# How to tell if rat is getting over URI?



## getthemtiger (Aug 5, 2016)

My sick girl Shimera is on day 4 of Baytril for URI (vet wasn't sure bacterial or viral). What are the sure signs of improvement?/How long in your experience until the infection clears completely? 

(For reference, beginning at the end of medication day 2 Shimera began eating, grooming, being active again. However, she is still sneezing quite frequently. I haven't heard her wheeze or make congested honks since I came home today but I'm worried I'm imagining that part) Thanks!


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

I ussualy give Baytril for at least 10 days. Sometimes it might take longer but 10 days is ok. Better to give a bit longer than not enough. And remember about lakcid ( 1.5 h after antibiotic). 
Follow the Ratguide  http://ratguide.com/health/lower_respiratory/pneumonia.php
For comparison - my Shark atm is having lung inflammation (quite severe along with dyspnoae) and she's got 7 injections of Baytril along with 8 doses of doxycycline ( it's best combo). And of course betaglucan.

You can also drop a few drops of menthol on her hammock- it helps breathing.


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## getthemtiger (Aug 5, 2016)

Thanks for the list of symptoms! Does the sneezing clear up around that time or should it have started getting better by now?

I hope your Shark is alright!  I've heard Baytril and Doxy are a good combo.


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

At first day Shark was even making ugly pus bubbles with nose O_O It happened simply overnight, along with dyspnoea, and it proved the lung inflammation was hidden and showed due to stress ( her dear and sick friend Flea died few days earlier). She got 1 Baytril injection, along with dexamethason and some other boosts, I also made steam inhalation with menthol. I also forcefed her with syringe and convalesce support.
On the next day there were no bubbles, and she gurgled very very rarely (she wasnt sneezing earlier). And was eating Sinlac and wet foot ( rat complete soaked in water)
She started to feel better every day and after 5 days started to eat hard food. 
Today she feels so good that she chewed a hole in my bedsheets ( sure sign of feeling better ;D) 

What bedding you have ? Best for sneezers are paper towels. I'm sure your rattie will recover soon !


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## getthemtiger (Aug 5, 2016)

Awww, I'm glad Shark is getting better so fast! That's a huge improvement.

My 2 girls are currently in a temporary cage with a tray bottom divided by wire. The try is filled with old newspaper, and their bedding is cut up socks and leggings. They're very young, so on a fairly low dose of Baytril from the vet. The sick one otherwise acts normal now, hopping everywhere and eating rat blocks/drinking from the water bottle. Just the sneezing is fairly constant. She's not getting worse, I know that for sure.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Actually sorry to refute but 10 days is not a long enough course of treatment for anything. a VERY minimum of 2 weeks for any antibiotics and 3 weeks or longer being even better. Long ago the vets used to treat 7-10 days but unfortunately this is not long enough and a lot of vets continue to only give you antibiotics for this long. The symptoms are usually gone by then but the infection is not cured yet and roars back to life like a campfire that you think is out but there are glowing coals you cannot see underground. 

It sounds like she's showing signs of improvement and that's great! See how she is after a week. Do you want me to double check her dosage of baytril? She should be getting 10-15 mg/kg twice a day. I would need her weight and the concentration of baytril you have.


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## getthemtiger (Aug 5, 2016)

My vet's prescription says to continue giving Baytril until 3 days after symptoms have cleared :/ I think I would like to be safe though and go for a week post-symptoms. Thanks for the offer, lilspaz! I was just trying to calculate it myself. Shimera is about 115g give or take, and her Baytril is 20 mg/ml. I'm giving .03cc per 24 hours.


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

lilspaz68 said:


> Actually sorry to refute but 10 days is not a long enough course of treatment for anything.


I have to agree, I didnt want to misguide anyone. That's why I said " at least" and added link to ratguide. ( I should have said that oral meds might be taken much longer). 
Usually week of Baytril injection + 10 doses of oral doxycycline is enough (especially that injections are much better than oral meds), and there was no coming back of illness. Wets in my country rarely give mere baytril (taken orally) anymore cause it simply stopped working :/ Probably the rats in central Europe got some baytril-resistance.

(slightly offtopic) The reason of giving Enrobioflox injections for not longer than 10 days (at least in my country) are most probably horrible big scabs that happen only after injecting Enrobioflox. I dont know if it happens in USA or Canada too, but here where I live - no matter if you "water down" the injection and no matter how you technically make the injection - the big scab shows, being probably some kind of baytril allergy.
So it's much better for organism to have that few injections, and then continue with oral treatment , since the organism needs strength to heal the scabs. Shark has got 3 scabs of 1 inch lengh each.

I hope Shimera will also gain some weight, she's like a feather


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## getthemtiger (Aug 5, 2016)

Shimera's 5 or 6 weeks old, so still very young. She's eating very well though, so hopefully will put on some weight.

I just calculated that according to ratguide and what lilspaz said, the vet under-prescribed the antibiotic by a lot... I got that according to her weight (115g), Shimera should be receiving 1.725 mg of Baytril per day. Given that the solution is 20mg/ml, that should be 0.086 ml or cc per day, which is more than double what the vet prescribed. Am I missing something? :/ I just asked my boyfriend to do the calculation and he got the same thing.


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

If she's that young, shouldnt she be taking another antibiotic ? Baytril is bad for growing bones, to my knowledge it's given to at least 3 months old rats. I never remember what's safe though 
(I won't help with the math  )


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## getthemtiger (Aug 5, 2016)

The vet I was seeing claimed that particular study was done in puppies and kittens, but was never replicated in rats. I had the same concern. Perhaps that's why he prescribed such a low dosage. I do recall seeing some old posts on this forum where Baytril was given to younger rats without adverse effect.


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

How is Shimera today ?


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