how would you know if an animal is rabid and can it carry rabies without it becoming sick?

Answer 1

KL is exactly correct - they can carry & spread rabies before thay show sign but if they have it they WILL eventually show sign & the mortality rate is 100%. By the way there is what is called "dumb rabies" where they simply get very, very quiet & maybe parlized & DON"T appear mad or foam at the mouth. nor do they all fear water. A rabid horse at my work drank bucket after bucket of water.
Generally it's considered that if a dog that bites someone is still alive after 10 days, he didn't give them rabies.

Answer 2

Rabid animals usually show signs. They are very feral, and thats an understatement. Some foam at the mouth, shake, rattle and roll LOL sorry. And an animal with rabies will get sick in deed. I sure hope you dont have a rabid animal at the house thinking that it'll be okay?

Answer 3

Here is a pretty good website I found.

http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/rabies/symptoms.shtml

To answer your question, no an animal can not carry the virus w/o becoming sick...rabies is a deadly disease.

If your animal has any signs, call animal control or the SPCA, and let them take care of the animal...it is unwise to approach and animal with rabies.

Answer 4

One thing that needs to be pointed out is an animal can be carrying the rabies virus before showing the signs.

Answer 5

its hard to tell if an animal is rabid if they are not showing any signs. the best thing to do is stay away from any animal that is wild or, if it is a pet, stay away if it has no tags.