How long should you give Baytril for? - Updates on Crank

[ATez]

I've been so concerned with Pickle i forgot to give Crank his medication last night and i was 3 hours late. I've been giving it to him at Noon and Midnight and i need to give him 0.01CC twice a day for 10 days. He's got an old respiratory infection coming back from when he was barely a few months old and the Vet said i caught it so early that she couldnt hear any wheezing but for 2 days I heard him chirping quietly like a bird then i guess he just addapted his breathing and stopped doing it.

My question is it 10 days enough? And how bad is my screw up here?

I read many posts in different forums and websites about people giving their rats Baytril for up to 3 weeks?
He's only supposed to be on the meds for another 3 days but is it safer to give it to him for longer? Is it risk free?

 

[SQ]

I give baytril for six weeks for respir. issues, otherwise the symptoms usually return.
The Rat Health Care book says to give 10 mg/454.4 g twice a day for at least 6 weeks.

 

[jorats]

3 hours late is not a big deal. Typically with full blown respiratory infections, we like to give Baytril 4 to 6 weeks, even longer for stubborn or chronic cases. But since your vet didn't hear anything in the lungs, you could always go back for a recheck and get more if you are not satisfied with his progress.

 

[PitLuvs]

Ours are/were on baytril/doxy combo for 6weeks, we give 0.2cc every 12 hours of baytril. I think ours is mixed a lot weaker lol

 

[ATez]

Okay, thanks everyone.
Well Crank has been acting like himself even when the chirps started. He's always been a bit more lazy then Pickle and never ever runs.
I seen him run only once and ... darn.. his fat actually made slapping noises has he hopped away. I never seen him do it ever again after that. lol
Poor Cranky!

 

[ATez]

Well i stopped giving Crank baytril just a few days ago because it's nearly expire.
He was doing fine and the slight chirps had stopped but just today i started hearing him again. It's not constant, he'll do it for maybe 30 seconds to a few minutes and then i won't hear him at all the rest of the day. Thing is during my last vet visit they heard nothing except for ONE little wheeze so she put him on 0.01CC for 10 days but since after 8-9 days i could still hear him chirping i thought i would write here and continue untill it would stop for at least 4-5 days.

I want to call the vet and ask if i can get only baytril and continue his treatment or if maybe i should give him a bit more for X amount of time. He's healthy, eats like a pig and is lazy as he's always been and still picks fights with Pickle. No change in behavior at all for now. I really don't want to bring him to the vet and be told nothing is wrong with him then pay 60$ for a checkup just to bring him back again in a month because i can hear him breathing from the next room.

Does anyone think he should be given a different med or just up the dose of baytril?

thanks guys!

 

[jorats]

0.01 seems like a small dose?

 

[victoria]

0.01 seems like a small dose?

That is a small dose, even at 100 mg/ml. You should probably call and double check.

 

[Dazzle87]

It is common for rats to be underdosed on antibiotics, I see it all the time

We need the mg/ml (it says so on the bottle) in order to know the concentration, and the dose, and your rats approxamate weight in order to see if your rat was receiving a proper dose. 5mg/lb or 10mg/kg is an appropriate dose.

If my rat was still doing that after being on just baytril, I would definitely want to do a combo like baytril and doxy, baytril and zithromax, etc.

 

[ATez]

It's 100 mg/ml but yeah that was a tiny amount and Crank is still overweight and lazy.
I think he wasn't doing much noise for a while because maybe the med was keeping him at a table state but i'll check up with my vet tomorrow... damn i know they'll ask me to bring him but i really can't right now and it almost seems pointless since they won't hear anything. The ONLY reason they gave me meds last time is because of his past history.

I'm actually thinking of getting a stethoscope. Really the way they check for a rat i feel like i'm being ripped off during a check up but they are great for surgeries and for stupid stuff like something stuck between the teeth they won't even charge. They check them for tumors, they listen inside of them for any wheezing and they weight them. I mean that's pretty much it. 60$ :/ I know i'm not a doctor but still... argh!

Thanks for the info tho, i'll see what the vet suggests.

 

[victoria]

If he was in a few weeks ago and you tell them he's still congested they likely won't. Plus, the amount they prescribed is way too low - I give .05 to my 490g rat and I have seen Crank and he is bigger.

 

[ATez]

If he was in a few weeks ago and you tell them he's still congested they likely won't. Plus, the amount they prescribed is way too low - I give .05 to my 490g rat and I have seen Crank and he is bigger.

Alright, i'll tell them that. I still want a stethoscope tho.

 

[victoria]

Lol you won't be able to prescribe meds though.

 

[ATez]

Lol you won't be able to prescribe meds though.

:wallbang:

 

[Dazzle87]

Yeah, you're giving 1 mg...it should be 10mg/kg or 5mg/lb. How do you even measure .01 accurately anyway? They seriously under dosed the boy, unless you mean .1 and typed it wrong?

 

[ATez]

Yeah, you're giving 1 mg...it should be 10mg/kg or 5mg/lb. How do you even measure .01 accurately anyway? They seriously under dosed the boy, unless you mean .1 and typed it wrong?

It wasn't a typo, they give us 1/2CC 5ml BD Oral Syringes.
I'm back from the Vet and this is what was Crank was prescribed:

Twice a day

0.04 CC Doxycycline 10mg/ml (i phoned and they told me the dose on the bottle is wrong. 0.2 CC)
0.01 CC Baytril 100mg/ml
0.10 CC Bene-bac (tube) 1CC

0.01 CC would be just one small black line and 0.1CC would be to number 1.

And this is the noise he's making at the moment. It's not constant, sometimes i won't hear him all day and then it goes on and off for an hour.
He sneezed on my hand a bit earlier and i had little drops on me but it was clear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUuDywlyWJ0

 

[Dazzle87]

I know where .01 cc is, I just know it is harder to measure out accurately, when it is that concentrated and so small an amount, a tiny bubble or slightly above or below the line makes a big difference. I also knew that .01 was 1 mg so before telling you you definitely needed to give your rat more I wanted to make sure it was what you meant.

Anyway, 1 mg of baytril is nowhere near enough. Do you have enough to give the proper dose? If for example, your rat weighs 454g you need .05 of your 100mg/ml baytril. If you give me the weight I can help you figure it out.

http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php

As for doxy, you are giving 2mg, which would be right if your rat is 12oz, or about 340 grams.

 

[victoria]

She's made a mistake on the dosing ATez. Definitely call her right away and let them know he's not doing well and that you believe he was given too little. You can also save money if you get a prescription for Doxycycline and fill it at the pharmacy at the Westmount Medical Centre - just ask them to compound it for a month. Even with the prescription fee, I am paying less than half than I was before. The only catch is they don't do same day service for vet scripts, so you have to take it a day ahead of time.

 

[ATez]

I'll get a scale first thing in the morning so i can keep track of their weight and then i think i'll call a different vet for a second opinion... if i'm still told he needs very little med i'm going to try the website linked to calculate how much med he should be taking.

Never heard of the Westmount Medical Centre before. I'm looking it up right now and it doesn't look like a place for vets or animals? http://www.medwestmountsquare.com/ is this it? So what do i do, call and tell them "i need this and that?" :?

sorry if i sound clueless but i actually am.

Crank sounds like he's wheezing more often then he was just a few days ago too. My poor little guy, i feel so guilty for not knowing how to properly care and dose medications. I had to go to work earlier then i read this when i got home and couldn't get myself to reply to you guys yet. I wasn't sure if i should give him more then i was told and i don't know his exact weight yet. He's "whistling" but at least he's still bruxing and comes to me when i call him, i'm glad he's at least happy for now.

 

[victoria]

You called and they said the amount is right? The Westmount Medical Centre is a medical building on Sherbrooke West (about 5000 or so) that has a compounding pharmacy - the only one I could find in the city. They can compound Doxy to be stable 30 days outside of the fridge and it's cheaper than a two week supply from the vet. This is their site: http://www.montrealpharmacy.com/english/. You still need a prescription from a vet to get the meds. Thinking back to your videos, Crank is pretty big, is it possible he weighs a kilogram (2.2 lbs)?