mouse respiritory infection

Question
Hi there,
my mouse who is about one year old has been sneezing a lot and has had trouble breathing. Now her symptoms have gotten worse and is now breathing partially out of her mouth. The infection I do not think has gotten into her lungs because they sound clear. I read another article suggesting tetracycline, however I can not find it in any pet stores. For the time being I have started her on Ornacyn Plus which is a bird antibiotic used for birds with a respiritory infection. Please help me find tetracycline so she can start getting better. The Oracyn has helped a little she is not breathing out of her mouth as much and is eating more. She has not slowed down much and acts pretty normal but this is a serious problem,
thanks
Rich

Answer
Hi Rich,

Ornacyn Plus appears to be erythromycin, which is sometimes used when other antibiotics cannot be.  However, it will have a slimmer range of effectiveness than tetracycline, and I can't say anything to the effectiveness of the bird dosages or forms (sometimes the same drug comes in a different conformation that affects how it works).  If it is at all possible to take your mouse into a vet, I would, as they can answer these questions for sure and provide you with prescription antibiotics that may be more effective.  In the meantime, the Ornacyn needs to be carried on for fourteen days unless you see adverse effects (keep an eye out for diarrhea, which may sometimes occur and indicate dehydration).

If you would like, you can send me your city and I can call around and find something as near to you as possible that will have tetracycline on hand.  My email is limegreenmice@hotmail.com.  Otherwise I would check any farm supply shops you may have locally as well, as sometimes they carry basic antibiotics for livestock.  If you find it this way, remember to do your math when calculating the new dosage, as you will almost certainly receive more than you need!

Best of luck, and I hope she starts feeling better one way or another!
-Tam