Rat still wheezing after antibiotics?

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ratty

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
9
Location
Austria
Hey! My rat is about 1 year 3 months old and was wheezing a lot and so I took her to the vet as I assumed it was respiratory infection. She had no other symptoms and is otherwise completely healthy and running around. She has been wheezy for about 3 months. I know I should have taken her to the vet earlier but she's seemed completely normal otherwise, it's too late now anyway. So the vet said it's probably respiratory infection and gave me antibiotics for 11 days, a thin and clear liquid for her water. I gave her the last of the antibiotics yesterday and this evening she started wheezing again! Do I take her to the vet for some stronger antibiotics? He mentioned an x-ray in case of a tumour in the lungs or something but if she had this I don't even know if I would choose to operate...? What should I do?
PS: I keep her on fleece lining
Thanks!
 
Unfortunately, giving antibiotics in water is not good for a rat.
More than likely, your rat realized there was something "wrong" with her water so she simply didn't drink it. I doubt she got much antibiotic in her at all!

It's best to use a combination of antibiotics, with the most common being baytril and doxycycline. If you can't get both, then just baytril is a good place to start too.

You should talk to your vet about getting oral medications, so you can make sure she is actually taking the medicine. You give them by either squirting it directly in the rats mouth or mixing it (hiding it) in a small amount of yummy food - baby food for instance.

I wouldn't jump to getting an xray just yet, I would try a solid 4 weeks of oral antibiotics, knowing she's getting the full dose.

Someone posted helpful links to show a vet who's not as experienced with rats and antibiotics recently... let me go see if I can find it.
 
Unfortunately, giving antibiotics in water is not good for a rat.
More than likely, your rat realized there was something "wrong" with her water so she simply didn't drink it. I doubt she got much antibiotic in her at all!

It's best to use a combination of antibiotics, with the most common being baytril and doxycycline. If you can't get both, then just baytril is a good place to start too.

You should talk to your vet about getting oral medications, so you can make sure she is actually taking the medicine. You give them by either squirting it directly in the rats mouth or mixing it (hiding it) in a small amount of yummy food - baby food for instance.

I wouldn't jump to getting an xray just yet, I would try a solid 4 weeks of oral antibiotics, knowing she's getting the full dose.

Someone posted helpful links to show a vet who's not as experienced with rats and antibiotics recently... let me go see if I can find it.

Hi!
Thanks for your quick reply, actually my rats were drinking all the water, there was no problem with that at all. How do I ask my vet for something like that. Last time I gave input he felt like I was telling him that I know better...so that's a small problem...
 
Hi!
Thanks for your quick reply, actually my rats were drinking all the water, there was no problem with that at all. How do I ask my vet for something like that. Last time I gave input he felt like I was telling him that I know better...so that's a small problem...

If your vet told her to put it in her water then he clearly isn't qualified to treat your pets. And if he isn't open to new information when it's presented to him then that's a huge problem. Vets that don't know what they're doing and get offended when you try to inform them are not the kind of people you want treating your babies. I suggest finding a new vet if one's available in your town
 
I agree with Mandon...if your vet is not familiar with treating small pets but refusing suggestions its just unprofessional of them and I would find someone new. There aren't a lot of rat owners in my area so the vet that does treat our babies is learning right along with us and willingly listens to our ideas and suggestions for treatment for our babies. That is what you need..either someone who is really familiar with treating rats or someone that may not know so much but is willing to learn for your babies and any future babies they might see.
 
you need a vet that is knowledgeable about treating rats or is willing to learn
The amount of antibiotic is based on the weight of the rat and never added to drinking water. You need to control how much medication each rat is getting
Please find another vets asap because she likely needs oral antibiotics to be given to her twice a day.

Baytril or baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib), orally, twice a day, for at least 6 weeks if they are helping, are good choices for antibiotics.
Azithromycin can be purchased from a pharmacy by prescription from a vet

Wile it is possible that she needs other treatment or perhaps an xray, it doesn't sound like your present vet is very knowledgeable about treating rats or other small animals.
You need to see another vet.
 
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I swear this exact situation is exactly why I want to become a vet and open a practice in my town. There's too few vets who know how to properly treat rats.. and too many that have ego's the size of texas and think they know everything they need to.
 
Okay, thanks for everyones help, I will look again if there is another vet in my area but last time I checked, others were too far away. I completely agree with all of you and there should definitely be more vets specialised in rats! I'll see what I can do.
 
You could go back to your vet and tell him that medication in water didn't work. You could even say that some of your rats stopped drinking the water because of it, which has happened i the past. It's one of the reasons why protocols have changed. Ask your vet if it's possible to get direct doses for each of your sick rats. Your vet might surprise you, do the research and find out how things are now done for small animals.
 
Yes, sometimes vets will listen.. You may just have to be very polite with how you word things.
Some vets think that pet owners won't be willing to put in the little extra effort to measure out doses and give them properly. So it can also help if you let them know that you will do anything necessary and have no problems with needing to do extra work.
I hope you can work something out with this or a new vet!
 
What is the medication you're putting in water? Is there no label on it? If not, call your vet and ask.

It sounds like Baytril (enrofloxacin) as it is a clear liquid in injectable form. You should know what med it is. If it is Baytril you can dose your rat based on the above info already given and ask for another anbiotic (suggested above) so the meds can work in synergy.
 
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