Olive -- she's gone.

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fexpress

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
230
Location
Coquitlam, BC
Hi all,

Olive has been on baytril for 4 days now, and her appetite is getting worse and worse, to the point where I've been trying to syringe feed her Ensure today just to make sure she gets something. I am wondering if she is perhaps not feeling well because of the baytril. Does anyone know if it can cause nausea in rats?
 
I don't necessarily think it's an allergy, because she's had it before and been fine. I think it may be that her systems is so run down at this point from all she's been dealing with, that anything could upset her tummy.

I can't get in touch with my vet until tomorrow, would you give her a dose tonight, or not? And either way, should I be syringing water into her to help her stay hydrated? I haven't seen her drink much today either, although she was licking the melon and blueberries I put into her cage in the hopes of getting her to eat something earlier.

Thoughts?
 
I would see if you could get some water into her, yes. It can't hurt (so long as you go slow and make sure she swallows it)

do you have any baby food, yogurt, baby cereal? something you can mix up and feed her off your fingers?
I find most of my rats love being fed this way, esp if they are not feeling well.

that might be worth a try as well.

Hope she gets her appetite back and feels better soon!

no clue on whether or not she should have tonight's dose of meds, I imagine you've already decided by now...?
 
I missed it but if she's sick I would continue with the baytril until you hear from your vet. You may want to consider probiotics (given 2 hours outside of the antibiotics as to not interfere with them).
 
In the end, I didn't give her last night's dose, because I worried it would make her breathing even worse. It's really quite labored. I tried some steam last night and will again this morning. Will call the vet's office in 10 minutes when they are open, and continue to give her fluids today.

How do I give probiotics?
 
fexpress said:
In the end, I didn't give her last night's dose, because I worried it would make her breathing even worse. It's really quite labored. I tried some steam last night and will again this morning. Will call the vet's office in 10 minutes when they are open, and continue to give her fluids today.

How do I give probiotics?

to me it sounds like her appetite is diminishing because she's getting sicker. It doens't sound like the baytril is enough for her at this time...she needs to be on a combo.

Probiotics I use are live culture yogurt or powdered acidophilua (capsules can be found at health food stores)...give daily if you are noticing signs of tummy upset, like diarrhea or loose stools. Some antibiotics kill all bacteria including the good ones used in the gut, and probiotics help the gut flora regulate itself. Just remember NOT to give probiotics within 2 hours of antibiotics as it will bind to them and rend the abs ineffective.
 
So the vet's suggestion is to stop the Baytril for 3 days...if Olive improves and is drinking/eating better, then start Chlorpalm on Sunday. If she gets worse,then back on the Baytril and ADD the Chlorpalm.

This morning Olive tried to gobble down some peach that I smashed up for her, but seemed to stop when she got a chunk in her mouth, and then was disinterested. I'm going to try some yogurt tonight, and maybe some broth (unsalted). She wouldn't touch the babyfood I offered. She seems a little less dehydrated today (I've been giving her oral fluids by syringe...not sure how much to give at once. Any ideas?). Her poop is still really small for her, but she's barely eating anything so I guess that's not a surprise.

I also gave her some ventolin today, and her breathing seemed a little bit better for a couple of hours after that...not right, but less labored. I will also steam her again tonight, although I'm not convinced that did anything except muck up my bathroom mirror.

Any thoughts about what the vet had to say?

Anybody have a rat with a bad reaction or upset tummy from Chlorpalm?

I can't feel anything around her throat area, neither could the vet, but it almost sounds like she's got a sore throat, because she stops as soon as there is anything chunky to contend with. Do rats get strep throat?
 
I read that Baytril and Chlorpalm should not be given together because Baytril increases the cardiac toxicity potential of Chlorpalm. I wonder why the vet would recommend waiting until Sunday if breathing is still laboured? Doesn't make sense to me.

Re the combo of abs, you could ask a pharmacist. If your vet is available tomorrow you might want to ask for the reasoning behind his/her recommendations.
 
I don't know about a contra-indication between Baytril and Clorpalm but I have found Chlorpalm to be extremely harsh on the stomach. The worst out of all the antibiotics I've tried, even with probiotics.
 
I did ask...she's of the opinion that the Baytril could be making Olive worse, because she is going downhill since she started it. She also said if we start the Chlorpalm right away, we won't know if taking her off the Baytril would have made an improvement or not.

And THE LAST THING this poor baby needs is something that's even harder on her stomach. She's already not eating/drinking on her own without major encouragement.

I am concerned about mixing the two antibiotics now that I've done some reading. Vet's office is closed for the day, so can't ask anything until morning.

:wallbang: I wish I knew what was best for poor Olive.
 
Well...Olive just ate a cube of avocado, a couple teaspoons of yogurt and a few sips of unsalted broth (homemade). She still looks terrible, but that's the most I've seen her eat on her own in a couple of days now, so that's hopefully a good sign.

Still unsure what I should be giving her for medication tonight, in light of the fact that the chlorpalm could cause toxicity (with or without the baytril) and the fact that her stomach is already "off". I can't reach a vet until tomorrow. Our vet told me to give her a 3-day break from all antibiotics, but that seems counterintuitive when she's sick.

What would y'all do?
 
You could also try giving her prednisone or even a dexamethasone shot.
How is she this morning? I don't think I'd stop the meds. When one of my rats has some type of reaction to Baytril, I always switch to Zithromax.
 
I wound up giving her both meds last night. I just want her to get better and seeing as that is the first thing the vet wanted me to do, and because everyone here thought she needed more medication, not less.

This morning, I think she might be a little bit better. She actually tried to eat a piece of peach without me having to mush it up for her. And she's moving around more than I've seen in the last few days. Still seems to be out of breath. Will keep up with the oral fluids today unless I start seeing her drinking on her own.

Will try and connect with the vet today (it's her surgery day so it's sometimes hard to reach her) and ask about steroids.
 
Well, I think things may be improving a little. I just caught Olive digging food out of the food dish and actually eating it, so that's a definite improvement over the last couple days. Will continue with both meds, I think.
 
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