6 days on Clavamox for myco flare-up no change in Sue

[momofmany]

Okay, this is my first "got any advice" post since I joined. My girl, Sue, started sneezing just over a week ago. She began to make noises while breathing. Called vet, was prescribed Clavamox, 1 ml twice a day for 6 days. It was holy hell trying to get her to take the meds by food, liquid anything yummy! :gaah: Had to hold her to med her, got it done tho.

Her breathing is the same, nothing has changed. She sounds like a clucking chicken and I am scared to death of losing her this way, right now....well you all know what I mean. She is still eating, although not as much as she normally does. She is drinking from water bottle, although again, not as much. She irritates her sister, Nahls only once a day instead every waking minute. I have sat with her in the bathroom, turned steam room, for 20 minutes this afternoon. Nothing is working!

On Monday I called Vet and they simply could not squeeze us in until Thursday. Sue has an appointment with the vet tomorrow and I am so afraid she (the vet) is not going to be aggressive with treatment, I will express myself, but at the end of the day I am afraid of that passive attitude some vets get regarding rats! I have to travel a couple of hours to get to this one. Two vets in my town and non of them "do" exotics :shock:

I have been Crazy Lady in keeping the two CNs clean as clean can be...Look ma! no fingerprints!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated cuz I'm all out of...well you know...really sad right now.

Thank you
Rhonda

 

[lilspaz68]

Clavamox alone rarely works for respiratory issues, when combined with baytril it can be very potent though. I think you need to ask for either baytril to add or different antibiotics. I am sorry your girly is still sick.

 

[SQ]

You will also want to know her weight, how long the meds will be good for (usually 2 weeks in fridge after being mixed up) and the strength of the meds.
If the new meds/combo helps, she will need to be on it for 6 weeks.

 

[jorats]

I agree, get the Baytril added.

 

[momofmany]

Thank you, thank you for the re-assurance regarding Baytril! I am usually pretty strong but listening to Sue's (280g) breathing is breaking me down. Holy cow! I love these little fuzzbutts!

I had been reading earlier, here, that Baytril and Doxy together is good for respiratory?? I am going over to my mom's tonight and get a nebulizer...I'll try just about anything right now. :sad3:

Thanks you guys for being here!

Rhonda

 

[victoria]

Make sure the nebulizer produces the right size particles (.5-5 micrometres), otherwise it's useless.

 

[momofmany]

Well it appears that Sue has pneumonia. The vet took an x-ray and you can see her little lung fields are all cloudy. There are no other masses showing internally. The vet gave her a shot of Convenia (long acting antibiotic) she also prescribed Baytril .05 ml twice a day.

It was a long day for Sue but she made it okay. She had her escort, Touille, to calm her and show her what long car rides are all about.

Victoria: thanks for the info regarding the nebulizer!

 

[lilspaz68]

don't expect anything from the Convenia...it doens't work with rats. There's a really cool post here in health somewhere, so do a search for Convenia to read it. But you got the baytril at least. Do you still have any clavamox?

Watch her and make sure she's responding to just the baytril because it might not be enough.

 

[mamarat]

My girl recovered from pneumonia with Baytril and Zithro. But it took over a month of meds. Good luck with your sweetie.

 

[momofmany]

don't expect anything from the Convenia...it doens't work with rats. There's a really cool post here in health somewhere, so do a search for Convenia to read it. But you got the baytril at least. Do you still have any clavamox?

Watch her and make sure she's responding to just the baytril because it might not be enough.

Well you're most certainly right about the Convenia!!! It has not helped her at all. Yes, I still have some Clavamox. Regarding the Baytril; the dosage for her is 0.05 ml, which looks to me to be about two small drops, does that sound right? :?

 

[momofmany]

My girl recovered from pneumonia with Baytril and Zithro. But it took over a month of meds. Good luck with your sweetie.

Thank you! I did mention that Baytril/Zithro combo to the Vet and she just poo, poo'ed it *sigh* Boy if a right combo can be found I am in for the long haul with this little one, she is such gentle soul!

 

[victoria]

What's the concentration of your Baytril?

 

[momofmany]

What's the concentration of your Baytril?

Nothing on the bottle. The following is what it says on the invoice: 1.50 Baytril Inj. Per 1Ml #7794 (then the price) $24.43.

Instructions are to give 0.05 ml by mouth twice a day, PLUS she only gave me enough for 14 days, is that even going to be enough? *telling myself; It's okay, this is just a learning curve* :roll:

 

[victoria]

Injectable Baytril is 50 mg/mL I believe, but I don't even know if it's been diluted/compounded. I wish all vets would make their labels/invoices clearer. How much does your rat weigh again? At a 10 mg/kg (if I'm right about the concentration), that would be the dose for a rat weighing 250g.

Most people find any course of meds shorter than 3-4 weeks is useless, especially when it's for pneumonia.

 

[momofmany]

Injectable Baytril is 50 mg/mL I believe, but I don't even know if it's been diluted/compounded. I wish all vets would make their labels/invoices clearer. How much does your rat weigh again? At a 10 mg/kg (if I'm right about the concentration), that would be the dose for a rat weighing 250g.

Most people find any course of meds shorter than 3-4 weeks is useless, especially when it's for pneumonia.

Sue weighs 280g. There is such a small amount of Baytril in this bottle I almost thought it was empty when I took it out of the bag when we got home!

Well it's time to disguise two drops of Baytril in something yummy for Sue. If I take her out of the cage and put her on the playground with med added yummy something she won't touch it, but if I do the same yummy thing in cage, she'll take it, although so will the others!! She's a smart little rattum this one!

 

[victoria]

It's probably the right dose then. You'll want to mask the bitterness of the injectable Baytril with Strawberry Quik or something really sweet.

 

[momofmany]

It's probably the right dose then. You'll want to mask the bitterness of the injectable Baytril with Strawberry Quik or something really sweet.

Oh yes I have been through my whole pantry and refrigerator looking for something she'd like...very picky! Finally the basics of all basics; a little peanut butter & jam and she licks it right off my finger! Who knew?!

I expected to see/hear more positive signs that all these antibiotics are working, so I am still concerned. I know it's going to take a while to clear up the pneumonia, but the change I am hearing is minimal at best. Will be phoning Vet again tomorrow.

Thank you Victoria for your input and advice through this!! I didn't realize how lonely one could feel when sickness rears it's ugly head!

Thanks to everyone who put their invaluable information out here!

Rhonda