Meds Q: Now Maintence Meds?

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trillium

trillium

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2007
Messages
377
Location
Southwestern Ontario
Hiya

I'm back with a medication question. I'm absolutely horrible with numbers so I can never quite work these things out by myself and feel comfortable that I'm right.

Hobbes is a loverly black self boy I took in during the New Brunswick rescue. He's happily integrated in with my other two boys, Wicket and Seagram, but has been battling URI basically since he arrived here. An intense and long course of meds at the end of the summer cleared him up for a bit, but he was back to sneezing, shaking his head by early/mid October. Took him in to Campus Estates in Guelph and got him on baytril/doxy. He was on that for about three weeks, but he still didn't sound totally clear to me and as soon as I stopped the meds he got really sneezy/wheezy/gurgley again - - so back to the vet today. Now we've got Zithro/Baytril combo, but I'm nervous about the Baytril dose:

Hobbes' weight = .51 (kg? 1.12 lbs? He's pretty small.)
Dose = Baytril Inj. 50 mg/ml, .4 ml (1x daily not BID)

[EDIT: I should note that the new meds are from the vet in Windsor, not Campus Estates.]
He mentioned trying to use a "pulse" situation where I would give him a really high dose to try to wipe this thing out, but I'm just a tad worried about OD'ing my rattie...Any feedback on this before I medicate tonight would be welcome!

(Zithro is 300 mg./15ml suspension; .2 cc, QD as well - lilspaz gave me some advice about this dosage back in August so I'll go look that up in my e-mail (thanks lilspaz).)

ps. Other than the battle with the URI he's been a wonderful addition to the family! The boys have happily taken over the tall purple super pet ferret cage, and our old girl Smudge has been moved to a one-level retirement cage for her golden months. AND I've got a shoulder snuggle rattie again! My neutered boys are too busy to cuddle, but Hobbes seems to love it. :D
 
The Zithro is a good dosage but I think the baytril is way off.

For Baytril I get that it should be .1 ...maybe my head is not on right and I'm not calculating this right but... I'll pm Shelagh and see what she thinks.

The pulse treatment would be an on and off thing for example, one week on, one week off.
 
I am sorry I didn't see this last night, the couch made me fall asleep on it. :cheeky:

Even if you gave him a super high dose, just one will be like a "loading dose" to his system. I often do this give them a whacking big dose or 2 to start it all up.

But lemme work on the numbers for you

It looks like Hobbes is 510 grams...

Zithro - 300 mg box is 20 mg/ml solution
Reccomended dosage is 6.8-17.6 mg/kg
Hobbes should get .22 to .44 cc's twice a day for 14 days then SID for another 14 days if needed.

Baytril - 50 mg/ml
Recommended dosage is 5-10 mg/kg (I prefer higher doses of baytril as they seem more effective for active infections, I use low for maintenance)
Hobbes should get .1 twice a day (BID) or .2 once a day (SID)...
I honestly would put him on it twice a day for the first week so you don't hit that trough effect with the concentration of abs in his body.

I really need my coffee...this was painful :doh:

Thats wonderful to hear about Hobbes (minus the URI's), his brothers were really sweet and I thought they would make awesome cuddlers :)

I have to remember to email Kent and see how they are doing :)
 
At 10 mg/454.4g (10 mg/Ib) twice a day according to the rat health care book, Hobbes needs to get 11.2 mg twice a day.


Since 50mg/1ml = 5mg/ 0.1 ml, or 50mg/1 ml = 11.2 mg/x ml , x = 11.2/50 = 0.22 ml

Hobbes needs to get 0.22 ml of baytril twice a day.
 
Hm - thanks everyone. I kept him at .1 cc (not ml) for last night just because I wasn't sure how to proceed. Now I'll switch him over to the ml syringe.

It'll be fun trying to find something to mix it with so he'll take that sort of dose. Yucky! He's still as active and enthusiastic about everything as always though, so I'm hopeful if we can just keep this breathing stable, he'll have lots of fun times ahead of him.
 
Right -- I knew that, really, ... ;>

The ml syringe that he gave me this time is one of bigger ones (3ml), so it's really intimidating instead of the little ones (1.0 cc/ml) I usually use.
 
trillium said:
Right -- I knew that, really, ... ;>

The ml syringe that he gave me this time is one of bigger ones (3ml), so it's really intimidating instead of the little ones (1.0 cc/ml) I usually use.
Click to expand...

I just got in my supply of syringes I get in bulk every year, so do you want me to mail you some?
 
Thank you -- I think I can likely (and should gain enough confidence to) ask the vet for extra if I need them, and I know you need them far more than I do; they just tend to break down when I resort to olive oil for some of the trickier meds. Had a heck of a time getting Hobbes to take the doxy last time. He just hated it. The baytril has actually been okay in mixes so far, and he seems to think the zithro is a treat - *shhh don't tell*. :wink:
 
Hi:

Hobbes wanted to say something:
"Hey you! YEAH you! Thanks for da help with mah meds! I feel better now. -- Got any treats?"
127-2728_IMG.jpg


I managed to get one shot of the boys together. Notice Seagram eating in the back - that's about the best I could do. (And I just have to comment that I have NEVER managed to get a good shot of Seagram. He is over two years old now and still always on the go! :D He's the most active older boy I've ever had, still scales the walls of the cage, walks on his toes - it's wonderful, but we really think he's an alien or an angel or something. He's definitely not a rat. He's just always in his own little world and marches to his own beat. Where the other boys will stick to the walls and zoom around, Seagram happily wanders the floors without a care in the world. He'll walk right up to you, but really isn't interested in being handled; he always has something more important to do, but we've never quite figured out what that something IS... and he's an amazing food stasher. Lab blocks MUST be stashed. Always.)

127-2723_IMG.jpg


Note: Wicket's right eye has been weepy for awhile now. Never the left. Cleared up when I put him on a round of Baytril, but then came right back. I think I've heard other people mention having rats with this type of thing too. Not quite sure what it is as he seems very healthy and happy otherwise -and fat. He has the same access to food and exercise as the others, but he has the most embarrassingly large moobs. He just parks in front of the food bowl like a big round ball and eats, and eats. I've taken to letting the other boys into the cage before him at night just to make sure they get a chance to get some food. It does make his belly incredibly kissable though. Much as he hates it.

And a last shot of the boys modelling their current cage - I hadn't had a chance to upload a picture of it until now. I have no camera software on my computer currently, so my ability to upload pics is severely restricted. It's funny how often Wicket and Hobbes adopt body language that mirrors each other. I think it's mostly Hobbes mimicking Wicket, but it's something I hadn't seen before until these two. It's like a little brother trying to do everything an older brother does.

127-2730_IMG.jpg


I do have a Q again though:

People write about maintenance Baytril, and I think that's what I'll need to do with Hobbes because while he's cleared up a bit, he's still sneezy/shaking head pretty frequently, and I just don't think it's ever going to go totally away. Since I'm leery of my vet's advice down here, can anyone share what they do with maintenance meds? He's been on the zithro/baytril for over two weeks now, and was on doxy/baytril in Oct. for several weeks prior to that.
 
You could try the pulse treatment which is 3 weeks on meds, 1 week off. Or if Hobbes starts to worsen during his time off, a lower dose of baytril once a day (double the regular dose) every day is my usual maintenance. If they have a flare up its on to baytril/doxy or if its just rattly sounds and i know its from inflammation, I just give a dose of steroids and that helps clear them up for a bit.

Hobbes really is a beautiful boy Karen :) And your other boys are sweet!!! Keep trying with Seagram to get that shot...try baby cereal in a dish, they always stop and stick around for that. :wink2:
And the Big Brother syndrome, I have seen that, its hilarious and endearing all at once. :D
 

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