Doxycycline Paired with Bananas???

[SillyGilly]

Hello everyone!

So, we took our four boys to the vets for a wellness exam on Sunday, March 3rd, and while three of our boys turned out to be in good health, we found out my heart rat, Giltine, has an upper respiratory infection. The vet prescribed him Doxycycline twice a day for 14 days and we began treatment the same night. He won’t take the medicine from the syringe (because he’s a bit of a bRat) and I’d hate to force the medicine down his throat because I wouldn’t want to get liquid in his lungs, so the first night we started treatment I paired it with baby food. But ever since then I’ve been mixing it in with some mashed bananas. However, he’s still breathing heavy and it worries me. It’s my first time treating an upper respiratory infection and I was just wondering if this stuff just takes awhile? Or does it have something to do with me pairing it with bananas, since it’s a prebiotic fruit? I apologize in advance if I seem totally clueless (I am lol). I just want to make extra sure that I’m not doing anything wrong. I only want what’s best for my baby boy <3

 

[Dena]

First of all, 14 days isn't going to be long enough to take care of the infection fully. He will need 4-6 weeks of meds (trust me, I found out the hard way). Second, you should see some improvements in a couple of days. You may need to add a second antibiotic to it, like baytril. What is the dose your vet has him on? What did he weigh? Www.ratguide.com has good info on illnesses and meds on it. It's vet approved as well. You may need to print out info from there and take it to your vet with you to show them about the meds. Also, I would mix meds with just about anything to get my rat to take them. They get picky sometimes, so you may have to change it up. Just make sure not to mix so much with it, that they get full or lose interest, before all the med is in for the dose.

 

[SillyGilly]

First of all, 14 days isn't going to be long enough to take care of the infection fully. He will need 4-6 weeks of meds (trust me, I found out the hard way). Second, you should see some improvements in a couple of days. You may need to add a second antibiotic to it, like baytril. What is the dose your vet has him on? What did he weigh? Www.ratguide.com has good info on illnesses and meds on it. It's vet approved as well. You may need to print out info from there and take it to your vet with you to show them about the meds. Also, I would mix meds with just about anything to get my rat to take them. They get picky sometimes, so you may have to change it up. Just make sure not to mix so much with it, that they get full or lose interest, before all the med is in for the dose.

Thank you so much!!! No offense, but our vets don’t really seem like they know what they’re doing most of the time…it’s sad. She has him on a dosage of 0.7 cc and he weighs 465.00 grams. She didn’t ask us to, but we were planning on going back after the 14 days for a follow up and I’ll be sure to print out the info and take it with me! Thank you for the idea!! We’ve definitely noticed that the Porphyrin that was usually around his nose has gone away (which we are super happy about) ! Giltine is the epitome of picky lol! I hardly fill the spoon with banana, just enough to really drown out the taste of medicine (because he’s too smart for me, I tried putting it on a slice of strawberry and he totally dropped it in an attempt to wipe the medicine off into my sheets. The stinker! I ended up ripping it in pieces and feeding him like that, I even tricked him into licking it off my fingers so thankfully none went to waste) but mixing it up is definitely a bright idea! Thanks again for the website link!! I think I just found what will become my most frequented website haha! Is baytril something I can get from the vet or can I buy it from any store?

 

[Dena]

Baytril needs to be prescribed by your vet. I also recommend going back before the 15 days. You're going to need more meds. You may have to put your foot down about it as well. What is the strength of the doxy?

 

[SillyGilly]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice!! If it’s for my lil’ baby boy I would walk to the ends of the earth and back The strength is 5 mg/mL.

 

[Dena]

Maybe Lilspaz or SQ will chime in. They are better at this than me. Just trying to get the specs for them when they do.

 

[SQ]

It is good that you are seeing some improvement, but it does sound like you need to get baytril to give with the baytril, orally, twice a day. Baytril is much more effective then doxy for many upper respiratory infections. Baytril + doxy is often effective, however if not there are other combinations of antibiotics that can be tried.

If you find an antibiotic is working, then it needs to be given for 4 to 6 weeks - some of us have found that our rats need to be on antibiotics for 6 weeks. Otherwise they will not be better, although their symptoms have stopped, and the symptoms will quickly return.
When a medication is not working or not working well enough then you need to go back to the vets asap and either try a different antibiotic or add an antibiotic to the medication being given.

Hopefully you can find a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats, or a good vet that likes rats and is willing to learn.

Here are some links re baytril and doxy. You may want to print them out to take with you to a vet. You will notice that amount of meds given is based on the strength of the med as well as the weight of the rat …. so having a digital scale that weighs accurately to 1 gram and has a tare function is a good item to have. As mentioned by Dena, ratguide.com is a vet approved medical site for rat owners
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/doxycycline.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php

I hope Giltine is soon feeling much better

btw Welcome to the forum ....... you will find the reference thread to be helpful https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

 

[SQ]

btw if you post the strength of the doxy (mg/ml) then we could double check the dose …. or using the info in the above link you can check it. Sometimes vets under dose rats.

As for giving meds,
I have found that measuring out the meds for the rat into a tiny dish, adding a couple of drops of real organic maple syrup, a couple of drops of water and a tiny bit of baby cereal to thicken it will work. Most rats seem to think this is a treat and eat it quickly out of the dish, or lick it off my finger.

I used to use strawberry quik to sweeten it but decided that the real maple syrup would be healthier.

 

[SillyGilly]

Thank you SO much Dena and SQ!! You guys have been so helpful to me since I joined! I’m in awe!! It’s such a relief to know there are members like you two here to help the worrywart rat mom that is myself lol! You guys have been MORE than helpful! I’m so glad to have gotten a second opinion and not just left it at that. I’m planning on making a trip to my vets very soon with this newly gained information so that I can help my Gilly get better <3 XOXO Thank you again! Seriously! I’m forever in your gratitude.

The strength of the doxy is 5 mg/mL That sounds like a brilliant idea to give him the meds that way (REAL healthy too, especially since I’ve read somewhere that bananas are usually used to fatten ratties up) I’m going to be giving that a try!

 

[Dena]

I hope you are able to get your littke guy healthy again, and feeling better!

 

[Dena]

Forgot to ask, how old is he? It's crazy how such a little creature can steal our hearts, and have us wrapped around their little tails!

 

[SillyGilly]

Thank you so much Dena!! I’ll be sure to keep you posted He’ll be a year old in April! It really is so crazy! I got him for my birthday last year (he was my very first pet rat ever) and I never even knew I was capable of so much love for such a tiny, little fella! Lol! Wrapped around their little tails is the most perfect way to put it!

 

[lilspaz68]

The dose is okay but as has been mentioned before, doxy alone usually isn't enough to totally cure a respiratory infection. Do you have any leftover antibiotics in your own med cupboard? Like ciprofloxacin, or azithromycin? These can both be added to doxycycline to make an effective combo.

 

[SillyGilly]

The dose is okay but as has been mentioned before, doxy alone usually isn't enough to totally cure a respiratory infection. Do you have any leftover antibiotics in your own med cupboard? Like ciprofloxacin, or azithromycin? These can both be added to doxycycline to make an effective combo.

Thank goodness! It’s such a relief to know that the dose is enough. I had a look see and sadly I have no leftovers, but it’s great that you told me so I have that as a reference Thank you very much lilspaz68!! I feel this new information can be very valuable to me in the future!