Poll on respiratory meds

[Petunia]

Hi
I was hoping you could all help by answering this poll about what drug(s) your vet prescribes for a rat the very FIRST time that they are seen for a (suspected) respiratory infection.

I know that after the first course of treatment, sometimes a different med is needed, or maybe a dose adjustment, but what I am interested in is, what is the *first choice* for your vet?

I set the poll up so you can choose two, if your vet prescribed a combination of two meds.
If there were more than two drugs prescribed, please post what they were ok?

If the drug(s) your vet prescribes are not listed, please post what your vet uses.

If you have any comments on the effectiveness of the drugs your vet chose, or really, any comments at all, please post those too. :wink:

thanks!!

 

[LA]

Mine always does Baytril first, if that doesn't work then she adds Doxy.

 

[puffnstuff]

My current vet goes for Baytril alone. She says that mixing it with Doxy is counter-productive, despite that most vets and most online resources still recommend the Baytril/Doxy combo.

 

[Petunia]

ah we have one vote for SULFAMETHOXAZOLE/TRIMETHOPRIM brand: BACTRIM, SEPTRA

If you don't mind my asking, how did this work for the rat that it was prescribed for?
Did the rat recover quickly?

if you don't want to answer and just remain anonymous that's ok I am just curious about how this worked for your rat.
what were the rat's symptoms? were you pretty sure the rat had a respiratory infection, or was this just in case some sneezing or other mild symptoms were caused by an infection?

thanks to all who have responded so far! I hope that we get a lot of responses, it would be great to have this info all in one place.

 

[jorats]

One thing to keep in mind is that there are all kinds of respiratory infections. It can be in the nasal passages, in the lungs, it can be asthma, pneumonia and pulmonary abscesses. It's very hard for the vet to know the difference. So say one vet gave SMZ, the infection was in the nasal passages, that would have helped there but no way it would help in the lungs. Do you know what I mean?
Also, Tylosin and Tetracycline are a complete waste of time. They work in that they boost the immune system a little and helps calm sneezes but other than that, they don't kill off the bacteria so the infection comes back a month or so later with greater impact. The same can be said with doxy at times, depending what you are fighting. We've been treating rats with vet meds, not online meds since 2002, we've tried a lot of things. My vet has done a lot of research.
Once in while though, it's good to try something different if nothing else helps...like amoxi, clavamox, chlorpalm. But again, those meds are known to not work on URI but if you've been using Baytril for ages and nothing is working, you can try to add something else because we really don't know what's going on inside the rat, not until the postmortem.
Once, I was treating a rat for severe pneumonia with all kinds of meds... he finally died and the post showed he had a thymic tumour. Rats's thymus is suppose to shrink and go away once they age but not my Magnus, he developed a tumour and it was crushing the lungs. No amount of meds would have helped him.
Another time, I was treating Felix for URI, finally he started the gasping stage and there was no recovering from that... in his post, his lungs were clear! but, he had a huge pituitary tumour.

 

[Alicemcmallis]

I voted for baytril and doxy combined. It's been my experience that using baytril alone rarely permanently gets rid of an infection (they'll get better for a while but then after a couple of weeks get worse), so we just do both at once instead of using baytril first and waiting for it to get worse.

 

[SQ]

Clavamox is good for secondary infections which kill very fast.

Various meds are good for myco outbreaks depending on the problem.
Usually baytril for at least 6 weeks, often combined with a second antibiotic.
The second antibiotic varies.

 

[Petunia]

hmm, ok
my vet said that clavamox can't be used for rats, and that zithromax isn't used for rats either.....

more confusion....

 

[Chevalrose]

My vet uses Baytril first and Doxy only if needed since it can upset tummies.

Petunia...I know you're in my area. I absolutely LOVE my vet (and she deals in exotics). She's in Hooksett. Dr. Krogman at Northside Animal Hospital (off exit 9S on 93).

 

[Petunia]

My vet uses Baytril first and Doxy only if needed since it can upset tummies.

Petunia...I know you're in my area. I absolutely LOVE my vet (and she deals in exotics). She's in Hooksett. Dr. Krogman at Northside Animal Hospital (off exit 9S on 93).

When was the last time you got meds from her?

 

[Chevalrose]

We've been there almost twice a week for about a month for Onyx before we just had to put him to sleep. She gave him Clavamox (although she was nervous about it at first...she said they drill it into your head in veterinary school that it's not good for small animals because of stomach upset).

She usually gives SMZ for abscesses originally as well. She's VERY open to suggestions I get on these forums and does neuters/spays/tumor removals/etc.

She also see's my cat and is great with her.

 

[Petunia]

We've been there almost twice a week for about a month for Onyx before we just had to put him to sleep. She gave him Clavamox (although she was nervous about it at first...she said they drill it into your head in veterinary school that it's not good for small animals because of stomach upset).

She usually gives SMZ for abscesses originally as well. She's VERY open to suggestions I get on these forums and does neuters/spays/tumor removals/etc.

She also see's my cat and is great with her.

I'm sorry I meant when was the last time you got meds for a respiratory issue.

I'm going to take this to PMs now ok?

 

[jorats]

Zithromax is wonderful for younger rats. It has literally saved the lives of a few of ours here.

 

[PitLuvs]

Our vet suggests bayrtril and a second antibiotic to be safe, she mentioned a amoxi so I put that as the other option. Maybe she was thinking clavamox.

 

My thread has alot of info on meds, if you care to take a look

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=21864&start=0

 

[Petunia]

My thread has alot of info on meds, if you care to take a look

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=21864&start=0

thank you, I will

 

[Petunia]

One thing to keep in mind is that there are all kinds of respiratory infections. It can be in the nasal passages, in the lungs, it can be asthma, pneumonia and pulmonary abscesses. It's very hard for the vet to know the difference. So say one vet gave SMZ, the infection was in the nasal passages, that would have helped there but no way it would help in the lungs. Do you know what I mean?
Also, Tylosin and Tetracycline are a complete waste of time. They work in that they boost the immune system a little and helps calm sneezes but other than that, they don't kill off the bacteria so the infection comes back a month or so later with greater impact. The same can be said with doxy at times, depending what you are fighting. We've been treating rats with vet meds, not online meds since 2002, we've tried a lot of things. My vet has done a lot of research.
Once in while though, it's good to try something different if nothing else helps...like amoxi, clavamox, chlorpalm. But again, those meds are known to not work on URI but if you've been using Baytril for ages and nothing is working, you can try to add something else because we really don't know what's going on inside the rat, not until the postmortem.
Once, I was treating a rat for severe pneumonia with all kinds of meds... he finally died and the post showed he had a thymic tumour. Rats's thymus is suppose to shrink and go away once they age but not my Magnus, he developed a tumour and it was crushing the lungs. No amount of meds would have helped him.
Another time, I was treating Felix for URI, finally he started the gasping stage and there was no recovering from that... in his post, his lungs were clear! but, he had a huge pituitary tumour.

very good points Jo.

I guess then you really can't say that there is one med preferred over any other.

Do you know if it's still true that you want to treat respiratory infections aggressively at first, or are they finding that rats build up an immunity or tolerance to the antibiotics too quickly that way?

 

[DadRat]

Our vet, a former rat owner who currently has sugar gliders at home, always starts with a Baytril and Doxy combo for the first round. If that doesn't take care of it, something else will get prescribed.

 

[Sorraia]

Depended on the vet. I had one vet who always prescribed Clavamox first. This always kicked it in the butt, rat recovered fully and lived out the rest of their life respiratory symptom-free. Even one rat with full-blown pneumonia recovered fully. Another vet always prescribed Baytril first. I personally have NEVER had any luck with this, and if the rats even recovered they typically suffered from respiratory symptoms the rest of their life.

 

[jorats]

I definitely go with aggressive treatment and never with do something like Tylosin or Tetracycline.