Help about ladys rats.. SDA maybe, 3 rats died in 2 days...

[Rattus]

one of my friends asked me to help one of her friends about her rats, I was talking to her on facebook. She had 4 rats 2 males and 2 females ( in seperate cages) She lost all 3 in about 2 days! There is now only 1 male left talked to her about symptoms she said theres no sneezing, weezing, red from the nose or eyes the only thing she noticed was one of the females before they dyed had bleeding from her rectal area. Each rat would act fine that day, got lethargic and died in the same day, because it happened to both the 2 females and one of the males that were in seperate cages something is deffinatly going on! Could it be SDA or can a res. infection take them fast like this? But I was concerned about the bleeding.

oh and the rat is almost 2 but not quite

She is getting 2 guinea pigs, should she fear anything being given to them!?

Maybe its somethng else.. I have no clue Need ideas! I told her either way she needs to go to a vet and I wouldnt suggest getting another rat until they know for sure what it is!

 

[missnikki]

Wow that is scary and sad - all I can add is make sure she knows how extremely important it is to get her remaining rat to a vet ASAP and describe all symptoms for them. Hope she gets the help she needs.

 

[lilspaz68]

Bleeding like that is not good. I will assume they are fine, slow down, become cold then start bleeding and die?

Does she let them out? It sounds like they got into something poisonous.

 

[Kimber]

Kind of sounds like warafin poisoning to me

 

[Kimber]

Is there poison down? Usually it takes about 1mg/kg/day for 4-6 days to kill....unless they ate a huge bunch.

 

[Rattus]

never thought of that! Im asking now.. poor little ones

 

[victoria]

I think SDA usually involves bulging or bleeding from the eyes - did she mention anything about that? I think the poison theory sounds more likely, nonetheless she needs to get the living rat to the vet right away.

As for the guinea pigs, there are illnesses that can easily be transmitted between rats and guinea pigs that share the same airspace (i.e. house) so I would suggest she waits until she figures out what happened before bringing any new animals into the home.

 

[jorats]

Any chance she canhave a postmortem done on the rats? That might very well tell her what exactly happen.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

As for the guinea pigs, there are illnesses that can easily be transmitted between rats and guinea pigs that share the same airspace (i.e. house) so I would suggest she waits until she figures out what happened before bringing any new animals into the home.

I second this...when we went through Sendai I had to avoid my parent's house because my little sister has gps so just in case it would be better if she waits.

 

this happened to my friend all her rats were 1 and she lots all 7 in 3 days ..but she never cared enough to see what happened ..she said they were old.

Oh and what dose SDA mean?? I feel stupid asking

 

[lilspaz68]

http://ratguide.com/health/viruses/sda.php

 

Scary!

 

[lilspaz68]

Scary!

Very

The other quick hitting rat virus is Sendai...I had that here :sad3:

 

Scary!

Very

The other quick hitting rat virus is Sendai...I had that here :sad3:

Where do these virus come from?? I sure hope I never get one here

 

[lilspaz68]

[quote="Ratty Momma":1sf4dfvb]Scary!

Very

The other quick hitting rat virus is Sendai...I had that here :sad3:

Where do these virus come from?? I sure hope I never get one here[/quote:1sf4dfvb]

They are highly contagious and pass from one rat to the next, during the active infectious stage. They can even get a ride home on your clothes or in your nasal passages if you touch an infected rodent (several rodents are susceptible, mice, rats, guineapigs, etc) or even from handling things in a pet store.

 

[ATez]

@ lilspaz68

That is VERY scary!
If i go to a pet store i'm not familiar with i'll make sure to wash my clothes as soon as i get home and then take a shower!
You've just scared me of pet stores forever.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Unfortunately the reality is that the minute you set foot into the same airspace as your rats after leaving a pet store if they had SDA or SV then there's a very good chance that you will have already passed it onto your rats. These viruses are spread through the air so even if you wash yourself and your clothes before you touch them it won't prevent the spread of them.

 

[Roo]

:thud:

Me no likey.

Tragic.

 

[SQ]

Clean out your nose (diseases can live for a long time in your nose) and wait 3 hours before going home.
Then shower and wash your clothes.
This will help to prevent bringing home diseases.
Staying away from pet stores, rat shows, etc is also a good idea.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

When Chelle met with the virologist at UoG she found out that the 3 hour rule doesn't always work depending on the temperature so your best option is to have a neutral place with no other rats that you can go to and shower and change your clothes. Although if you don't have that option 3 hours is better than nothing.