Truly I will do it if I have to, but I need convincing. Yesterday I got a 5 week old baby, and today another baby, I'm guessing she's about 8 weeks. I have 2 cages. But I hate to see such little ratties alone. I was going to put them together soon, and just plan on treating them both if it turns out there's anything to treat. I have baytril and prednisone on hand, and I can take them to the vet if I need to. Thoughts?
Convince me I need to quarantine
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Some illnesses don't show up instantly. I had a bad experience when I brought home my first two rats, Dela and Izumi, and Izumi wound up having an upper respiratory flare-up that I didn't notice at the pet store. She died the next day from it. I was absolutely terrified until I managed to get Dela and Neera (The rat I got after Izumi to keep Dela company) to the vet to be absolutely certain that neither of them had caught the URI from Izumi. I admit that I did not do quarantine on Neera and Dela because I got them from the same store and I was taking them both to the vet as soon as I could.
Some other problems to consider are bugs. Lice, fleas, etc... They're nasty little buggers and can be fairly difficult to get rid of some times. It's even more difficult when you have two rats with them to worry about. They're not always apparent at first and then suddenly you notice something off and when you inspect them you see missing fur/red bumps/etc and by then they've got 'em.
Coming home each day terrified that I was going to find another one of my babies gone from the URI that Izumi had was not a fun experience (Though, in all fairness, they never showed signs of problems, I was just a bit panicy at that point...) Honestly, it was terrible. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I can tell you that if I had had the chance to do this better, I would have. If you have two cages, I highly recommend it. I understand it can be difficult on you to work through two different times to let them out and that you want them to have company, but sometimes it's worth it to possibly save a life or to simply feel better in the end knowing they're both okay. That's my say and my experience. ^-^
Some other problems to consider are bugs. Lice, fleas, etc... They're nasty little buggers and can be fairly difficult to get rid of some times. It's even more difficult when you have two rats with them to worry about. They're not always apparent at first and then suddenly you notice something off and when you inspect them you see missing fur/red bumps/etc and by then they've got 'em.
Coming home each day terrified that I was going to find another one of my babies gone from the URI that Izumi had was not a fun experience (Though, in all fairness, they never showed signs of problems, I was just a bit panicy at that point...) Honestly, it was terrible. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I can tell you that if I had had the chance to do this better, I would have. If you have two cages, I highly recommend it. I understand it can be difficult on you to work through two different times to let them out and that you want them to have company, but sometimes it's worth it to possibly save a life or to simply feel better in the end knowing they're both okay. That's my say and my experience. ^-^
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While quarantining is something that should be done, I will admit that three out of the five rats that I have were never quarantined. They were emergencies and I never had the time to prepare for quarantine. Two out of the five I have now were quarantined though. One of them, Toast, I bought when he was 10 days old and he had his own seperate enclosed area while I raised him. He had 24 hours of attention 7 days a week unless I was at work, eating dinner, going to class, or doing homework. By the time he was old enough to join the others he was quarenteened. My oldest rat, Pastoolio, was also quarenteened at my boyfriend's house two weeks before he came to my house. He also had constant attention and snuggles. Once he was at my house he spent the next few weeks in his own seperate cage because I had him neutered.
While not everyone does quarantine all the time I do recommend it. I've had to quarantine a friend's rats before because they had mites. Basically a good reason to quarantine is because you don't want bugs or illnesses to affect other pets or other members of your household. Let's say I didn't quarantine my friend's rats. My dog and my other three rats would probably have mites. Once I treated my pets for mites I'd have to treat the carpet, bed sheets, and clothes for mites as well. Quarantining my friend's rats saved me time, money, and possibly veternary expenses.
While not everyone does quarantine all the time I do recommend it. I've had to quarantine a friend's rats before because they had mites. Basically a good reason to quarantine is because you don't want bugs or illnesses to affect other pets or other members of your household. Let's say I didn't quarantine my friend's rats. My dog and my other three rats would probably have mites. Once I treated my pets for mites I'd have to treat the carpet, bed sheets, and clothes for mites as well. Quarantining my friend's rats saved me time, money, and possibly veternary expenses.
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in that situation i wouldn't quarantine. Both rats have the same chance of carrying something so your not risking infecting "clean" rats woth anything. Plus at that age the need for social life and company is vital. i would use quarantine where i have an existing group of rats who haven't had contact with others for 3 or more weeks
Thank you so much everyone for not flaming me, I thought for sure I would get flamed for even thinking of not quarantining. So yes, I did put them together, and they look so sweet all snuggled up together. I think it was worth it. I do have a rat vet and I'll treat them if necessary! 
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I'm so glad it went well. And glad you have a vet handy for just in case.Thank you so much everyone for not flaming me, I thought for sure I would get flamed for even thinking of not quarantining. So yes, I did put them together, and they look so sweet all snuggled up together. I think it was worth it. I do have a rat vet and I'll treat them if necessary!
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