A rat being raised to feed a Pennsylvania family 's pet snakes ended up biting their 6-month-old baby boy , killing him . Cumberland County Coroner Charlie Hall announced Thursday that the infant died from meningitis and myocarditis transmitted through the bite . The family lives in the 500 block of South Baltimore Street in Dillsburg . The coroner declined to officially identify the baby to the Daily Mail Thursday citing an ongoing investigation . Culprit : A rat ( file photo ) being raised to feed a Pennsylvania family 's pet snakes ended up biting their 6-month-old baby boy , killing him . Tragic loss : Daily Mail has identified him as Landon Kreitz , the son of Justin Kreitz and Rachel Frye . Animal lovers : The boy 's parents , Rachel Frye and Justin Kreitz , had multiple pet snakes at the house . Hall says the child was treated at the Holy Street Hospital emergency room December 30 for a fever and a rash and discharged home . Two days later , the lethargic and feverish child was brought back and died in the emergency room that dame day . Investigators later learned that the child had been bitten by a rat on his right index finger . Lab studies later revealed the baby had rat-bite fever . Hall says police and county caseworkers are investigating . The deceased child has not been publicly named , but Daily Mail has identified him as Landon Kreitz , the son of Justin Kreitz and Rachel Frye . Slithery pet : Justin Kreitz shared an image in May 2013 depicting a 'new addition ' to their family : a rat snake ( pictured ) According to his obituary , baby Landon was just two days shy of seven months when he passed away at the hospital . The coroner 's report suggests that the boy 's parents had multiple pet snakes at the house . On his Facebook page Justin Kreitz shared an image in May 2013 depicting a 'new addition ' to their family : a rat snake . When Daily Mail reached out to the family to comment on the report , a relative picked up the phone at the house saying she was not yet ready to make a statement and referred this reporter to Landon ’ s mother , Rachel . PennLive.com reported that when Chief Deputy Coroner Matt Stoner called the boy 's 21-year-old mother to tell the family the cause of their son 's death , Hall said the reaction was 'OK , thanks . ' But the coroner pointed out that when he spoke to her , the woman sounded distraught . In a brief phone interview with the Daily Mail , Hall stated that this was the county 's first rat-bite fever fatality in his memory . The family lives in the 500 block of South Baltimore Street in Dillsburg . The child was treated at the Holy Street Hospital emergency room December 30 for a fever and a rash and discharged home.Two days later , the lethargic and feverish child was brought back and died . The coroner added that criminal charges were not out of the question in connection to the baby 's death , depending on the outcome of the investigation . According to the US Centers for Disease Control , Rat-bite fever is an infectious disease that can be caused by two different bacteria.People usually get the disease from infected rodents or consumption of contaminated food or water .
Boy identified by Daily Mail as Rachel Frye died January 1 , 2014 , just two days shy of seventh months . Coroner 's report showed baby succumbed to meningitis and myocarditis transmitted through rat bite . Infant was biting on right index finger by a rat at his parents ' home in Dillsburg , Pennsylvania .