Pet Rats - Health

Health

Human-raised R. norvegicus are more prone to specific health risks and diseases than their wild counterparts, but they are also far less likely to succumb to certain illnesses that are prevalent in the wild. The major considerations for susceptibility include exposure, living conditions, and diet.

Rats that live their entire lives indoors usually are able to avoid disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; the latter is absent in treated water. They may also more easily avoid vectors like cockroaches, beetles, and fleas who are essential for the spread of endemic typhus and intestinal parasites like the Rat tapeworm. Additionally, pet or laboratory rats enjoy the intrinsic benefits of having a consistent and well-balanced diet, along with access to medical care.

While living indoors decreases the risk of contracting certain diseases, living in close quarters with other rats, being unable to always seek proper protection from environmental factors (e.g. temperature, humidity, drafts), being fed an unhealthy diet, and the stresses inherently associated with living in an unnatural habitat can all adversely affect a rat's health to make them more prone to specific conditions. Specifically, Tyzzer's disease, protozoic infections (e.g. Giardia muris), and pseudotuberculosis are usually seen in stressed or young rats. Additionally, pet rats are exposed to Streptococcus pneumoniae, a zoonotic disease caught from humans, not the same bacteria associated with strep throat. A human-associated fungus, Pneumocystis carinii (also found in almost all domesticated animals) is usually asymptomatic in the rat, unless the rat's immune system is compromised by illness. If this occurs the infection can develop into pneumonia.

Several diseases, like Rat Coronavirus Infection (RCI), Sendai virus, and Murine Respiratory Mycoplasmosis (MRM, Mycoplasma pulmonis), are prevalent simply because their highly contagious natures work in tandem with the way rats are kept in laboratories, pet stores, and by breeders. It should be noted, however, that MRM is far less likely to occur in laboratory rats than in those kept as pets.

Pet rats can also develop pituitary tumors if they are given high-calorie diets, and ringtail if they are placed in areas with low humidity, high temperatures, or drafts. Staphylococcus spp. are a mostly benign group of bacteria that commonly reside on the top of the skin, but cuts and scratches from social and hierarchal fighting can open up the pathways for them to cause ulcerative dermatitis.