Crusty noses?

[Linds]

My friend has pet rats, which he cares for immaculately and spoils (since they are his pets), and he likes to play with genetics. Since he has no use for babies, I always get them, or any adults he needs to get rid of when he wants to downsize. He had a rat with a crusty nose, I didn't get a good look, but figured it was from another rat, well a few of mine started getting the same crusty noses (about 3% of the population), and I received some more form him, and a few of them have mildly crusty noses. Is this a common condition and how is it generally treated?

[annieb_mice]

Could you describe this a bit more? What colour is the "crusty" stuff? Have these rats been sneezing? Have you asked your friend if this condition is common with all his rats?
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[BoidKeeper]

I've been breeding my own for almost 3 yrs now and I have never seen it or heard about it. Have you changed anything lately like bedding or diet?
Cheers,
Trevor

[Linds]

Annie,
It is reddish-type crust, which is why the first time I saw it, I had assumed it was an injury from another rat. The first time I had seen it was about 2 months ago on one of his rats. He was asking me about it, and I had no idea as I had never seen it before. It's too late to isolate my other guys however, as I am constantly mixing his rats with my colonies, as well as pets.

Trevor,
I've got close to 10 years breeding experience, and have never experienced anything like this before either. This didn't develop within my colony, I can only assume it had come from my friend's rats. He has been keeping and breeding them for about 1.5 - 2 years (though has been breeding mice and gerbils for many years). He keeps them on shredded newspaper in large guinea pig cages, and feeds them everything under the sun. He doesn't feed any sort of formulated diet, just human food - usually whatever he eats, they eat. He feeds them 4-7 small meals per day.

[Vanan]

Hmmm....ever thought of it to be myco? Do you find your rats sneezing more too?

[Linds]

Nope, none of them are displaying any sort of respiratory problems whatsoever. I've had the odd feeder display the typical signs before (wheezing, loud breathing, sneezing, etc), but it never lasts long or affects more than 1% of my colony, has never been observed in his rats, and I've never observed it in a rat with a crusty nose. The nose crust is quite a recent development, and I just don't know what to do about it. In the meantime, I will try treating it with polysporin.

[Vanan]

Edit: As long as there's no increased sneezing then I guess you could rule out myco then.

[annieb_mice]

My first thought is Myco. The reddish discharge from the nose is a very common sign of mild myco, though it's not usually all that noticable as the rats tend to "clean" it up when they groom themselves.
Sneezing is another common sign of myco, but is not always present. Myco is highly contagious and if one rat shows the signs, it's usually not too long before others show it as well.
Do you use shavings with your rats? If so, perhaps the sudden switch from newspaper to shavings may have triggered a mild reaction. If you have switched their diet as well, that might have also contributed to it.
I've bred various rodents for over two decades, and have noticed this occassionally. Usually just after I introduce new breeding stock. Polysporin most likely won't have too much of an effect, though you could try "baytril" if you are really worried.
Also... you might want to try and quarantine any new animals you get for at least 3 weeks before introducing them to your regular breeding stock. Keep them in a completely separate room, and wash your hands after handling them and before handling your breeders. This should cut down the chances of any contagious diseases from spreading to your colony. I realize that with feeders, it's probably not worth the effort, and 3 weeks is a "long" time.... but just thought I would suggest it. :) Other rat "pet/show" breeders recommend quarantining for 3 months. Personally, I find that a little rediculous, especially for feeder breeders. But the 3 months will show up MOST of the "nasty" contagious diseases such as "rat parvo" and such.
I have heard that some feeder breeders have used fish tetracycline for treatment... but I have never tried it myself... and to be honest, I'm not sure I would recommend something that was designed for such a completely different form of animal.
Good luck...
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[Linds]

Thanks for the info Annie. Unfortunately due to the fact that nearly all my rats (250+) are feeders, I've never bothered with quarantining. My feeders, as well as my friend's pets, have always seemed in the best health so I've never practiced strong quarantine measureds against my pet rats... which end up coming from either my retired breeders or his stock anyways. I am going to check out the dosage for tetracycline antibiotics and there effectiveness in this problem in my vet book. I'm not worried about the fish tablets being a problem, as meds are meds, sometimes they need to be diluted or whatnot, but that's usually the biggest concern. The only differences is they are formulated so the animal in question can easily take it, I'll look in to it though.