Rat can't use his front left leg

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Antibiotics and yogurt:
There is no point in giving probiotics like yogurt at the same time as the antibiotics because the antibiotics will kill off the bacteria in the yogurt. If you wait a couple of hours, then the level of antibiotic will be less, and the probiotics/bacteria will survive.

AND, some antibiotics like Doxycycline will bind with minerals like calcium. So if you give the drug with a milk product or something fortified in calcium, then it will bind with the drug and make it unable to be absorbed so it won't work. This is only for certain types of antibiotics.
 
Joanne said:
Antibiotics and yogurt:
There is no point in giving probiotics like yogurt at the same time as the antibiotics because the antibiotics will kill off the bacteria in the yogurt. If you wait a couple of hours, then the level of antibiotic will be less, and the probiotics/bacteria will survive.

AND, some antibiotics like Doxycycline will bind with minerals like calcium. So if you give the drug with a milk product or something fortified in calcium, then it will bind with the drug and make it unable to be absorbed so it won't work. This is only for certain types of antibiotics.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification.... :thumbup:
 
It's been a busy couple weeks. Remy's pneumonia cleared up and he's back to his old self. Jean luc ended up being surgery last week :-( while we were out of town we boarded them at the vet and they monitored his lumps which were getting bigger. So the vet decided it was best to remove them since they were pretty solid and oddly shaped. Surgery took 45 minutes, there were a lot of blood vessels going to it and it was pretty entrenched in such a delicate spot. The vet called him quite the little warrior because he was under anesthesia for over an hour and lost some blood but he still woke up and started to drink and move around, despite some puss in his urine he seemed ok. His incisions were pretty rough looking and he was still bleeding a bit so he stayed another night. The vet sent them to the lab because he was worried they were tumors but found out Monday they were very consolidated staph/ bacterial abscesses. So at least not cancer
Thing is, I'm having a hard time getting him healed. The stitches seem to actually collect the puss which got really thick and scabby. I'm not sure if it was some infection or him messing with his stitches but the wounds ended up more open this week and definitely had some puss going. Back to the vet we went, he got another round of antibiotics and I was told to keep him from licking his incisions. I work and sleep so he ended up in a sweater made of a dock with holes for legs and doing his business. So the big was if puss and scab around his stitches ended up sort of hanging to the side so one I got that clipped off I taped it up with surgical tape and it seems a bit better. The other one still had the stitches attached but as I tried to tweeze out the thick smelly puss I just went ahead and clipped them too because they seemed to only be holding infection in now. So I've only been using saline wash to clean it and then betadine to clean the scissors and tweezers. I make sure it's dry and then tape it back up. It's not perfect but seems to be helping. Any other thoughts on what I can do? The vet bills are adding up and I feel like he trusts me and is less stressed at home so I want to do what I can. my boyfriend is willing to be
a2nd pair of hands but unfortunately whenever there is a squeak whether I pulled on the stitch out the scissors are cold he flinched quite a bit which is not safe. So the less I need his help the better :-\
 
Http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5361/k3ac.jpg
That's how he was looking today after blotting the area with saline and cleaning him out a bit. The incisions look a lot better than it did yesterday, I think getting the balls of stitches and gunk out and using the tape helps. He's so good about it, he really does seem to get that I'm trying to help.
 
Poor little man!
I would keep him on oral antibiotics until things are all healed up, and I think gently flushing the area is a good idea to get the thick pus out of there.
Perhaps he needs a different oral antibiotic? Is the drug he's on the best for the type of bacteria that is making up the infection?
I also probably wouldn't tape the incision closed.
If the skin has started to heal and re-epithelialize, then it will never heal at the superficial incision. It will have to heal from the inside-out. So bringing the skin together won't help and will only trap the pus and make better conditions for bugs to grow.
Good luck! Don't give up hope. :hugs:
 
At this point I would treat exactly like abscesses. Keep up the saline rinses and do not take the area just leave open. This needs to heal from the inside out and you don't want to trap any infection inside. Hang in there you are doing a great job with your boy.
 
Thank you both for the advice! I'll go ahead and take off the tape, should I keep him wearing his little sock shirt as a barrier so he doesn't lick it? I think the antibiotic he's on is batrylin, I'll double check when I get home. He's been through so much, I can't wait for him to be healed enough to go back into the big cage with his brother, they miss each other.
 
In my opinion, the more air that can get to the area, the better. I would try without the sock and see how he does.
Make sure that there is nothing in his cage that will stick to the area like litter or shavings. Fleece would be best.
 

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