Accounting

[quietann]

The Dead: Raya, Romy, Moti, Vinca, Priscilla, Sam, Amarisa, Livana, Kaleb, Ramona, BubbaRoo

The Recovered: Patch

The Recovering: Mouse, Mischief

As of Saturday 30DEC2006

Mostly because people asked. The cause is still unclear; the serology sample was positive for several viruses, but all mouse viruses that are almost always asymptomatic in rats, or things I already knew about that shouldn't have been a problem. Bacterial samples showed at least one opportunistic infection (P. carinii, the same as in HIV patients), which suggests immunosuppression. But there is no definite answer besides "they had something really bad."

I have one pregnant rat (bred just before I realized how bad things were) due next week and will be holding off more breeding until I'm sure whatever it is is gone.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

thanks for posting this. it's incredibly wonderful to see you list the recovered and recovering.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

I was wondering about how the Rattery was doing, so thanks for posting the update. And as Lyonesse says, I'm glad that there's at least a few on the recovering list.

Good luck for the new litter.

[ploni-bat-ploni.livejournal.com]

Damn, 11 rats dead. That's shocking. I am sorry to hear the whole thing turned into such a disaster :-(

You breed rats? As a hobby or for a specific purpose?

I used to have pet rats. Twice as a child, once in my early 20's. My brother and I were living together as students in an appartment together and we got a little rat, "Pepito", to keep us company. The critter lived for 2 years until he got some kind of rat cancer and died in my hands, on my lap. It was horrible, our whole family was upset. We all sat around: my mom, my brother and I, crying our eyes out for this little rat.

From then on I vowed to never get rats again. They are so smart and cute and you bond hugely with them but their lifespans are just too short. It's not worth the emotional pain.

Anyway, I don't know if this is helpful to you, but I just wanted to say "I sympathise, I feel your pain".

Hugs,
PbP.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Yes, I breed rats as pets... It's very much a labor of love and heartbreak, and it's been more heartbreak recently. They just are not healthy or long-lived enough, but I can't bear to give them up.

[00smittenkitten.livejournal.com]

Wow, good to see there are finally some recovering.

Looking forward to the new litter.

Next time you'll be in Cali drop me a line, if you'd like, and we'll try to hook up.