# New Rat Quarantine Question



## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

Okay so tomorrow I am getting a pair of boys. I read the introductions sticky in the behavior section and I know it says that it's best to quarantine new rats in someone else's home if possible. My friend has agreed to keep the boys at her house for the 3 week period because she also is considering getting rats so I thought it would be a good trial run for her. BUT. It's just......she lives all the way across town, and since they're my rats I would be doing the majority of the care. It's just extremely inconvenient to make several trips to her house a week to care for and properly socialize the new boys. IF I were to keep the boys in my home, I would either keep them in the spare room next door, or in my brothers room at the opposite end of the house and up a flight of stairs. If they were in my house cleaning and bonding would be so much easier, and I could get started on litter training them sooner. What's best? If absolutely necessary, I will leave them with my friend, I just would rather have them with me if at all possible, but I want to do what's safest for both my current rats and the new ones. 


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## delilahrene (Nov 1, 2013)

Once you step foot in your house with new rats, quarantine is over and you can just keep them in the room together. The airborne illnesses will travel through the vents anyway. The only true way to quarantine is in a completely different airspace. Of course, in the end it is up to you. If you are not sure where the rats are coming from I would really recommend quarantining the new ones to be safe; having 4 sick rats is way more to deal with than 2, plus nasty, fatal diseases that do not surface for a few weeks spread before you know it. Not to scare you, but it is always better to be on the cautious side since rats can be very fragile health wise. Do you have a neighbor who would be willing to let them hang out in a basement or spare bathroom?


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Thats not strictly true, you can have different levels of quarentine as illnesses are spread in a number of different ways. Its all based on reducing the risks of different types of illnesses. The most thoughrer way to quarentine thats acheivable in a home enviroment is to use a different airspace and change clothing and shower between groups. This significantly reduces the risk of transmitting airbourne diseases which 2 of the main worries (SDAV and Sendai) are. However that doesnt mean that keeping rats in different cages apart from each other (say other side of the room) doesnt also reduce risks, it just doesnt reduce it as much. Keeping them in seperate rooms in the same house also reduce the risk a little more, especially when combined with a level of clothes changing between groups. Many illnesses are actually spread by tiny droplets in the air from sneezing rats. These can get onto clothing and be carried across a room to the next group of rats, but if there is sufficient distance and you change inbetween it still reduces the risk. Then you get illnesses such as parasites which spread from contact with infected rats or there bedding/carried live on clothing , but not across air gaps. And then theres illnesses like a particular kind of abcess we saw over here a few years ago which spread via a fecal / oral route, which meant that as long as a healthy rat did not live with the other rat for an extended period of time or come in contact and eat there feaces (so lived in a cage above say rather than below) the rats were fine. 

This doesnt mean quaretining is pointless or that keeping them seperate but in the same room is fine, instead it means there are lots of options to consider. The important thing is to evaluate the risk of these new rats. If they come from a high risk place, say a resuce with a high turnoever of rats in and out, or a pet shop or BYB who dont ever quarentine, then you should strongly consider full quarentine, espeically if your rats are in any way weak or elderly. However ig you are getitng the rats from a breeder who keeps good quarentine precautions and had not had any contact with high risk rats in the past 3 weeks then you are fairly safe to introduce immediatly without quarentine. 

As with anything in life in reality there are no hard and fast rules, its important to understand why before making a good decision on what level of risk you are happy with.


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

delilahrene said:


> Once you step foot in your house with new rats, quarantine is over and you can just keep them in the room together


Well apparently my friend texted me at like 4 AM to tell me that she can't take my rats until 3 PM and I'm getting them at 12. Great. Ugh. Now what do I do..... 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Isamurat outlined it perfectly. If you trust these rats not to carry Sdv which wipes out entire mischiefs in a period of weeks, do a partial quarantine. I would add that along with washing between and changing clothes, you should blow your nose to clear that. Partial quarantine should take place in your brothers room because it is less likely to share a direct vent. 

Usually you want a two hour gap between visiting the rats and visiting yours. That goes with any visiting with small animals really, as sdv can be caught from pet shop pocket pets. The two hour period effectively kills what you could be carrying unawares since we aren't proper hosts. 

I would stress that whenever possible, complete quarantine for four weeks (not three) is the absolutely healthiest way. The long trip across town can provide the necessary time before you can visit your own rats. No mites, secondary infections, or devastating viruses should make it through a complete quarantine. 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I should add that rats prepping for and recovering from surgery are pretty susceptible to illnesses which can compromise recovery :/


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

4 weeks it is then, I don't want to take any chances 


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

SDAV incubates for about 10-14 days, however it can be active on some surfaces for up to 3 days (the 2 hours only works for the airbourne stuff alas), we are lucky here in the Uk to have a microbiologist who is very active in the fancy so got a lot of good data from her when we had a fairly wide spread outbreak a few years back. To be honest 3 weeks is a precaution, 4 weeks is probably excessive, a longer quarentine period is used when babies are not yet weaned during the quarentine period start point, as they are "covered" by there mums immunity up until weaning so you give it 3-4 weeks after splitting them off from mum to be safe. Your not in that situation so 3 weeks is pleanty, 4 weeks wouldnt add any value andjsut mean your babies were older when being introduced (which is probably better if they are girls, but worse if they are boys).


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

So 3 weeks will be fine? Or should I do like 3 1/2 weeks?


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## delilahrene (Nov 1, 2013)

I did not mean that the full quarantine is your only option, but it would be your best bet since (from what I remember) you are getting your boys off the internet and your girls are getting spayed. Your situation just opens the doors to complications. I always try and insist on full quarantine, but if you have to keep them in the same house (which is perfectly understandable), just be _very_ careful about keeping clean and see if you have separate air spaces (for example my parent's house has a different air system for the upstairs and the basement), especially since your girls are going through surgery. I generally quarantine for 3 weeks. I suppose 4 would be being extra careful, but most- if not all- illnesses and parasites will show symptoms within 3. 

I would also base it on how your girls are healing. Do not introduce before incisions are completely healed over because you do not want them opening up again while the rats are getting acquainted with each other, and you do not want the boys picking at the closures. If your girls are healed up and there are no sick rats by 3 weeks you can go forward with introductions. If by 3 weeks they are still recovering or the boys are ill I would hold off until 4. It really is just going to be assessing the situation each week because not all rats have the same recovery period. I had a female spayed a while back and she was up, healed in 2 weeks, and back with her cage mates right away, whereas I have known females that kept opening up the incision and it did not heal for many more weeks. 

Keep them as far away from possible and to be safe I would visit each group at different times of the day- such as playing with the girls in the morning, going about your day, showering, and then visiting boys at night. No matter what people say is the right way, it is not the only way, and I understand sometimes situations do not allow for completely different housing for a month. Just do what you feel is best for your situation. Is there any chance your friend would be willing to watch them half the week, so you do not have to drive back and forth so much? Do not be discouraged if they bond better with her in the beginning because once they come home they will get attached to you as well. Do be sure to keep us updated on your girls and new little boys !


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

They are staying permanently at her house during the quarantine, I am driving to her house several times a week by choice because I want to bond with the boys as much as possible and Also to clean their cage and give fresh foods. She has never cared for rats and of course being the super obsessed and dedicated rat parent I am, I just really want to make sure everything is exactly how I want it. I'm also not sure if she will take the boys out and play with them outside of the cage that often. 


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

Okay so my friend can keep them for 3 weeks, but I was planning on doing the quarantine for 4. My other friend can keep them for the last week, BUT that requires moving the rats again and I've already moved them three times. Will too much moving from house to house stress them out too much?


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Honestly I dont see the point in a 4 week quarentine, 3 weeks is erring on the side of caution, 4 is excessive unless the rats have babies!


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

Okay I'll keep it at three weeks then, moving them from house to house is such a hassle and I'm eager to introduce them to my girls and start really bonding with them 


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## binkyhoo (Sep 28, 2008)

Bring them home!! SDA is a risk. But darn.. Do they seem healthy? Are they sneezing and acting sick? Have common sense. That is my take of the situation.


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## ksaxton (Apr 20, 2014)

binkyhoo said:


> Bring them home!! SDA is a risk. But darn.. Do they seem healthy? Are they sneezing and acting sick? Have common sense. That is my take of the situation.


I'm sorry I don't quite understand what you're trying to say. I'm quarantining them at a friends house for 3 weeks because they are new rats with an unknown background. They do seem healthy, but I think they might be having some side effects of the poor diet their old owner was feeding them (side effects meaning strong odor and waxy fur). My friend found a tick on one of the boys today, so thank goodness he was in quarantine or who knows what could have happened to my girls too. I don't need 4 sick rats :/ 


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## binkyhoo (Sep 28, 2008)

Ok, sorry. Thought the 3 weeks were up. Sorry for the confusion. my mistake.


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