Classification of main diseases in pet rats

Abstract

Fancy rats (Rattus norvegicus domestica) are becoming increasingly frequent patients of veterinarians in Europe. Indeed, because of their gentle and intelligent nature, they make very good pets. Rats have been used in research for decades and literature provides a large choice of publications about the main laboratory rat strains. However, due to the highly selective breeding and unique husbandry conditions, their genetic background and their environment differ greatly from those of pet rats. Thus, it seems relevant to suppose that pet rats’ ailments might differ from those of laboratory rats. Currently, veterinary literature on pet rats is still scarce, with exotic small mammals medicine books focusing more on rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and hamsters.