Young rat - head tilt....please help

[shhtephanie]

Thanks for the advice..we have him on Septra and an anti-inflammatory now...so we will see what happens.
Next is Baytril, but he is only 3 months old so the vet said that is only as a last resort because it could affect his joints?

So hopefully this works

 

[SQ]

Baytril is fine for rats at 3 months, and the antibiotic he has been on for a week isn't working if the head tilt is increasing.
If he is on a steriod it will reduce inflamation but it will effect his immune system, reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics.

good luck

 

[lilspaz68]

What I worry about is Septra is fine for inner ear infection, but I cannot doublecheck the dosage and he may be getting too low a dosage to be effective

 

[SQ]

I do not have any experience with Septra, however, in my experience if a treatment isn't working another needs to be tried asap

If he is being underdosed, then I hope it is quickly straightened out or else that he is switched to a different antibiotic (or combo) for which the proper dose for rats is known.

all the best

 

[lilspaz68]

It goes by so many names Holly...haha...you might know it by another name altogether

http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_ ... _sulfa.php

 

[shhtephanie]

A few other vets I spoke to said to give it the full 2 weeks before I switch..unless it is clearly getting worse....I think it is about the same right now and he is perfectly happy (except for when I am trying to force medicine in his mouth) lol....so I will wait and see how he is after the 2 weeks I guess.

 

[shhtephanie]

So the 2 week period is just about finished...he is still tilty and has some balance issues but has not gotten worse from what I can see (although no improvement either) but he is still eating like a champ and is as playful as ever lol...now my question is, should I keep giving him the Septra until it's gone? (probably have enough for another week or two left)...Is there such thing as having him on it for "too long"? Any chance it could make a difference after already giving it to him for 2 weeks or is this pretty much how he will stay?

 

[victoria]

I'm not sure about switching meds or not, I've never had a lot of success treating ear infections but I have also found that sometimes antibiotics take a while to work. You should call the clinic and ask for the concentration so you can check the dose... even experienced vets/vet techs can make errors on the dosing and you could be underdosing without knowing.

Another thing you can ask about is ear drops in addition to oral antibiotics... I have a bunny with otitis right now and she's been prescribed both. (In her case I caught it before the head tilt appeared, so there's no anti-inflammatory.) I think injectable Baytril can be given as an ear drop and there are other ear drops with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories marketed for dogs that can be used. Not sure how much hard it would be to actually get the drops into the ears though...