Update With Toto

[Clairebee1]

Well i all told you about toto's Breathing on my other post and i took him to the vet and they gave him baytril for his water and this done no good so i went back again and the vet says it sounds like a obsess on his lung.. they gave him a shot of steriods and an antibioctic shot.
this was a week ago and well his breathing is still bad but not worse and its more clear .. so ive got to take him tonight and see what else there is to do for him the vet told me theres not much they can do .. so should i get prepared for the worst ? or should i ask him for more shots since it sounded like his breathing wasnt getting worse?
I just don't know what to do my heads all over the place.
I know novo would die of depression without his brother but if i do gotta let toto go i don't want any other rats im just not ready yet,

Could someone give me some soothing advice ?

 

[lilspaz68]

Shots of antibiotics do not last a week...sigh.

You need oral baytril to give him everyday, twice a day...not put in his water. He doesn't have a chance the way this vet is treating him. Is there no other vet you can take him to?



Btw you cannot see abscessed lungs, so his diagnosis there could be very wrong. Toto could just have a run-of-the-mill URI and need proper antibiotics to clear him up.

 

[Clairebee1]

I asked him about oral baytril and he said that the water stuff works better.
Also there is not any other vet here in belfast that will look at a RAT i phoned about 20 vets and they don't look at rats its a disgrace!

He said it might be a obsess hes not to sure.
So what else can i do ?
I don;t want to ask him for oral baytril incase he thinks im being to forward because he already said the water one should of worked for him.
Unless i take him tomorrow night and there is a different vet on in the surgery ?

 

[lilspaz68]

Why don't you call and request a different vet? ASK for a different vet? Even cat/dog vets will look up info and find the right things, or read the RMCA chart...

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm

If there is no other vet you will have to fight for Toto's life since your vet isn't willing to. Has someone previously posted the info on baytril or given you the RMCA drug chart to print and take with you? You are going to have to insist on trying these treatments otherwise Toto is not going to make it
You're not asking for a diagnosis you just want proper antibiotics.

 

[Alicemcmallis]

I don;t want to ask him for oral baytril incase he thinks im being to forward because he already said the water one should of worked for him.

You have to remember that you're paying the vet to perform a service for you. You're not asking him to do anything crazy or something that will harm your rat or others, so don't feel uncomfortable asking for this.

Whichever vet you end up seeing, just say you've done some research (and show the info as lilspaz advised), your rat is not getting better on the current treatment plan, and you'd really like to try this treatment plan instead as you know it's worked for many other rats/owners.

I agree with lilspaz68, if you don't do something different your little dude will likely not make it.

eta: I have had difficulty in the past with vets accepting advice I've acquired on the internet, which can make things tricky. Be sure to state that the advice and research comes from vets, not just from people randomly trying things with their rats.

 

[jorats]

I've got a most excellent exotic vet but I can sure tell you in the beginning it was not like that. She was not all that keen on my info from the internet, even to this day, if I show her anything, it has to come from a vet source or medical source. We've developed a good relationship over the years, could be all that thousands of dollars I've poured into her clinic, but now she's very open to my suggestions and is willing to try almost anything I ask.
If the vet sees your dedicated, there's a good chance he/she will help.

 

[Dewi]

I'm actually very assertive with my vets if they don't initially provide me with the medication I know the animal needs. In this case you have to be forward about it, and there is nothing wrong about doing this. Just say something like you were talking to a friend who has kept rats for many years and she uses oral baytril for respiratory problems and the dose her vet recommends is 10 mg Baytril per kilogram (which is about 2.5mg/ lb) twice a day for three weeks. Say that you'd really like to give this a go before giving up on your rat.

To be honest that vet you saw is being incredibly lazy (typical!) and is using the lung abscess as an excuse to not bother trying.

Good luck!

 

[Dewi]

I've got a most excellent exotic vet but I can sure tell you in the beginning it was not like that. She was not all that keen on my info from the internet, even to this day, if I show her anything, it has to come from a vet source or medical source. We've developed a good relationship over the years, could be all that thousands of dollars I've poured into her clinic, but now she's very open to my suggestions and is willing to try almost anything I ask.
If the vet sees your dedicated, there's a good chance he/she will help.

So was your vet an exotic vet before you started taking your critters to her? It's hard for most people to get their hands on good veterinary publications. I wish I had access to those sort of publications, I have plenty of access to medical ones but their usually not relevant enough.

 

[jorats]

So was your vet an exotic vet before you started taking your critters to her? It's hard for most people to get their hands on good veterinary publications. I wish I had access to those sort of publications, I have plenty of access to medical ones but their usually not relevant enough.

She was an exotic vet but she saw mostly snakes and herps, a few ferrets but since my family and I got into rats, she's become quite the expert in rats, doing tons of research and going to all the international seminars, writing a few papers on them too.

 

[Clairebee1]

So if i go to my local pharmacy who i know really well and ask for that Zith stuff how much % or what should i ask for like what should i look for i will try my best with my boy i promise.