# Why I personally do not quarantine my rats.



## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry if this offends any one or if it comes across as a controversial topic, however I figured if anyone else does this - they may not feel as bad/guilty?
It's also been kind of bugging me, so I thought I'd let it out into the Internet realm.

Also, before I begin. This is something *->I<- personally do NOT do*. I'm not telling everyone to do it my way, I'm just expressing a thought.

So yeah, I don't "quarantine" my rats for multiple reasons (as long as they don't have mites/lice, etc):

First being, all rats are infected with the Mycoplasma virus at birth, unless you are lucky enough to have adopted a Lab rat.. Than that is a different story all together.
It really depends on the rat if it's going to show side affects or not and I mean.. Your other rat already has it, so it's not like they can catch it all over again. 

As for that air transmitted virus (SDA), rats have it far and few in between so it's unlikely that you'll ever be the unlucky one to bring that rat home.
Quarantining only works if you have a *SEPARATE* air space, meaning like an unattached garage or a secret bat cave or something. 

It's also a fact that the SDA Virus can live inside YOUR nose for up to 3 hours.

""The SDA virus can live for 3 hours on inanimate objects, and longer in the human nasal tract."
-ratfanclub.org"
So, unless you know going in that your rattie has the SDA virus and you can take all of the necessary precautions.. Even quarantining in a separate airspace may not even prevent your residential rats from this particular infection, as you can carry the SDA virus over into your Residential rats space and they could become infected regardless.

Also, putting your rat in another room in your house (until you ensure that it is okay health-wise) defeats the purpose of quarantining as technically your resident rat and the newcomer are still sharing the same airspace, regardless if the newcomer is in a separate room or in an alternate cage next to the residential rat cage. 

I also find it kind of a mean thing to do (personally), especially if you're only introducing one rat to a new group.. Or if it's two rats that are separated. 
Rats are colony animals. The majority of rats thrive with a companion.

From my personal experience, a rat is going to know *RIGHT* away if it doesn't like another rat or not. Just like you as a person will know if you don't like another person immediately.
Obviously, still go through the normal introductory method of setting each rat in a neutral place and monitoring the interaction closely, etc etc..

*If you have an aggressive/anti-social rat:* This is when I would suggest going through a slow introduction process, with separate housing until your rats can co-exist in the same living space.

Or, if you do have a separate air space all together, then go through the quarantining if you think that is best.

Anyway, just figured I'd let this thought out there. 

If anyone has a different point of view/or any commentary, I'm all up for a friendly debate/a chat!

Peace!


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

I only quarantine for a day.. Just to give them some time to adjust to family life and their new mommy.


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

Smilebud said:


> I only quarantine for a day.. Just to give them some time to adjust to family life and their new mommy.


Nice to know I'm not the only one who breaks the rules. xD


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

AdequateRat said:


> Nice to know I'm not the only one who breaks the rules. xD


Yeah I just keep quiet, I don't want to get jumped on o.o though RatForum is pretty accepting, it's the best for not being mean.


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## JudeWriley (Aug 1, 2007)

I guess the question here is "Why do we quarantine?" and then after examining the reason, if it doesn't hold up to scrutiny then perhaps it's something should no longer be encouraged.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

AdequateRat said:


> Nice to know I'm not the only one who breaks the rules. xD


You're not. I don't do it either. I mean, I think if you ARE able to to a real one, that's great, but... Yeah, where am I going to find a separate airspace or someone to rat-sit for two to four weeks? I am from now on, however, going to treat newcomers plus resident rats for lice/mice every time I bring in someone new. I also always treat newbies with antibiotics if I'm able to get a head start on any respiratory infections. I just figure, if SDA is gonna spread, there's not much I can do to prevent it and at least it's only my own rats I'm endangering. If something happens, it's on me. I take full responsibility.

I also don't do "proper" introductions usually. -blush-

Rule breaker over here, lol.

I, of course, advise people new to rats to not break the rules until they understand why the rules are there... then make an educated choice of what they want to do.


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

JudeWriley said:


> I guess the question here is "Why do we quarantine?" and then after examining the reason, if it doesn't hold up to scrutiny then perhaps it's something should no longer be encouraged.


Yes, I definitely agree. I see a lot of posters on here saying they've "quarantined" their newcomers and it just makes me kind of sad. ):


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

FallDeere said:


> You're not. I don't do it either. I mean, I think if you ARE able to to a real one, that's great, but... Yeah, where am I going to find a separate airspace or someone to rat-sit for two to four weeks? I am from now on, however, going to treat newcomers plus resident rats for lice/mice every time I bring in someone new. I also always treat newbies with antibiotics if I'm able to get a head start on any respiratory infections. I just figure, if SDA is gonna spread, there's not much I can do to prevent it and at least it's only my own rats I'm endangering. If something happens, it's on me. I take full responsibility.
> 
> I also don't do "proper" introductions usually. -blush-
> 
> ...


This makes me feel a lot better!
I do neutral zoning for like 20 minutes-half hour, then put them on my lap for several hours after. If I think all goes well, I just pop them in the cage. .. I've never cleaned it out. XD


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

What I do is worse than that. XD I was asked to write an introduction guide for my website and I was like... Yeah, I've never done it right, so I can't begin to describe that (and there are tons of guides elsewhere) and I don't want to encourage others to use my method, so I won't write a guide for that. I especially don't want people new to rats to use it as it requires more knowledge than they would have starting out and my website is mostly directed towards people brand new to rats. I've developed a strategy that works for me and my rats and I think everyone should do the same. Every rat will react differently to introductions, so if you know your rats, you should be able to devise the best way for them. 

Mine thankfully works for me. I haven't run into any trouble as of yet.

(Now, if someone were to PM me and ask my method, I'd happily tell them. It's extremely simple lol. Just dangerous if you don't know what to look for in ratty conflicts.)


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

Yeah I just let them have co-playtime, they only go into separate cages at night because the babies are too small for the bars. I've only ever done "proper" introductions with my first rats, it's good for beginners.


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

I haven't done quarantines for the same reason-no place to truly separate new from old. Right now, I suppose I could do quarantine by putting the new rats in the guest house, but I have no way to properly clean up, let the proper amount of time pass before crossing the yard to rejoin the older set of rats. So, I probably won't do it in the foreseeable future, either. 

As for introductions, I introduced new rats to old rats outside the cage, cleaned the cage, put everyone together. I only had a problem in one case when one of the older girls wanted to evict the new rats, so I put her by herself for a week and she was so happy to see everyone again, she forgot her animosities. My sister was very surprised to learn about "introductions"-she just came home with new rats and stuck them in the cage. That seemed to work for her, but I wouldn't try it. Maybe "Ignorance *is* bliss".


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