Quarantine, or what most
people really do -- isolation, is a
measure taken to ensure that resident animals do not become infected if
a new addition happens to be carrying a viral or bacterial infection or
parasite.
Proper isolation requires the new addition(s) be kept at a
seperate safe location/air space/building for a minimum of three weeks.
This location must not contain rodents, and the people that will be
caring for your rats must be aware of places they go (pet stores,
friends) that may have rodents as well. Previous to their arrival you
need to set up a cage, water bottle, food, food bowl and litter in the
home your rat(s) will be staying. You do not want to transfer anything
from the isolation location to your home during this period. There are
some bacteria that can stay on items (clothes, cameras, bedding) for
days -- not just hours.
If possible it is preferred to keep visits to the new addition at
a minimum to prevent cross contamination to your resident rats at home.
Whenever you visit the new addition and leave the isolation location
you should stay away from your home for a minimum of 2 hours. Once you
return home you should change your clothes and shower. Even with those
precautions, I personally will not go near my own rats for two or more
hours after returning home.
For our purposes we occasionally must adopt rats from other
breeders that may be beneficial to our program. We deal with very few
breeders and only adopt a few times a year (if that) to minimize the
need of an isolation home and the chances of bringing in an unwanted
illness. During the times in which we need to adopt rats we will place
them in isolation for three weeks. If at the end of that time they are
still healthy then they are brought home and introductions begin.
Parasites such as mites or lice are a bit tricky to see if the
infestation is low. As such, all new additions are treated with a
single dose of Revolution during their isolation period.
We usually attend the NIRO Show in the Spring and have plans of
attending RFL shows as well. During pre-show isolation you are required
to not have any litters born, bring in any new rats, or send out any
rats for about a month before showtime. After the day of the show we
will quarantine the rats that attended the show and any new additions
for three weeks afterward. It is important to plan litters very
strategically to allow time for weaning and pick-ups before a pre-show
isolation period begins.
We
will be in pre-show isolation beginning September 18th
This
isolation will be broken the day of the RFL Show on October 18th
Post-show
isolation will last from October 19th - November 9th
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