# Baytril Dosages



## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

Okay, so I have just recieved some Baytril from my vet. He knows like nothing about rats and has (again!) decided to give it to them in their water. So, obviously, i'm not doing that. On the sticker on the bottle, it says 0.2ml to 100ml of water for 21 days. I know that that is bearly anything, that they will not drink 100ml of water and that its just waste.

One of my girls weighs 250g and the other weighs 280g. They are around 8 months old now and to me, they are lighter than what I though rats would weigh. Is their weight okay? They do not seem skinny to me. One is slim and the other has a fatter tummy (but she's a pig).

The concentration of Baytril is 2.5%. How much should I give them? (I have a needle-less seringe)

THIS IS THE 5TH TIME I HAVE BEEN TO MY VET ABOUT THIS, SINCE FEBRUARY (THIS YEAR) 
Its actually driving me mad. 
Seeing as I am only 16, I cannot drive and I rely on my dad to take me to the vets. The one we go to is only 5 minutes down the road (in a car) so this is the only one he is willing to take me to. There is one about 20 minutes away from us that specialises in small animals (rats was top of the list on the website) so if I had a car of my own, and I was 18, I would be taking them there-no question in the matter.

History:
I got my two girls, Roxi and Rosie, from PetsAtHome (Yes, A UK rat owner here!) on the 16th of February 2013. When I got them home, they were sneezing. After looking online, I read that it could be 'new home sneezes' so I waited a week and they were still doing it. I booked a vet appointment and was given 0.1ml of Baytril to 100ml of water (WHY??!!). Obviously, it didn't work.
It did help a little (bearly any sneezes) but then when the time was up (21 days later) it came back. 

We took them back to the vets again and we saw a different vet. This time we were given Baytril again, but it was 0.3ml to 50ml of water for 4 weeks. This time, it didn't do anything at all and over time, they got worse. (Snuffling, hiccuping, more frequent, violent sneezes and visible porphrin) 

The third time we took them, we saw our old vet (who we saw the first time) and he said (litterally) _'why are you back about the same problem, when what we gave them previously didn't help?' _I FELT LIKE SCREAMING AT HIM. I (somehow) remained resonably calm and showed him a lot of information that I had printed off about URIs and Myco. He glanced at it, put it to the side and got the stethescope out. Listened to their lungs and weighed them. Roxi, the worst one, had lost weight. I explained that she had been sleeping more and her fur was puffy a lot of the time. I told him not to put the medication in water because it doesn't work and he said _'okay'_. I thought I had finally got somewhere with him, but then he said he wouldn't give them Baytril because they would have built up an immune to it by now. REALLY THOUGH?! So he went to give us some Doxycycline to give orally. But then he had Doxy for dogs, and it was too high for small animals. So then, he said for us to come back the next day and he will give us some Terramycin. 0.4ml ever 8 hours. I hoped that this would work and just because I really wanted it too work, I obided by the dosage and how often to give it. Yes, it did mean waking up at 4am, but I just wanted my girls to get better! When the time came for the medication to be stopped, it didn't work.

I phoned them up 3 weeks ago to get a prescription of Baytril for my girls again, I wasn't taking no for an answer and after me yelling down the phone at him, he eventually gave in. (Pretty sure he hates me now pfffftttt...) However, it wasn't until today, that I have found out that they didn't even have to order it. All this time, it has been waiting for my dad to collect it. (NO ONE TOLD ME! I was expecting a phone call to say that they had it). So today, I got dad to pick up the Baytril and to my dismay on the bottle, it says to be put in their water! NO. Please someone help me out here. What dosage of Baytril should I give my girls. There is not much in there. He gave me a whole bottle of Terramycin and I was expecting the same with the Baytril, but no.

I'm thinking its 0.2ml twice a day for 3 weeks (21 days) but I am not 100% sure. 
If I run out, I have no chance of getting anymore, not from that vet anyway. (He HATES me)
I trust you guys more than my vet. Please help my girls! I am begging you here.


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## dr.zapp (Dec 24, 2012)

read this thread-http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?76786-Baytril-Amoxy-URI-treatment-on-a-tight-budget. It has info on where to get Baytril without a prescription so you can get more if you can't get to the vet. It also talks about how to dose it. You have 2.5% Baytril- that is 25 mg/ml (% is weight/volume, where weight is grams and volume is milliliters... for a description of why this is used incorrectly by otherwise smart MDs and biologists, see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_concentration_(chemistry)#Usage_in_biology ) You want to give between 10-20 mg/kg.. for 20 mg that would be 20mg*.250kg 5 mg... you have 5 mg/25 mg/ml= 0.2 ml of your 2.5% solution per dose.


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

I have heard that its not good to buy medicine online because you don't know if its really what they say it is. Have you ever ordered Baytril from there before? 

So I should give them 0.2ml every morning and evening?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

hrl20100 said:


> I have heard that its not good to buy medicine online because you don't know if its really what they say it is. Have you ever ordered Baytril from there before?
> 
> So I should give them 0.2ml every morning and evening?


Go for a reputable website, be it for birds or anything else. They won't risk reputation on sugar pills. 
I don't know if these are in the UK but the Rat Lady recommends: www.aquaticpharmacy.com (amoxi and doxy capsules) *_my preferred source_
Jedds Pigeon Supplies *_my preferred source, _800-659-5928 (amoxi and doxy capsules, and 10% liquid enrofloxacin can be ordered *by phone, ask for Greg*)
Doctors Foster & Smith, 800-826-7206 (100 amoxicillin capsules for fish.)
Global Pigeon Supplies, 800-562-2295, www.globalpigeon.com (10% liquid enrofloxacin, doxy)
Siegel Pigeons, 800-437-4436, www.siegelpigeons.com
Jeffers, 800-JEFFERS, www.jefferspet.com (doxy)
Omaha Vaccine Company, 800-367-4444 (amoxi)
Cal Vet Supply, www.CalVet Supply.com (amoxi, doxy)


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## dr.zapp (Dec 24, 2012)

I have used aquatic pharmacy (amoxy), Cal Vet (doxy) and finchniche (Baytril) I have run these through a HPLC @ my lab, they are identical to my vet-prescribed meds.


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

Okay, well thats reassuring.
No idea if dad will order me medication for them though...

Is it in liquid form or tablet? I have only ever had it as a liquid so I would be clueless as to what to do if I had it in tablet form.


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

http://www.finchniche.com/product_baytril.php

So I found this. It says 10% concentration and the one I have currently is 2.5%. I am geussing that if I needed to get some more (and got this), I would have to give less because its stronger?


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## dr.zapp (Dec 24, 2012)

yep.. 10% is.. you guessed it 10 g/100 ml... which is 100 mg/ml but since you are in the UK I suppose you know how the metric system works ;-)


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

Well the Baytril I have been giving them both at the moment, seems to have made some difference atleast. (Only the 3rd time I have gave them it!)
The amount of sneezing has reduced slightly. I hope it will help their wheezing and snuffling soon!


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