# Lab Rats minus the Myco = better pets?



## bubsybob (Apr 1, 2007)

i wondered.. if Labs breed rats that do not have Myco in their system, why hasnt anyone tried to breed these rats to a level where they would be suitable for pets? 

Myco-free rats would be a good step for breeders to take, i think.. or maybe they have already, who knows. not me.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

I think the problem is that the moment they come into contact with a rat with myco or something contaminated with myco, they contract it.


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## d00mg1rl (Jun 27, 2007)

lab bred rat are mostly likely genetically altered to suit the test needs
and who knows what problems they may have

but it would be good if myco free rats could be bred without genetically altering them


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Myco free rats aren't brought about by genetic engineering. Myco isn't genetic.

Myco free rats are "created" by cutting the baby rats out of the mother before birth, as if they are delivered by a mother with myco, they will contract myco. They're then hand raised, or raised by a myco-free mom.


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## KimmiesGuineas (Jun 14, 2007)

Oh goodness, that sounds awful Forensic! I was thinking they found a cure for it or something but that's just sad :-(


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Because of the area in which I live - and my inability to control myself when it comes to feeders/rescues - I have never had a myco-free rat. It must be nice...

Mine still end up with enriched, long lives (good nutrition and environment makes all the difference) but I hate watching them sneeze. It makes me sad.  It helps working with doctors, though. Everything is cheaper.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

What is a pet myco-free rats? LOLOL People are working at creating a more myco-resistant pet rat but I don't think Myco will ever be gone.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

I didn't mean gone completely... that would be nice though...

I just meant a rat who has not contracted myco. One who hasn't been exposed.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Sparker said:


> I didn't mean gone completely... that would be nice though...
> 
> I just meant a rat who has not contracted myco. One who hasn't been exposed.


Ummm...all rats have myco. It is inside all of them except those special lab rats. As soon as a lab rat is exposed to a pet rat he gets myco though.

Our rats fight myco constantly (you won't even know it most times since they seem perfectly healthy), and when their immune system is depressed Myco can flareup and allow a secondary infection to arise. That is what we are treating, not really the Myco itself.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

I understand that there is no treatment for Myco specifically. I work in medicine ...  

"Mycoplasma pulmonis is very infectious to rats and mice. Mycoplasmosis has been called many things: murine pneumonitis, infectious catarrh, enzootic bronchietasis, chronic respiratory disease (CRD), endemic murine pneumonia, viral pneumonia of rats, labyrinthitis, and chronic murine pneumonia. It is very infectious and generally passes through a sneeze - but it can even pass through the womb into a ratling before it is born."

That was what I was referring to...


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

All pet rats have and have been exposed to myco, is what lilspaz was getting at.


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