Rats in the News: Children with Rats as Pets Do Better in School

Article: Kids with Pets Do Better At School, Especially Rat Owners, Study Says

A study commissioned by Pets At Home which surveyed 1000 pet-owning children between the ages of  5 and 16 years found that children who have pets do better in school, with rat-owning children performing the best.

So the next time our rats run off with my boys' homework, I will have to remember that they are not, in fact, stashing it in their cage to shred for bedding, but rather, they are helping to tutor them. It appears to be working. My oldest graduated Junior High with a silver Presidential Award for academic excellence and my youngest finished his last year at grade school with straight A's and made it into accelerated math. Many thanks are owed to our many rattie friends for helping them to achieve such accomplishments!

Rats in the News: Even More Evidence that Rats Experience Empathy

Article: Rats Forsake Chocolate to Save a Drowning Companion

Not that the rat community really needs convincing, but more evidence has surfaced that rats experience empathy. In this study, rats chose to save a "drowning" rat over receiving chocolate 50% to 80% of the time. I wonder if a delicious yogie treat would skewer those results (just kidding).

Gerbils, not Rats, Behind the Repeated Waves of Black Death in Europe

This article was circulating yesterday, but I didn't have the opportunity to share it. Here it is, in case you missed it.

Article: Gerbils Replace Rats as Main Cause of Black Death

Rats have been repeatedly exonerated as the cause of Bubonic Plague - first we learned it was the fleas and not the rats themselves that spread the deadly disease. Then we learned that many cases of bubonic plague were actually pneumonic plague and spread from person to person. Now, we learn that the timing of the outbreaks did not coincide with weather conditions that would have led to increased population of rats. Instead, the outbreaks occurred a few years after wet springs and warm summers in Asia, which would have been optimal conditions for gerbils in those regions. After such conducive conditions for gerbils and fleas occurred in Asia, there would be outbreaks in harbor towns in Europe as the gerbils/fleas traveled along with the silk trade. Those outbreaks then spread throughout the rest of the continent.

And yet, after all this evidence, people will continue to blame the poor maligned rat for this curse upon humanity. But the gerbil, mark my words, will get off scot free. Well played, gerbils. Well played.

Rats in the News: Photographer Anna Turin Sets out to Prove Rats Are Adorable

Source Article: Can Rats Ever Be Cute? One Photographer Tries Her Best to Prove that Rodents Are Actually Adorable

It really goes without saying that rats are, of course, adorable. I mean, how hard can it be to prove the obvious - what we see every day? But even though this is obvious to us, it is not quite so obvious to the rest of the world. As someone who makes an effort to photograph my rats as much as possible, I do know what a challenge it can be to capture that adorable mischief in pixel form. These photographs are a wonderful showcase of the beautiful and loving nature of the domesticated rat and are worthy of being shared.

Check out the entire image gallery at the link above.

Rats in the News: Rats Are the New Dogs

Article: Rats Are the New Dogs from the Aquinian

Some good press for rats in Canada. I have always believed that rats are the closest small animal pet to dogs that you could get. I am glad others feel the same way.

Rats in the News - NASA Space Rats

Rodent Habitat Module for Rats in Space

Article: Rats in Spaaace! NASA Wants to Put Rodents on Space Station

Came across this article in my news feed and thought it was interesting and worth sharing.

Rats in the News: More Good Press for Rats in the Chicago Area

Article: 'Fancy Rat' Pet Owners Aim to Quash 'Stigma of Being a Rat' from DNAinfo Chicago.

So nice to see more positive press for rats, especially in my neck of the woods - the Chicago area. Be sure to check out the link above, which includes a video and a sound recording from a radio program.

Rats in the News - The Rat Cafe

Article: London tourist attraction opens 'Rat Cafe'

I was at the London Dungeons as a teenager on a high-school trip to England. I would love to go back and see this. I especially love that they are not using the rats here as objects of horror, but are making an attempt to correct their reputation: 

Although this unusual form of catering is largely for fun, there is also a mildly serious point to it – an attempt to rehabilitate the image of a much-maligned creature.

‘Rats have been tarnished with an undeserved reputation throughout history – from the Black Death of the Middle Ages to the great stink of Victorian times,’ says Hywel Mathias of London Dungeon.

‘We wanted to challenge those perceptions and show they are actually characterful and full of fun.’

Oxbow Young Rat and Mouse Recall Reported

It has been reported on the GooseMoose Pet Forum that Oxbow Mouse and Young Rat Food has been recalled. The poster saw the notice at Petsmart. The recall affects bags with the following expiration dates:

• Jan 10, 2016
• Jan 25, 2016
• Feb 28, 2016
• Mar 14, 2016
• Apr 4, 2016

They are being recalled for a high moisture content leading to a potential small larvae infestation of some sort.

Opened and unopened bags can be returned to the pet store for a full refund, regardless of whether you have the receipt.

Note that so far, I have not found an official press release about this recall. As far as I know, it only affects the Mouse and Young Rat formula and not the Adult Rat formula. I will keep an eye out for an official announcement online and will update with a link when/if I find one. Feel free to post a link to an official link in the comments if you find it before I do.

UPDATE: While I still haven't seen a Press Release, it was brought to my attention that Oxbow did make the following announcement on their Facebook Page:

At Oxbow, providing a premium quality product to pets and the people who care for them is a cornerstone of our foundation. Much to our dismay, we recently discovered that select Best By Dates of our Essentials Mouse & Young Rat Food do not live up to our stringent quality standards. These select Best By Dates of this product contain higher moisture than what our recipe calls for. Excess moisture may cause food to mold, similar to what a loaf of bread might do in the same situation. The select Best By Dates are: JAN 10 2016, JAN 25 2016, FEB 28 2016, MAR 14 2016, and APR 4 2016.

The root cause of the problem was quickly identified, and it is isolated to these specific lots of Essentials Mouse & Young Rat Food only. Steps were swiftly taken and additional quality control points implemented to ensure this situation does not occur again.

Please be assured that we have not received any reports of harm to animals or humans in relation to this situation. There are no other products or Best By Dates affected by this excess moisture content.

We are in the process of voluntarily withdrawing these select Best By Dates of Essentials Mouse & Young Rat Food from distribution. We deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused for our pet parents and their beloved companions, our retailers and distributors.

If you have a bag of Essentials Mouse & Young Rat Food from one of these Best By Dates, please contact Oxbow for a replacement.

Rats in the News: Rats and Mice React Differently to Men and Women

Article: Male Researchers Stress Out Lab Rodents

An interesting article on the effect that the presence of men has on laboratory rats and mice, compared with the presence of women. I, personally, have never noticed a difference in the way our rats react around my husband compared with around me, but the article does say that the effect diminishes with time, so maybe it is just an effect when they are getting to know you.

I do wonder, however, if this effect plays a role in male vs female veterinarians. Would a rat be less stressed around a female veterinarian? Would he/she be more likely to experience pain around a female veterinarian? I am guessing the effect is insignificant compared with the stress produced just by visiting a strange location with lots of predatory animal smells. My rats have always been nervous visiting the vet, even though our veterinarian is a woman.

I will say that I definitely notice this effect in one of our dogs. She is a very good guard dog, but it takes her a while to warm up to new people. It is much easier to get her to relax around women than around men. I think that is a pretty common reaction in dogs, so I can see it carrying over to rats in less obvious ways.

Rats and Rat Fleas Exonerated - Not to Blame for Spreading Black Death

Good news for rat lovers everywhere. Scientists no longer believe the Black Death was spread by rat fleas. First, it was the rats who got the blame for spreading the disease that killed 6 of 10 people in the city of London in the mid-1300's. Then the rats were cleared and their parasitic pest, the rat flea, was blamed instead. Finally, we know that rats are not the dirty, disease-spreading creature that they are often portrayed as because of this historic connection to the plague. Instead, the dirty, disease-spreading creature turns out to be . . . . other humans.

In the article Black Death was not Spread by Rat Fleas, Say Researchers, scientists examined skeletons recovered in the Clerkenwell area of London and have determined that the plague could not have been spread by rat fleas and instead had to have been airborne in order to spread the way it did. They compared the DNA of the plague organism to the DNA of a plague organism that recently killed 60 people in Madagascar. They found it was no more virulent than the modern version. Yet the modern version did not spread the way the older organism did. They concluded this is because modern antibiotics prevent the disease from becoming pneumonic (airborne). Thus, the quick spread of the plague back in the 14th century had to be attributed to it being spread via the air, not via rat fleas. This would mean that the plague was not actually a bubonic plague, but instead a pneumonic plague.

This article just reinforces what we rat owners already know. Rats are not the huge disease threat that people make them out to be. Instead, humans are the biggest disease threat.

Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary: Ratastrophe!

Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary is a 501c3 non-profit exotic animal sanctuary in German Valley, IL. They are not a rescue, per se, but rather a sanctuary that takes in unadoptable (because of temperament or health issues) exotic animals and provides them with a home and proper care for life. Occasionally, they take in animals from hoarder situations or other extreme situations and if they are adoptable, will adopt them out to qualified homes as pets.

On February 12th, they took in a group of rats from, a well-meaning couple who rescued a domesticated white rat from the jaws of a dog. After doing research, the couple learned that rats require company, and they found a female companion for the rat whom they believed to also be female. They must have overlooked the dragging no-no's, because the next thing they knew, they had a litter of baby rattums. Apparently, they didn't separate them from mama fast enough, because then there was another litter. And another.

All rescues within hundreds of miles turned them down, but Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary agreed to take them in. They were told there were about 20 rats in all, but when they got them, they were shocked to find 69! Not only that, but four of the girls were pregnant. The current count is somewhere around 110 rats.

I can't imagine the strain of trying to care for 110 rats - especially once the youngest are all furred, open-eyed, and active. These rats really need good homes. If you are in the vicinity of Northern Illinois and looking to adopt, I strongly encourage you to help them out over at Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary. They are on Petfinder and on Facebook and they have a website. They are also the Travelling Rat's Rescue of the Month.

If you are not looking to adopt right now, but can help them with a donation, that would also be appreciated. And don't forget to spread the word.

What to Make of Rat Bite Fever

 

Rat Bite Fever has been all over the news lately due to the very tragic death of a 10-year-old boy in California who contracted the disease and died from it last summer.

This is the story: Family Blames Petco for 10-Year-Old's Death.

I am sure this story is giving people everywhere pause about keeping rats as pets. But before you pass any judgment on the suitability of rats as pets, keep a few facts in mind.

The bacteria in question,  Streptobacillus moniliformis, is very common in rats, but disease from it is extremely rare. It is more common in wild rats (colonization rate between 50% and 90%), but is also present in domesticated rats - both lab rats and pet rats (colonization rate between 10% and 90% - I know, not a very helpful range there). This is one of those bacteria that animals can harbor without actually contracting a disease from it.

Rats are not the only animals that carry this bacteria. Ferrets, weasels, mice, gerbils, guinea pigs, and squirrels all carry the bacteria, among others. Cats and dogs can also carry the bacteria, likely contracting it if they catch a wild squirrel or mouse or rat.

While the bacteria itself is pretty common, disease from the bacteria is extremely rare. In the US, there have only been 200 cases of Rat Bite Fever reported since 2004. The CDC does not even consider Rat Bite Fever to be a reportable disease. That 200 cases is likely underrepresented, because in the vast majority of cases (about 90%), it will clear up without treatment. Most people just assume they had the flu. In the remaining 10%, it can be easily treated with penicillin. Tetracyclines and some other antibiotics are also effective. It is very unlikely to be fatal if treated. It is most likely to require treatment in young children.

Prevention is simple. If you are bitten (and rats are far less likely to bite than other small animals), wash the wound and disinfect. Should you develop flu-like symptoms after having been bitten (the bite can happen as many as 2-4 weeks before symptoms) be sure to alert your doctor to the bite. If you develop flu-like symptoms that worsen or do not resolve quickly, be sure to alert your doctor that you have rats. It is always good to practice good hygiene and wash your hands after handling your rats or cleaning the cage. Most cases of Rat Bite Fever happen after a bite, but supposedly, it is possible to contract it without being bitten.

Also remember, if you do research into this, that some articles have made the claim that 10% of rat bites will result in infection with Rat Bite Fever. Debbie Ducommun looked into this further and discovered that this statistic was taken out of context from a study of wild rat bites in a 2-mile urban area, where cases of Rat Bite Fever were being reported. It is by no means representative of the pet rat population.

The Philly Rat Rescue reported on their Facebook page that a 7-day course of doxycycline will ensure your rats do not carry the bacteria. That post was later changed to say "proper course of antibiotic treatment" and suggest that if you have ever treated your rats with antibiotics, they are likely free of the bacteria anyway (the original wording is still in one of the comments of the post). If you are still concerned about your existing rats, you can certainly check with your vet about using antibiotics preventatively.

The news story that has triggered all of the attention has drawn comment by some rat fanciers that the facts do not add up. The way some stories read is that the boy was fine and then 24 hours later, severely ill and died. That description does not coincide with how we know Rat Bite Fever presents. It could be that there were other medical factors at play. It could be that the media has their facts wrong or do not have all of the facts. It could be that symptoms were missed earlier on. It could just be that this was some very rare severe presentation of the disease. I do not know. I do know that the way this case is being reported would be an extremely rare way for an already extremely rare disease to present.

From the reports, it appears that while the boy was taken to a pediatrician the day before, he was not treated for Rat Bite Fever. Being aware of this disease is essential. Likely, the child was not treated because the physician was not told that he had rats.

If you are still concerned about Rat Bite Fever, also keep this in mind:

• If you feel that rats are not safe to keep as pets, remember that neither are gerbils, guinea pigs, mice, ferrets, cats, and dogs, because they all can carry the same bacteria.
• Almost all types of animals can carry some type of disease that can be fatal to humans in very rare circumstances. For example, cats can carry Cat Scratch Disease and birds can carry Psittacosis. They are diseases that owners should be aware of, but not something that we should live in fear of.
• The list of zoonoses (diseases that can be passed from animals to humans) is much longer for cats and dogs than it is for rats. There are actually very few diseases overall that can be spread from rats. You can check and see what diseases can be spread from your various pets to you on the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/browse_by_animal.htm. Note that Rat Bite Fever is not even listed here because the CDC does not consider it needing reporting. Only two diseases are listed, one being salmonella, which can be spread from any type of animal.

There are risks everywhere. You are far more likely to die in your car than from any illness you acquire from your pet, and yet we still get into cars every day. We take precautions - we drive safely and we fasten our seatbelts and put our children in safety seats. Likewise, we take precautions with our pets, by being knowledgeable about the illnesses they can spread and by practicing good hygiene. But there is no need to panic and abandon them altogether.

This case being reported is tragic and I feel for the boy's family. Just because something is very rare, doesn't mean that it cannot happen, and that is why we need to be informed - so we can make sure proper treatment is received if something terrible does happen. At least this news story is helping people to be informed about this disease. Unfortunately, it is also spreading uninformed fear and panic among some people and also painting a negative picture of pet rats in the eyes of many uninformed Americans. I want to help put this information in context.

Finally, there is always the question of whether Petco is at fault here. I honestly don't see it unless there is some type of negligence - some awareness on their part that this rat was a potential danger. But many rats carry this bacteria and will never spread disease. It is true that pet store rats are more at risk for this problem, as they come from mills. At the mills, the rats are stored in overcrowded bins in warehouses and warehouses are notorious for also housing wild rats. Exposure to wild rats will always increase risk. It is no secret that I do not support the mill industry and strongly support the rescue community. But still, I don't see this as being Petco's fault, unless further information is disclosed that they were aware or should have been aware that something out of the ordinary was wrong with this particular rat. The family claims they want to make things safer for others, but I am not sure that that is possible. The bacteria is very common, the disease is very rare. Unless the rat they bought was suffering illness from the bacteria and not just carrying it, it is probably no different than thousands of other rats in the pet industry.

More on Rats and Empathetic Behavior

Article: Social Experience Drives Empathetic, Pro-Social Behavior in Rats

You may recall video from a study that made the news a short time ago, showing that rats can experience empathy and will work to free a trapped rat even if there is no reward in it for the free rat. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has owned rats, but it is nice to have documented evidence in a legitimate scientific study. Further investigation has been done on this empathetic behavior, and scientists have shown that rats use their experience with other rats to motivate them to free the trapped rat, and not some instinct that recognizes his/her own kind.

In the previous study, the rats would release stranger rats of their own kind (PEW, or albino as the study referred to them). In this new study, scientists documented that rats from an albino strain did not release rats from a black-hooded strain. But, if the rats had been introduced to a black hooded rat previously, they would release a black-hooded rat from the trap, even if they did not know the rat they were releasing. On the other hand, if a rat from an albino strain was fostered to a rat from a hooded strain and had no prior contact with any rats from his own albino strain, that rat would not release albino rats from the trap.

Rats in the News - The History of the Lab Rat

I happened across this video on YouTube this morning, while searching an unrelated topic. Ever wonder why mice and rats are the most commonly used animals for scientific research? The SciShow offers a very quick summary of the history of using rats in laboratories. They even mention the rat pits that were featured in Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.

University Rats!

Rats Weasel Their Way into Hearts of Students (From Scarlet & Black, the Grinnell College Newspaper).

A great positive story about living on campus with pet rats. The piece talks about the misconceptions people have about rats and how they actually make great pets, being both affectionate and smart. Be sure to check it out!

Rats In The News: Elementary School Uses Rats to Teach Nutrition

Article: Rats Provide Info About Healthy Eating - From the Goshen News

I like to see rats used in a positive way in schools. I wish the schools in my area were this progressive and enlightened. Of course, I'm not crazy about the idea of rats drinking milk or sugar water, but as far as experimentation with lab rats go - that is probably not too bad a gig. Having edited a veterinary medical research journal, I know what fate lies in store for most lab rats. I am also not happy they didn't keep the rats together when they found homes for them with the students. Still, there is a lot to like about projects like these - as long as the rats are cared for with knowledge and compassion - and hopefully, the students will grow up knowing what great pets rats can be.

Rats in the News: Pet Rats Star in RatsPacNW Show at the Washington County Fairgrounds

Article: Pet Rats Star in RatsPacNW Show at the Washington County Fairgrounds

If you happen to live in the northwestern states, you might be interested in attending this rat show this weekend. But even if you don't, this is a quality informative article about keeping rats that gets the facts right for a change.

When I see good press for rats, I like to share it. Wish I were closer so I could go.

Rats and Witches?

Photo from the article. I am thinking these little ones are mice. Nice try, though.

From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Animal Tales: Rats Make Fine Pets, And That's Even if You Are a Real Witch

Here's a kind of cute story about a mom and her child's first rat, even though it clearly illustrates some of the mistakes first time rat owners make without actually calling those mistakes out as mistakes.

Of course, we should not get our pet rats from a pet store. Even if you close a blind eye to the mill issues, as this story illustrates, pet store employees often do not know how to sex them and it is certainly not unheard of to purchase a pregnant rat from a pet store. The narrator also didn't do enough research before agreeing to let her son get a pet rat, or she would not have purchased a single rat instead of a pair. It seems she was relying on the pet store to provide her with all of the research she needs and unfortunately, that just doesn't happen. Finally, the idea of bringing the babies back to the pet store instead of placing them herself or finding a rescue to take them in is a little sad.

So, yes, this story illustrates many of the mistakes first-time rat owners make and fails to call attention to them. Still, it is such a light-hearted take on keeping rats as pets and portrayed them in such a positive light, that I thought it was worth sharing. The little Halloween spin doesn't hurt either.

More Rat Detectives - This Time in Holland

Update 9/14/13: I realized last night these may be some of the same rats reported earlier, as Holland is a part of the Netherlands. I was fooled by the fact that these rats are detecting things other than gun powder residue.

Hot on the heels of the story about rats sniffing out gunpowder residue in the Netherlands, comes another story about crime-fighting rats in Europe. This time, five rat detectives are being trained in Holland, to detect blood, explosives, and drugs.

This article includes a video (in English this time!) introducing us to the five rats, named after famous fictional detectives, and showing them in action.

Holland's Sniffer Rats Have a Nose for Crime Fighting

Related Post:
Rats Fight Crime in the Netherlands