Liquid antibiotics

According to Ratguide.com, "Reconstituted (ENROFLOXACIN / BAYTRIL) suspension (liquid), from powder, should be kept refrigerated and has a 14 day expiration time." Link


Also, for Doxycycline, "if mixing capsules in water, stability ranges from 12 to 48 hours. It is advisable to mix fresh daily, although new 2002 literature indicates that it remains stable for 14 days if refrigerated." Link

On the other hand "Powder if stored in tightly closed container is stable for up to one year."

In this case, medications like Doxysyrup, and Baytril drops, (which are recommended on many rat fourms/websites), have very limited stability and efficacy, as they are already in solution form. Theoretically, they too would only be good for up to 2 weeks once opened?

Am I understanding this correctly?

Any opinion welcomed.

Taz

I would say so. I mix fresh at least every 2 weeks, if not more often. For instance, Clavamox is only good for 10 days if refrigerated.

I get my enrofloxacin already mixed from the pharmacy and it has a shelf life of a few months. I can't say about doxy, I don't use that one.

I get my baytril (enrofloxacin) as an injectable liquid (from my vet) that I give orally - it has a shelf life of more then a year

I take doxy capsules (from my vet) apart and mix them myself - To my knowledge, once mixed, it has a shelf life in the fridge of about 10 days

My vet cleared this up for me, specifically regarding baytril that I bought on this website: http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_baytril.php

This liquid form of baytril is the injectable form which has a much longer shelf life. It is not the same as crushing a pill and making a liquid suspension (which only lasts about 10-14 days). She said the downside to injectible baytril is that it tastes more bitter. I've never had an issue with getting my rats to take the injectable liquid baytril, and I hate crushing pills so this option works best for me.

If you're curious if it's injectable or a suspension: look at the expiration date (suspensions should expire very quickly), check if the liquid separates (only suspensions should separate), and lastly if the bottle has a rubber stopper meant for a needle then it's injectable. Also - most vets mix up a suspension with flavored syrup for their clients, but every vet office I've been to prints the label with the expiration date from the med before it was in a suspension. They rarely tell me it only lasts 10-14 days so call your vet office if you're not sure.

I hope this clears some stuff up.

Yes, all the feedback is helpful. Fumblesquid, the injectable form of Baytril which you gave the link to here... is this essentially the same as the link that I provided here?

I wonder what makes the injectable form have such a longer shelf life, compared to the suspension.

Jorats, you say you don't use Doxy; is there any reason? Do you find it too harsh? or you just don't need it?

SQ, mind if I ask how you mix your capsule? I seem to run into so many different procedures. Do you mix the entire 100 mg capsule (in 1 ml of liquid), and give your rats 0.05 ml (2 x day)?

I pull apart the capsule and mix the contents in 2 ml of water. Then I give 0.1 ml of doxy twice a day as per my vet's instructions.
Here is what the rat guide says http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/doxycycline.php

Back in 2002, we did use it but my vet has found that it just never helped with our sick rats. We preferred the combo of enrofloxacin and zithromax. We did try doxy again a few times since but again, we found it useless.

I too find that baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) given orally, twice a day for 6 weeks (or longer) is the most effective

Tazy The one you linked says "Oral Solution." I realize this is probably more complicated than I thought, because I doubt that bottle will expire in 10-14 days like a typical mixed suspension would. The bottle should have more details outlining its expiration, but I know the website doesn't give that info and you wouldn't know unless you buy it... I'm thinking it might be good to email the supplier before buying just to be sure.

I'm going to make an educated guess: I think crushing a pill and making a suspension won't last as long because the manufacturers probably choose different preservation methods when making pills vs a liquid form. A dry pill might not have the right preservatives to combat bacteria growth in water, but it would stay fresh if kept dry. I think that's why so many pills comes with desiccant packets in the bottle - to keep them dry and preserved. (Again, this is an educated guess!)

I agree with fumblesquid. Making it at home or buying it already made up are two totally different things.

fumblesquid said:

My vet cleared this up for me, specifically regarding baytril that I bought on this website: http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_baytril.php

Click to expand...

So the Baytril I ordered finally came in. If I had known about the 10% injectable liquid from ladygouldianfinch I may had opted out to get that one instead, but I had made the purchase before fumblesquid's post about it. The one I purchased is in powder form (2.5 grams of Enrofloxacin for every 100 grams of powder, (and 1 teaspoon contains 5 grams of powder), so now I just have to work out the proper dosage, and I'm horrible in math

The ratguide suggests anywhere from 5 mg to 20 mg per kg, and my "Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents" medical book suggests dosages for rats anywhere from 2.5 mg to 10 mg per kg.

My Vet has prescribed her 0.05 ml suspension solution (from 150 mg/ml) twice a day. (She only weighs ~300 grams).

So here are my calculations:
1 gram = 1000 mg
therefore, the product contains:
2,500 mg of Enro, per 100,000 mg powder
& the product indicates that:
1 tsp = 5,000 mg of powder

therefore:
100,000 / 5, 000 = 20
2,500 / 20 = 125 mg

This means there is 125 mg of Enro, per 1 tsp?

For any math savvy people that may be reading this, am I on the right track so far?

This would get me very close to the 150 mg dosage that my Vet prescribed her. I will have to run this all by him as well, but I know he is not so keen about getting medications on the internet. It's just that this may be a way more affordable option for me.

Any feedback greatly appreciated!