Zithromax/Baytril or Zithromax/Doxy Combo

Advertise with us
Shop with us on Ebay
Fins us on Amazon
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
N

nether

Member
Joined
May 25, 2010
Messages
7
Location
California
Hi. One of my rats Vela is currently taking Zithromax. She has not had much success with Baytril or Doxy or Baytril/Doxy in the past. The Zithromax worked really well for a while but now not so good. She is sneezing a lot (which she always does) but now she has these coughing fits which really worry me. I took her to the vet just recently and she said to keep Vela on the Zithromax and keep nebulizing her. I asked her about the possibility of putting her on a Zithromax/Baytril or Zithromax/Doxy combo and she basically told me that Zithromax was the end of the line. I would really like to get her started on the Zithromax/Baytril combo (which I heard is safer than the Zithro/Doxy combo??). I have all three meds (Baytril, Zithromax and Doxy). She has been prescribed all of them in the past and I know her correct dosages. However, my question is if I give her both the Zithro and the Baytril, do I give her full doses of both or do I have to reduce the dosages because I am giving her both meds at the same time? Also, I am currently giving her the Zithromax once a day as prescribed by the doctor but I know with Baytril or Doxy it is usually twice a day. Would I continue to give her the full dosage of Zithro once a day and a full dosage of Baytril or Doxy twice a day? I'm sorry this is such a long winded question. Everyone is getting sick around here and it is really disheartening. I would appreciate any help or advice you can give......
 
Give her full doses of both, twice a day. I don't know why Zithro was only prescribed once a day it should have been twice. (Zithro usually works much better in combo with Doxi or Batryl.) What does she weigh and what are the doses/concentrations. What are you nebulizing with?
 
My vet prescribes Zithro twice a day for 7 days then once a day.

You should also wait about a half hour between meds. And give the full dosage of both meds. Baytril is twice a day.
 
Make sure that none of the meds are expired. I know most times they expire after two weeks if they're already compounded.
 
Make sure the dose you are giving is high enough.

Zithro is 5 to 15 mg/Ib twice a day for at least 3 weeks.
Baytril is 10 mg/Ib twice a day, usually given for at least 6 weeks.

1 Ib = 454.4 grams (weight of rattie)

(info from experience & the Rat Health Care Book)
 
Hi. Thank you for all your replies! Okay, this is what the labels say: Zithromax .16 cc every 24 hours for 14 days (no concentration listed); Baytril 50 mg/ml .07 cc every 12 hours for 14 days; Doxycycline 50 mg/ml .03 cc every 12 hours for 14 days. Nebulizing solution 3 ml every 12 to 24 hours: Amikacin (250 mg/ml), Aminophylline (25 mg/ml) and NACL (no concentration listed). Hmmm, I don't know why she prescribes the Zithro once a day. I don't know what the concentration is, I'm assuming that it comes in more than one concentration? She has been on the Zithro alone for months now. All of the meds are unexpired.
 
How much does your rat weigh?
Can you find out the concentration of the zithro?
All prepared meds start to lose their stength (expire) after 14 days.

I get zithro from the drug store by perscription from my vet. Once mixed up it is only good for 14 days.
I use injectable horse baytril given orally (not by injection) and it has a long expiry date written on the box by the manufacturer.
Others use baytril compounded by their vets and I believe it is onlly good for 14 days.

Is there an expiry date written on each of your meds?
 
Batryl compounded by the vet can have a shelf life of 6-8 weeks at room temperature, depends how it's done. I know some people are lucky enough to have compounding pharmacies to compound their Doxi and it can last for 30 days, but most of the time it is good only for 14 days in the fridge. It's best to check the label or with your vet for shelf lives of the antibiotics.

If the Zithromax is the infant suspension (gooey cherry flavoured one) it is 40 mg/ml (200mg per 5 ml) and from what I remember about Monty's dosage, it sounds like double of what he was getting twice daily, so it may be the same thing in the end. it is only good for 14 days after it's mixed, although the box says only 10 days.
 
Hi. The Baytril has an October 2011 expiration date. The Doxy expires at the end of August 2010 and the Zithromax expires in October 2010. The Zithromax is yellow in color and watery (it doesn't seem to have any flavoring added). I also have Doxyvet (which is the same as regular Doxycycline supposedly) and it expires in October 2011. They are all compounded by the vet except for the Doxyvet. I called the vet today and asked her about the Zithromax concentration. She says she believes it is 40 mg/ml. I also asked if I could give it to Vela twice a day but she said "no" because that type of medicine is to be administered only once a day?? I also asked her about Vela's cough and she said that the cough means she has fluid in her lungs and could be a sign of heart trouble? She suggested bringing Vela in for an x-ray. I told her I would keep an eye on Vela and if her cough doesn't improve or gets worse then I would bring her in. They always put the ratties under whenever they do an x-ray so I will try to wait on that if possible. So now I am confused because it seems like everyone else's vet prescribes Zithro twice a day....and if I give her the Zithro and Baytril combo in the morning and just the Baytril at night will it even do any good? I don't know.
 
I give Zithro twice a day for only the first 7 days. Then it's only once a day. And Baytril is given in the morning and at night.
 
We give zithro twice a day for 3 or 4 weeks.
The RMCA drug chart (http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm) says to give zithro to rats twice a day for the first 14 days.
However, others find you need to give zithro twice a day for at least 3 weeks. (Rat Health Care Book)
The dose for doxy is 2.5 to 5 mg/Ib twice a day for at least 6 weeks. (Rat Health Care Book)
 
Okay thanks :) So since her usual dose of Zithro is .16 cc's once a day should I split it into .08 cc's twice a day? The Zithromax I am using is not cherry flavored like all of the other descriptions but I guess it doesn't matter since it is the same concentration as the others (40 mg/ml)? And does anyone know why my vet said this medicine should only be given once a day? I didn't want to push the issue any further by asking her.... I don't hear much coughing from Vela today but now she is sneezing up a storm.
 
Rats are given the full dose for their body weight of zithro twice a day.

If you could tell us her weight and the mg/ml of each med, we could tell you how much of each she needs to be taking.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top