me towards something like kidney failure. The vast majority of vets really know very little about rat illnesses and kidney failure is often misdiagnosed as other things, but is in fact a common killer in male rats.

I wouldn't worry about the odd sneeze - it's normal, and even frequent sneezing doesn't always mean they have a respiratory illness, as they sneeze when under stress also.

[FiveHoursSleep]

No, no towards the end he was he had laboured, noisy breathing that pointed to bronchpneumonia, sneezing out the reddy brown crap that they spread out all over the place, lost weight, stary coat etc, etc. So definitely mycoplasma.
Am a vet myself, and it's true we don't know a lot about rats but one of my colleagues is very clued up on small furries. I was gearing up to put him to sleep actually when he died, and feel pretty bad that I waited too long but he belongs to my DD and wasn't home. He was eating pretty much up until the last 12 hours and was happy to come for cuddles but he looked so sad. We are in NW greater London, in Middlesex but I'm happy to drive for baby rats :)

[notjustme]

Sorry, with the laboured, noisy breathing then yes, it was respiratory. I've had several pneumonic rats in my time, and it's almost the most difficult thing I've had to treat and they rarely come out the other side :( I wouldn't feel bad that you waited - if he was still eating then you still had enough cause to keep trying.

It's a shame vets don't get more time being taught about the small furries but understandable, considering that I've been told that sometimes I am the only rat owner my (very busy) vet surgery sees! I am lucky in that in my time I have managed to find a selection of rat savvy vets, as without them I would have lost many more rats to various things, even at my current surgery who don't see rats from one month to the next, I am lucky enough to have a vet who is very happy to think outside of the box, and a surgeon that's very capable and happy to operate on anything I might throw at them.

I'll pm you shortly with ideas for where you could find friends at this time of year :)

[FiveHoursSleep]

Thanks. I think I feel bad because I knew he wasn't going to get better but was trying to spare DD1 the grief for as long as possible.
We've actually had him in the freezer and just buried him tonight. DD insisted we wait for it to get dark, then put tealights down to the grave site( veggie garden). She's spent a couple of days decorating a rock as a headstone.
Then we took him down in his little box, and popped a couple of bulbs on top of him. As we buried him the kids sang 'silent night'.
I'm kind of hoping the neighbours weren't watching...

[notjustme]

Bless, that's a lovely service for him - I'm sure the neighbours would understand but if not sod em! Lots of people struggle to understand why people get so attached to small furries but anyone who owns them knows!

[FiveHoursSleep]

I know, I was trying not to cry myself. I hope they bury me with as much thought