# Albon for respiratory infections?



## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

First of all, please don't bash me for being a bad owner and not taking them to a vet. I've been going through a lot, my mom hurt her leg and is now unemployed because of it and I've been having to take care of her... Not to mention she has no insurance, so we're going through a huge and unexpected financial crisis. Before she got hurt, my mom bought me three girl rats from a pet store, and a few days later one of them started sneezing. Now, it has spread to my male rats and at least one of the females. I found a website that sells diluted liquid Albon, but I never hear of it being used on small animals except for rabbits with parasites. I know it is for treating respiratory infection in dogs, would this help rats also? 
I know it is a respiratory infection because the symptoms are exactly like what another rat of mine had a long time ago. She was taken to a vet.... since we had some money back then.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Also... 

I did quarantine them in another room, however, the first day when my mom got them for me, she sat the cage next to the male cage, so I think that's how they got it.

Also, I looked on that chart for medicine. I didn't see Albon on there, but.... nor did I see Baytril....


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

respiratory infections aren't contagious themselves. obviously, there's something going on if all of them are falling ill with it, though. what kind of enclosure are you keeping them in, what kind of bedding are they on, how often are you cleaning their cages. etc... what are the symptoms exactly?

quarantine in separate rooms is essentially pointless. even if you had each room completely airtight and on their own separate filtration systems, the airborne bacteria can live on your clothes, in your nose, etc. for like 3 hours. it's safe to say the quarantine has already been broken.

anyways, albon and baytril are both brand names for the drugs sulfadimethoxine and enrofloxacin, respectively, which is what they'd be listed as on a drug chart. i do not believe those sulfonamide antibiotics are effective against mycoplasmosis bacteria.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would use doxycycline or ciprofloxacin on a respiratory issue than I would Septra/Albon etc.

How sick are your rats right now?


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

albon is not an antibiotic for respiratory illnesses


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

AMJ087 said:


> albon is not an antibiotic


It is...its really Sulfadimethoxine

http://www.drugs.com/vet/albon-tablets.html


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

lilspaz68 said:


> I would use doxycycline or ciprofloxacin on a respiratory issue than I would Septra/Albon etc.
> 
> How sick are your rats right now?


It varies. I am rarely hearing my males sneeze tonight, maybe twice in a row every half hour, if that. One of the females isn't sneezing whatsoever, one of them is sneezing a LOT, and the other has a moderate amount of sneezing and has that red crust around the eye (forgot what it's called, sorry). None of them have crusty noses or discharge at this point.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

I'd also like to say that I got some Albon since it's the only thing I could get without a prescription. I have the correct dosage (thanks to the person I bought it from) and will try that. If not, they will be going to the vet as soon as I get the money to go. I am lucky enough to live near WSU, which will give discounted vet checkups.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

I feel like a REALLY stupid owner right now. 

Since they have been sick, I've been avoiding contact with them as much as possible. Today, since I started to feel like I was neglecting them, I let them hang out on my bed for while. The one that was sneezing the most wasn't sneezing at all. I put her back in the cage after about 15 minutes, and she immediately started sneezing again. I was wracking my brain, trying to think of what I changed in their cage, and I couldn't think of anything. Then, I realized I bought a different brand of the same kind of bedding. I now have newspaper in there until I can go out and get a different bedding, and I have only heard them sneeze about 3 times since. I guess the moral of this story is, don't buy a different brand of the same thing and expect the same results. Another moral would be don't assume it's one thing before you check everything in their environment. I will continue the Albon treatment for another day in case bacteria has set in from the prolonged exposure to an irritant because when I was in my room listening to them, even with the old bedding still in the cage she was sneezing a lot less, so I think the Albon has helped somewhat.

By the way, I was using a _kiln dried_ wood pellet bedding, that hardly even smells like wood because the lack of oils in the pellets.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

I at least hope my stupidity helps some people in the future, perhaps?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Hahahah...hopefully. Generally we consider sneezing on its own, not a respiratory infection, unless there's a secondary symptom, like excessive porphyrin, laboured, crackling, wheezing breathing, lethargy, hunched posture/half closed eyes, etc.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

that's why I asked what bedding they were on


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Well, I didn't even consider it because I've been using that kind of bedding for rats for years and never had a problem. My males are now 2 years old and were raised on them. The other brand of pellet didn't make them sneeze at all.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Well, here's another update.

Overnight, one of my male rats got a gunked up eye and started sneezing a lot again, this time more mucousy. One of the females were still doing bad.

I found a vet nice enough to look at my male, he said it was probably an infection and told me that an alternative of their baytril (that they would have charged me $40 for), there was some Tetracycline Hydrochloride that I was able to pick up at the pet store for $6 (I didn't see that they had this because I literally never go into pet stores) that I can put into their water. I just got it today, so we'll see how it works out, and I will give another update.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Oh dear, your vet may be nice to your pocketbook, but not nice to your rats (or particularly knowledgeable) :-\

Antibiotics have very strict dosages based on the rats weight, the concentration of the abs and a recommended dosage. If you are just tossing meds into water bottles, then you have NO clue how much any of your rats is getting, or if they are getting enough at all. Underdosing is MUCH worse than overdosing. Its very inexact, the water is considered "tainted" by most rats and they may dehydrate rather than drink it. The bottle must be scrubbed and refreshed every day otherwise bacteria could grow and KILL your rat. Its very very old school and modern vets don't do it at all anymore...this is like 20 years out of date 

Here is the information on how to use this properly...

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


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

****, it's the only vet in my area who'd look at it. 

So it won't be safe, even to follow the dosing instructions on the website you linked and cleaning out their water dish every night? Because that's what I am doing so I want to make sure.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

reflexrg said:


> ****, it's the only vet in my area who'd look at it.
> 
> So it won't be safe, even to follow the dosing instructions on the website you linked and cleaning out their water dish every night? Because that's what I am doing so I want to make sure.


If its the only option you have, then you will have to try, but don't expect miracles. Oxytetracycline is the weakest of the 'cyclines.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Thanks.

I just hope I can find a job to help my mom since she's still not back at work. I feel like some here think I'm a bad owner, but honestly we won't have a thanksgiving or a christmas this year because of my mom's accident. And no, there's nobody I can give them to who would take care of them because they are sick.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

reflexrg said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I just hope I can find a job to help my mom since she's still not back at work. I feel like some here think I'm a bad owner, but honestly we won't have a thanksgiving or a christmas this year because of my mom's accident. And no, there's nobody I can give them to who would take care of them because they are sick.


Life Happens. It sucks. You're not whining about your mom, or your situation, you are doing the best you can. I have seen a lot of people HAVE money but refuse to spend it on a vet instead of some fancy new toy they wanted. Those people I have an issue with!


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Well, good news so far! I'm not giving them antibiotics anymore, their lungs are totally clear sounding and if they sneeze, there is absolutely no mucous sound. I talked to a local breeder and she said that the dryness of the air where I live now is probably why they continue to sneeze even though they seem 100% healthy. Well, one of them is about 95% healthy, one of her eyes still seem a little irritated, there's no porphyrin but it is a little weepy. I didn't bring that up to the breeder, but could that be a sign of irritation from dry conditions also?


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