RodentCentral - Rodent Health

Quarantines: A Must Read

by May Snyder

Things you must know about infectious diseases and your new mouse or rat:

Why bother?

Every week I hear of another person who has brought home a new pet and ended up getting all their rodents sick or even worse, dead. Some of these diseases are so lethal they will easily kill 50% or more of a mouse or rat colony. Most of the diseases that affect mice will also affect rats. Other rodents can share in some of these diseases, too, so if you have any other small animals in your home you must quarantine. Our rodent friends don’t get vaccinations like cats and dogs, and so you must quarantine to protect them.

How do I quarantine?

Facts about the disease and the exact length of time sometimes will vary from one book or web site to another, but the basic premises are always the same:

You must keep your new animals separate from your old ones for at least two weeks, preferably three, watching for any symptoms.

The quarantine must be done in a separate location if at all possible. Under no circumstances should you keep the animals in the same room.

Never share food bins, water bottles, toys, cages, etc. Keep everything separate. Disinfect everything thoroughly with a bleach-water solution; let dry, and then rinse thoroughly. Keep the cages as clean as possible as a dirty cage can become a breeding ground for germs.

Always scrub up completely, change your clothes and shower if possible. The germs can stick to you, not harm you, but get a free ride to the other animals. Be aware that your own sinuses can harbor these germs for a short while as well, not harming you, but allowing you to take germs from the sick animas’ area and breathe them back out in the other room.

What do I do if I see a symptom? What is a symptom?

Any of the following are signs something may be wrong with your mouse:
· Frequent sneezing
· Wheezing or clicking noises when breathing
· Hunched over posture
· Discharge from nose or eyes, “wet” eyes, squinty eyes
· Swollen eyes or face
· Diarrhea
· Lethargy or a real lack of attentiveness

You don’t need to see all of these symptoms. Any one of these can be a warning sign the animals are sick. In some cases some animals will not show any symptoms, but after 2-3 weeks in quarantine an observant person should see something amiss with sick animals.

What does it mean if I see something wrong?

Don’t panic. What you need right now is patience.

Stop breeding the new animals if you do have any with the opposite sex. Personally I don’t recommend you breed any animal until you’ve had if for awhile and can evaluate its health.

Wait until any pregnant animals give birth and wean their young; in this case you need to wait at least two weeks from the date the last litter was weaned. The waiting period starts from the last symptoms and from two weeks after the last litter was weaned, whichever is later.

From this date the animals need to be kept in isolation for at least two months. Keep them on as strict a quarantine as before.

How do I treat them?

It varies depending on what’s wrong with them, and I am not a veterinarian. I am simply giving guidelines, but I strongly suggest you contact your vet if your pets get sick.

The two biggest killers in mice are myco (a bacterial infection of respiratory and reproductive tracts) and Sendai (a lethal virus which weakens the immune system so much the slightest cold will kill the animal). There is also a disease in rats called SDA, which is also a big killer in rats but doesn’t affect mice. Myco can be treated through a regimen of antibiotics. Sendai is a virus and so has no cure, but it’s not uncommon to prescribe antibiotics to guard against any secondary infections.

There are blood tests (called ELISA) that can tell you what your mouse might have, but they’re expensive and difficult to get. If you can get them done it helps a lot to know what you’re dealing with, but it’s nearly impossible to find a vet to do them in some rural areas. More times than not the vet will only do these tests on a deceases mouse due to the difficulty in getting samples.

Finding a qualified vet sometimes is a challenge, and I suggest you do it before you get any rodents not later when they get sick. Look for a vet that advertises exotics, call them, and ask them straight out if they treat mice and rats with any regularity.

If you have several really sick animals out of a group you may want to cage the sick ones separately from the others (still keeping the whole group in quarantine). I personally don’t like to house mice in solitary, but if I have a few that look under the weather I’ll put them aside in a different cage and watch them carefully. I have found this just makes managing the illness easier.

It’s been two months since the last symptoms, now what?

Myco infections may require an ongoing program of antibiotics depending on the severity. I strongly advise against the use of animals infected with myco for breeding. These animals still may live our long, happy lives and euthanasia isn’t necessary except in the most severe cases where lung scarring may have occurred. Your vet will help you in treating and dealing with myco-prone rats.

Sendai is a virus and simply must run its course. All the research I’ve found indicates that Sendai is no longer infectious after two months starting from the end of the symptoms and 2 weeks after the last weaning of the last litter. You must cease breeding to allow for this time to pass for if you don’t you’ll always be keeping the virus alive in your colony. When mom gives birth she nurses for several weeks passing antibodies on to her young. It’s not until they are no longer getting mom’s antibodies for two weeks they you’ll give the disease a chance to start running its course. Breeders who never stop breeding can keep disease alive indefinitely!

There are other infectious diseases out there, too. Most of the others aren’t as severe but still must be guarded against none the less.

Couldn’t something else be causing my mouse to sneeze? Have diarrhea? Look sick?

Excessively dirty bedding can cause sneezing also. All studies indicate you want to avoid softwood bedding (cedar and pine shavings) as they will irritate your little mouse’s nose and lungs causing sneezing and irritation which open the door for germs. Make sure the cage has enough ventilation and the bedding is dry.

Diarrhea can sometimes be caused by severe changes in food and/or stress. Simply ask the breeder what they used to give the animals and slowly change the mice over to the diet you prefer to give them.

Hunched over posture is also a common sight in really old mice. It should never be seen in healthy younger mice.

Watery eyes might come from dusty bedding or other allergens. It can however be a good sign the mice are quite ill, so if changing the bedding doesn't immediately solve the problem consult a vet.

Lethargy and a bumpy looking tail (where the tiny vertebrae outlines can be seen) is also a sign of dehydration. Make sure your animals always have clean drinking water. Watch their water consumption out of water bottles since sometimes these bottles (namely the ball type) may be very hard for some mice to use or may malfunction.

None of these are excuses to lift quarantine prematurely. You risk your other rodents’ lives if you bring potentially sick animals into their room, so when in doubt wait. Call your vet with questions.

Just don’t forget to quarantine – your mouse will thank you for it.