Respiratory infection, baytril's not working... what to do?

[squishy]

Hellow peoples !

I have a 2 year old female rat called Grisouille (meaning "little grey one" in french) who has breathing problems... I got her about 5 weeks ago from a lady who didn't want her any more and wasn't looking after her that well. The lady said that Grisouille didn't have any health problems, but when I got her home I noticed she was sneezing and had no energy... So I took her to the vet the next day, who gave her a baytril injection, an anti-inflammatory injection, and prescribed a 15 day course of baytril and cortisone... Grisouille got her energy back and put on lots of weight but was still sneezing (less than before though). The vet said that it was probably just some left-over muck in her nose&lungs, and gave me some antibiotic drops I have to put in Grisouille's nostrils (virtually impossible!!!!! haha), some kind of homeopathic drops to put in her food 3x a day, and that I could put her in her travel box under a towel next to a bowl of hot water with different kinds of teas in it so that she breathes in the vapours etc... I've done the tea thing religiously 2x a day for 10 days (and the nose thing and the homeopathic thing too).. But her sneezing has got worse!
I'm going to take her back to the vet on monday, but I don't know if the vet will have any other suggestions after all this... What do you guys suggest? What worked for your rats? I heard baytril combined with doxycycline worked better than baytril on its own, should I ask the vet to try it?

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[victoria]

Baytril or any antibiotic by itself usually do not work for respiratory infections or pneumonia. I would ask for either Doxycycline or Azithromycin to combine the Baytril with. Cortisone is a steroid and while it will improve her symptoms, it will depress her immune system. Steroids are usually only used in extreme cases as a last resort by my vet because they can be counter-productive. It's very likely she will need antibiotics for longer than 2 weeks, most likely 4-6 before she is better.

I'm not sure about the homeopathic remedy as I don't know what it is. Sometimes steam or mist (either from a shower or humidifier) help but if they have pneumonia, it can make things worse because it adds more moisture to the lungs. As for the nose drops, saline nasal sprays for infants can be helpful but again, without knowing more details, I'm not sure what to make of them. If they made her worse though, I would just stop and try to get antibiotics.

Instead of cortisone, you can ask for an NSAID anti-inflammatory like Metacam (Meloxicam) to help make her more comfortable. If she's having a lot of trouble breathing and is lethargic, a bronchodilator like Theophylline can be helpful.

What type of bedding are you using?

 

[squishy]

Thanks for your answer victoria!!
I have some metacam (from a previous vet visit), I'll start giving her that instead...
She's a bit stuffy and sneezy, but she doesn't seem uncomfortable... She's eating fine, and when I let her out to play today she ran around everywhere (and is looking at me right now as though she wants to be let out again haha). I'll ask the vet about giving her doxycycline and baytril for 4-6 weeks...
As for bedding I'm using hemp litter... Is that bad?

 

[Godmother]

Ditto to what Victoria said. I've had good success with Baytril and Doxy. She may need to take it for four weeks or so, because she was so sick when you got her.

I dont know anything about hemp bedding, but probably someone else will.

 

[victoria]

Don't give Metacam and Cortisone at the same time! The risk of GI bleeding is far too high. You have to wait 12 or 24 hours (I can't remember how long to wait depending if you go from steroid to NSAID or vice versa) when switching from one to the other.

Edit: Hemp bedding is fine, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't soft wood based. It's recommended you freeze paper/wood based beddings for 48 hours prior to use to prevent parasites.

 

[squishy]

Oh I didn't know that about cortisone and metacam! But don't worry, I haven't given her cortisone for the past 10 days (I stopped the cortisone at the same time as I stopped the antibiotics)...

 

[victoria]

If she's not lethargic or having a lot of trouble breathing, you may not need an anti-inflammatory. Good luck at the vet! I missed mentioning in my first post - rats shouldn't have residual symptoms when the antibiotic course is finished, they really should be completely recovered when antibiotics are stopped, otherwise you risk a regression and/or antibiotic resistance.

Edited to correct typo.

 

[squishy]

Thanks for all the info! This forum is the best!!!
I just hope that her infection hasn't become resistant to antibiotics... I'll write how everything goes on here on monday after the vet visit.
Thanks again!!

 

[squishy]

I got 4 weeks worth of baytril and doxycycline from the vet on tuesday so hopefully Grisouille will get better... She already seems a bit more lively...
Thanks again for all your advice!!

 

[jorats]

I love her name! Sending healing vibes!