Dosage on pill form Baytril question

[September555]

Ok all...I have a question that someone may know the answer to. My vet prescribes baytril in pill form. I have a young rat that needs a round of baytril. I called the vet today and she let me just come in and pick them up (the rat was seen there Monday and was ok, I felt she needed a round).

Lily is 4-5 months old, guessing of course, and she weighs 216 grams (as of this past monday at vet visit)
the pill form of the Baitryl is 22.7 mg
Vet prescribed 1/8 of a tablet once a day until gone

My question is is that to big of a dose? My other rats, who are full grown rats (small in size) was prescribed the same dosage and they were double her weigh, 3-4oo gramsish. My vet is an excellent vet I have went to for years, and I made sure I told the vet who talked to the vet for me it was for Lily the baby, so I am guessing it is okay, but I wanted to see before I gave her any doses. She doesnt really specialize in rats or small pets but has always been very knowledgeable about any rat question or problems I have taken my rats to her for. So wanted to be safe here, Lily is so small I dont want to give her to much meds.

Thanks all
Paula

 

[jorats]

Hi Paula!! I've pmed lilspaz to come see this, I bet she will know!

 

[September555]

Thanks Jo....signin off for a few, will be back later or first thing in the morning to check results. I am sure the vets word is ok...just wanted backup. Thanks again for all your help! Paula

 

[lilspaz68]

Hi Paula,

Instead of going thru the persnickety not-exact business of trying to cut a baytril pill into 1/8ths you could try this (which is what I do myself).

Make up a mixture of 1/2 water, 1/2 Strawberry Quik syrup in a small bottle.

Put 3 cc/ml of this solution in a small airtight bottle (pill bottles will work as well just don't tip them over)
Take say 3 of your baytril pills and crush them up, and add them to the solution.

You have now just created 22.7 mg/ml oral baytril (you keep the ratio the same with the pills and the fluid). You would then give your little girl .09 cc's twice a day. The solution is usually very much loved by the rats and they will often take it through the bars, so you don't have to go thru finding that perfect mixture to put your baytril in

 

[lilspaz68]

I think she was underdosing your adults and she was also using the low spectrum of the baytril range.
I think your best bet is to make up the oral baytril as its just more an exact thing.

Btw I created .09 cc twice a day at 10 mg/kg recommended dosage.

 

[September555]

Thanks Lil, except the problem is the pills are already cut into 1/8 pieces. I don't know how many pills there are total, I am assuming just one pill, there is a weeks worth in there, so 1/8 would be 7-8 pieces. I usually get vanilla or plain human yogurt and then crusth the pill up between two spoons and mix that in with a very very small dot of the yogurt and they eat it right up (least my other rats do, Lily is new, not sure if she will or not). I was just worred about the little one getting the exact same amount as the adult one. Sorry I should of been more clear on the pills already being cut up. My first thought was to take the 1/8 of a pill and grind it up and only mix half that with the yogurt for her, but not sure if that is enough...and the 1/8 may be ok, I just have never had to dose such a young rat.

Thanks for your help
Paula

 

[Alicemcmallis]

The 1/8 of a 22.7 mg tablet looks like a good dose for a 216 gram rat, if given twice a day. Here's how I calculated it:

Dosage: 10 mg/kg X Weight: 0.216 kg = 2.16 mg (this is how much she should be getting, twice a day)

22.7/8 = 2.84 mg

However, there are also other things to take into consideration when dosing - the age of the animal and general body condition, previous antibiotic/health history, etc.

There may be a reason the vet is prescribing such a small dose, although I'd be more inclined to think it's because she's just erring on the side of caution which usually isn't good.

She's been seriously underdosing your adult rats though, unless she's given you 50 mg pills in the past for them?

 

[September555]

Thanks Alicemcmallis....

My older girls generally are in great health, body,hair eyes, all great...the couple of times my vet has prescribed what she did has been the 22.7 mg, 1/8 dose for a week. When I took them to the vet to get that baytril was because I seen alot of the porphyrin here and there and spatters in the cage more than usual and they were making a slight straw sliding noise. The vet said it didnt sound to bad in their lungs and gave me that dose of baytril. That is what I have gotten twice now from vet.

The baby Lily I am asking about, I have only had her a little over a month now, she is still little. She seems to be in great health. After I got her settled into cage and all, I seen some porphyrin around her nose and a few splatters here and there, and she made some noises, took her to the vet, she said she didnt hear anything in her lungs and she looked good. That was on a Monday, by Friday I kept hearing noises and seeing porphyrin so I called the vet and asked for baytril since she didnt seem any different. Which is when she gave me the 22.7 at the 1/8 dose. It sounds like from your calculations that does is almost correct.

Maybe that helps giving more info on why the baytril is needed and such. Her case isnt at all bad yet, that is why I wanted the baytril to prevent it from getting worse in case she has a little something there they vet didn't hear.

Thank you, that info really helped.
Paula