Does anyone know about Anti-biotics for rats?

Question

Have you ever had to give our pet rat anti-biotics? because of wheezing, sneezing, coughing, or other like symptoms?

How long should it take until I see a complete recovery?

My pet rat has been on them for about 4 days now.

She still has mild symptoms of her "cold".

But they have improved some.

Is it too soon to consider that the anti-biotics not working?

I have two other rats that a recently developing the same symptoms as my already sick rat. I don't want to spend another $60 on anibiotics that might not even be helping them, since The one on them doesn't seem to be completely better.

Answer 1

Ok. well i had my rat on antibiotics O_o;

and it honestly took awhile before it completely went away -.-

dont worry xD it will get better if thats what he has for sure.

mine did. good luck =]

Answer 2

Did your vet prescribe the antibiotic? Check with him or her and see what they think but it is too soon to say it is not working, especially if you have seen slow improvement. Not all bacteria respond to the same antibiotics. The most common cocktail is Baytril and Doxycyclene which compliment one another. I have never paid $60 for it - it runs about $15. My current vet and my previous vet had compounding pharmacies on the premise but in cases where I have had to go to a human compounding pharmacy to get the mix it was a little higher. I have only ever had one antibiotic run $60 and that was for a very specialized infection.

If you are seeing gradual improvement, then keep giving it. You want to continue past when the symptoms initially disappear because the infection will become sub-clinical before it is totally gone. My vet generally says a week, but when the symptoms are still pronounced after several days (and if they are getting better), he goes to 2 weeks and I have had rats on antibiotic cocktails for as long as a month for resistant infections.

You should contact your vet and let him or her know that the regression of symptoms has been slow. Your vet may switch to a different antibiotic. In difficult to treat situations, my vet has had a culture done to pinpoint the precise infection and has prescribed an antibiotic specific to the organism.

You will definitely want to treat your other two. The longer they go untreated, the bigger a head start the infection has, the more potential for lung damage etc., and the longer they will need to be treated. Again, check with your vet first because if he or she feels the progress is insufficient, you will want to start them all on the improved regimen.

One last thought. My vet mixes up a big bottle of the antibiotic cocktail I mentioned with instructions as to the dose. In my case it is .1 cc for every 100g my rat weighs. When they get sick, I can weigh then and start them on treatment. Many vets will do this for small pets, especially rats who are prone to respiratory infection so that you can reduce your costs by skipping the vet visit and remixing the meds. Just a thought. Talk with your vet about it.

Answer 3

Definitely too soon to say antibiotics aren't working. Give it at least a week, especially since he's improving, however slowly.

How long did the vet say you should be giving them to him?

I'm giving my rat Templeton Baytril and Vibramycin right now because he was wheezing and breathing heavily. Both meds were about $30 altogether for 30 days' worth.. so are you including the vet visit in that $60 figure? He started June 11, saw the vet again August 13, and is now on the meds again until September 13. He's quite improved, but he's not totally better yet. They can take a while, but don't give up because they do work. The thing with rats is that they're really susceptible to these respiratory problems, so it can take a while for things like that to be totally knocked out. Some rats are even on them their whole lives, although your situation doesn't sound that severe. If you think he's really not improving, tell your vet and come up with a new line of attack. ;P Is your vet an exotics vet, or just a vet who is willing to treat rats? It's important to find a vet that really knows something about rats. Just have patience and give him the meds consistently. :)