Respiratory Infection?

[lilspaz68]

If you cannot afford the online medications there's no point getting the syrup or pill bottles.

keep asking friends/family/co-workers if they have any leftover antibiotics. At this point its all you have got.

I had a horrible vet I had to go to, who would only give doxy for 7 days saying it was toxic and would kill the rat if given after. Kept asking me (I was sick at the time) if I could've gotten Leptospirosis from my rats...umm yeah my rats run free outside running through tainted puddles of water!

When I met a rat owner in the lobby and she had 2 girls I loved on and found out how they were treated, I refused to go anymore.

One girl had a lot of scabs from mites and a minor respiratory infection. Easily treated with antibiotics and one dose of Revolution. He euthanized her. the other girl luckily only had some scabs and he gave the owner ivermectin and told her to dose it once at home (the dose was 12 times as much as it should've been and the rat that I took in from that girl, had multiple strokes and died from ivermectin poisoning. They may "love" rats but you have to have knowledge too

 

[Dena]

Omg that's so sad and scary! Exactly the reason why I'm looking at taking my rats to a new vet! I have one I trusted with my bunny, and other rats, and two of my rats died, and the bunny has had not as good of care as I'd like. So I talked to another vet, who I took another pet to a while ago, and he was pretty amazing. Even taught me to do treatment on my other animal, so I would understand what was going on, and I could have more say on what I would like done. I really respect vets who are willing to teach their patient's parents care, to help save them money and vet visits, and give them knowledge. I just went to the other vet because it was cheaper, and was pretty recommended by other patients. I should have known....

 

[_ratowner]

If you cannot afford the online medications there's no point getting the syrup or pill bottles.

keep asking friends/family/co-workers if they have any leftover antibiotics. At this point its all you have got.

I had a horrible vet I had to go to, who would only give doxy for 7 days saying it was toxic and would kill the rat if given after. Kept asking me (I was sick at the time) if I could've gotten Leptospirosis from my rats...umm yeah my rats run free outside running through tainted puddles of water!

When I met a rat owner in the lobby and she had 2 girls I loved on and found out how they were treated, I refused to go anymore.

One girl had a lot of scabs from mites and a minor respiratory infection. Easily treated with antibiotics and one dose of Revolution. He euthanized her. the other girl luckily only had some scabs and he gave the owner ivermectin and told her to dose it once at home (the dose was 12 times as much as it should've been and the rat that I took in from that girl, had multiple strokes and died from ivermectin poisoning. They may "love" rats but you have to have knowledge too

Oh my gosh, that is horrible. They got put down over something that they could have worked at to get the rat feeling better. I think that the vet I go to "tries" to find information from online and such but just doesn't get it right. I wish I could switch vets but I don't really trust to put my rats' lives in anyone else's hands after having this current vet. The closest vet to me other than my current vet is maybe 2 hours away but it would be somewhat inconvenient to have to drive 4 hours every time I need to see the vet.

 

[_ratowner]

The vet clinic that I am currently with actually were the ones who put down my old cat some years ago. Now that I think about it and now that I think of how they have assessed the situation with my rats, Im thinking maybe there was a chance that they misdiagnosed him and put him down for no reason when he may have been able to live longer but that is just my thought process and how my brain works. I'm most likely wrong but it just makes me wonder.

 

[Lise Patterson]

Your boy will need continuing medication, as others have pointed out above. And your forthcoming prescription for doxy won't last forever - you will either run out or your doxy will expire first (the compounded doxycycline that my vet prescribes expires after 28 days.) So here's a suggestion - instead of paying another $60 to get more doxy from your vet, use that same amount to order the meds recommended by lilspaz68 - those precious dollars will buy more meds and your poor boy will finally receive an appropriate drug combo.
BTW, the suggested meds found on Ladygouldianfinch are not exclusively "bird medications" - they are the same meds that vets prescribe for pet rats. Indeed, the Rat Fan Club cites Doxyvet Liquid as a highly recommended form of Doxycycline for use in treating respiratory disease in rats: http://www.ratfanclub.org/resp.html
As for the suggested enrofloxacin - well that's just the generic name for Baytril.
lilspaz68 has given you solid advice. Online ordering would not normally be my first choice. But it may be the very best choice for someone who lacks access to decent vet care and who can't otherwise afford crucial meds.

 

[_ratowner]

Would it be okay to order the medication suggested above (when I get the money to purchase it) when I start to run low on the medication the vet gives me? I said earlier in the thread that I believe that the vet is giving him 3 rounds of 14 days (6 weeks) of doxycycline. I am aware that the medication on the site linked either isn’t exclusively for bird but the site is based on bird care. I know that when viewing the medication on the site it does show diesels for rats and other animals. Thank you for your help.

 

[_ratowner]

I forgot to mention, I wasn’t able to take a video of his breathing as he hasn’t been making that much noise when he is with me. He is still acting normal, don’t worry. The only time I would be able to show his body language is when he is out of the cage (or else he is in his boxes) but then he just tries to cuddle the whole time so it wouldn’t really be much.

 

[Lise Patterson]

I would totally recommend that you order the online meds before running out of your prescribed batch - lilspaz68 has cautioned that such orders come from the US and may take a few weeks to arrive. Best of luck to you and your boy.

 

[Dena]

Not to mention, that it wouldn't hurt to have extras on hand in case you need them later on...

 

[_ratowner]

I would totally recommend that you order the online meds before running out of your prescribed batch - lilspaz68 has cautioned that such orders come from the US and may take a few weeks to arrive. Best of luck to you and your boy.

Yeah, I understand. What I meant by that was order them when I have about a few weeks left of the medication from the vet.

 

[_ratowner]

I also received the humidifier that I ordered in hopes that it would bring moisture into the air since there is a space heater in the room they are in. If anyone is able to help me out of how to use an air humidifier when you own rats, I have a thread about my situation. You can help me on there at https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/air-humidifier-safe-for-rats.36545/

Thank you

 

[_ratowner]

I got a call around 11:30 ish from the vet clinic (not the vet herself) saying that the medication came in and that we can go and pick it up but they close at 11:30 so we will have to go fast. We got there and the lady at the desk said that she hadn’t mixed it yet because she was just going to do it on Monday because she didn’t think we would come today. She went to mix it but got a call that was unrelated so she asked a different worker to mix it but the other worker didn’t know what to do and asked if she was just supposed to put the contents of one bottle into the contents of another bottle to mix it and the desk lady said “I guess so”... YOU GUESS SO?!! When my pet’s life is in your hands, don’t just “guess” how to do your job, do it correctly

We then sat down and waited for them to finish mixing the medication and a while later the desk lady comes up to us and says that they don’t know how to do it and they don’t know the dosages and they need the vet to be their to mix it and whatever so we won’t be able to get the medication UNTIL MONDAY. You do not understand how much I dispise going to this vet but it is the only one I have access to and it is so aggravating. They don’t know how to do their jobs and the vet doesn’t even show up to work when I need her the most. They don’t call back, they don’t prescribe the right treatments, they don’t care about animals, they charge WAY too much, they don’t take your pet’s situation seriously and don’t understand the severity of the situation. I wish that I could go to a different vet but they are all too far away and this is the only one where I live.

The vet wasn’t there today and he won’t be treated until Monday because they are closed tomorrow (Sunday).

Actually double story time:
When I went to the vet today, they made someone pay around $200-$300 for a tiny bottle of pills that only lasts a week, this could have a valid reason but whatever, I am just heated right now and being dramatic.
As I have said before sometime on this forum, I know of someone who got denied treatment on their cat who was in desperate need because they couldn’t pay a huge price up front so they would have let the cat suffer instead of treat them.

I will probably delete some of this later but I just needed to rant.

Thank you.

 

[lilspaz68]

Rant away,I have LOTS of vet stories. It helps to get them out on a safe platform.
If you are getting the doxy already I advise getting the Enrofloxcyn to pair it up with. You can get the smallest bottle which is $22.47 USD before tax and shipping. This would give him a much better chance.

 

[_ratowner]

Rant away,I have LOTS of vet stories. It helps to get them out on a safe platform.
If you are getting the doxy already I advise getting the Enrofloxcyn to pair it up with. You can get the smallest bottle which is $22.47 USD before tax and shipping. This would give him a much better chance.

I am hoping to get the doxycycline on Monday when the vet is back. I actually don’t know how long she is giving to me for but I will tell you when I know. I was told before that she ordered 3 rounds of 14 days which is 6 weeks.

I will try to get the other medication that you suggested. I honestly hate pulling this card but the rats have been really expensive this month. I am trying to sell stuff to afford their medication but no one is biting.

Thank you for your help.

 

[_ratowner]

We went to the vet and picked up his medication. It says to give him 0.25 mL twice a day. the quantity is 20 where as the other medication I have been given previously said that the quantity is 1 so I don’t know what that means. It also says Doxycycline 20mg/mL

Then the bottle just says normal things like shake well, refrigerate, and discard after 30 days as it is only good for the long.

I will give him his first dose tonight.

Thank you.
If I missed any information I will try to update as soon as I can.

 

[Lise Patterson]

Great to hear that you can start him on doxy. I'd guess that the quantity cited as 20 refers to 20 mls total in the bottle. At usage of 0.5 ml per day (.25 x 2), the 20 mls should be more than enough for 30 days (that quantity would in theory last for 40 days, if it weren't for the expiry date).
Is there any mention of repeats on the label?

 

[_ratowner]

Great to hear that you can start him on doxy. I'd guess that the quantity cited as 20 refers to 20 mls total in the bottle. At usage of 0.5 ml per day (.25 x 2), the 20 mls should be more than enough for 30 days (that quantity would in theory last for 40 days, if it weren't for the expiry date).
Is there any mention of repeats on the label?

refills are 0
I forgot to say that I think she (the desk lady) said to treat him for 14 days and see if it helps him then if the symptoms come back then to treat him again instead of doing non stop treatment for the 30 days. Thoughts anyone?
Thank you

 

[Lise Patterson]

Desk Lady has much to learn about murine mycoplasma.

 

[Dena]

That's dumb.

 

[lilspaz68]

Does your lad weigh 500 grams, because if he does this is a good dose.