BVR Newton Pulsifer

Pedigree NARR: 11BVR0045/08M Nickname: Newt, Newton Color: Russian Fawn Ears: Dumbo Coat: Standard Markings: American Irish Carries: Possibly mink, american blue, satin D.O.B. 06/10/11 D.O.D. 08/19/12 Cause of Death: Severe Pneumonia, respiratory failure Litter Page: Dawnbird: DAZL Mockingbird x BVR Dawn Treader at BVR Breeding Status:Retired Breeder, bred once with Anathema, 13 born, 11 surviving pups. Litter page here. Show Results: 2011 RFL Fall Show - Did Not Place 2012 RFL Spring Show 3rd Agouti Self Bucks Notes: Newton is an awesome guy! He is super outgoing and he's always at the door when he hears anyone coming, wanting to give kisses and get scritches. He is a ticklish guy who easily gets excited and popcorns around the cage until he has to run in his wheel to burn off the excitement! He has a great, reddish russian fawn coat, a nice build, and bright eyes. He is a total doll, and passed his great personality, and a bit of the genes he had for markings, on to his babies! Newton is a retired breeder now, having successfully given us wonderful kids to work with, and will continue to live as he has the whole time he's been here, hanging out with his buddies, playing tag, begging for treats, and being a much loved member of our family. June 12, 2012: Newt was being bullied quite a bit, for no apparent reason, by Corza, Corza hasn't bothered any of the other boys he's lived with, and Newt isn't being bothered by anyone else. There are no obvious injuries, but the stress has caused him to lose quite a bit of weight (down to a body condition score of 3 where 5 is normal), so he and his brother Adam have been separated into a separate cage (R-685) to get a break from that while still having a friend, get some extra calories (which won't hurt Adam since he's one of my smallest boys!), and just have a calmer environment. July 10, 2012: Newt can't catch a break right now. He's gained back most of his weight while living with just him and Adam, and was doing a LOT better. Last night however we came home to find Newt laying on his side on a shelf gasping, with his back limbs somewhat blue and his fronts purple. He seemed awake and aware, but unable or unwilling to move or get up to see us, and when picked up he made no attempt to move in my hands. We took him to the emergency vet where he spent the night in an oxygen cage in the ICU. Radiographs and a tracheal wash to check for bacteria and other issues were done. The images showed significant lung clouding consistent with mycoplasmic abscesses in the lungs. The tracheal wash showed some bacteria which may be a secondary infection taking advantage of his weakened state. Mycoplasma is common in rats, and pretty much all rats have it, but stress or weakness in their system can cause flare ups. Its possible the stress of being bullied let it flare up, and then that allowed a secondary infection to set in. We will be trying to get the secondary bacterial infection under control and trying a bronchiodilator to open his airways. We have instructions from the vet on obtaining and using a nebulizer to help him as well. Unfortunately long term he is likely to continue having problems, but fortunately this isn't necessarily a genetic issue (such as tumors), or one that is considered contagious. The tendency to be more susceptible to flare ups can be genetic however, so we will be very closely monitoring his relatives and offspring to help us make the best decisions for the future of our lines. August 2012: Newton was found dead when we returned from a weekend away. We were still able to have a necropsy done. His lungs were heavily abscessed from pneumonia, resulting in respiratory failure. Culture showed some bacteria, but all were of a secondary, opportunistic nature and not of concern to any rats he lived with or near, as they were not considered of an infectious nature. He showed some signs of being underweight (as we had noted previously from his stress). No other abnormalities were found on necropsy, heart, liver, spleen, etc all looked normal. We will continue to closely monitor his offspring and evaluate them carefully before they are used in breeding, but at this time it is suspected that most of his problems resulted in an opportunistic infection he caught when his immune system was weakened by the stress of his being bullied. We are also watching his brother Adam closely, as he was subjected to some of the same bullying as well.