antibiotic for bad eye infection

Question
hi there. i have a mouse who is suffering with an eye infection. i took him to the vets and they prescribed him with an antibiotic eye drop which is only ment to be for dogs, cats and rabbits. i tried it and it seemed to be clearing up within the first day of using it but it gradually got worse :(. yesterday morning he woke up to a swollen face and i actually thought he had lost his eye, but thankfully its still in tact. i decided to banish the drops and sooth it with warm water but this made blood seem to come out the bottom where the infection is at its worst. i would like to take him back to the vets but it seems that they dont treat much mice, hense the other species eye drops. what would you recommend i do? as he wont stop scratching at his eye and i dont want to make it worse by either leaving it or water bathing it??
many thanks!

Answer
Dear Coral,

I'm really not a vet or better than a vet : )) but I will tell you what I would do.  I would treat her with an oral antibiotic.  If there's any way you can find a vet who specializes in "pocket pets" or "exotics" that could give you something modern like Baytril, that would be best, but if that's not possible then there are over the counter antibiotics prepared for fish that can be used.

You can get Tetracycline from the FISH section of the pet store. It comes in capsules, powder, or tablets.

You are going to put some in the water bottle and try to get an initial dose inside the mouse.  

If you have the capsules, empty one capsule into a large water bottle or one half into a small one.  Shake extremely well.  If you have the powder,  1/4 flat teaspoon measure is the same as 1 capsule.  If you have the tablets, completely crush them into fine powder with the back of a spoon and use as powder.   This should be the mouse's only water source.  It's fine for any other mice to drink the water too. Cover the water bottle with tin foil because the medication is sensitive to light.  Change every few days for ten days.

Next, take another capsule worth and mix it with one drop of water.  This will make a paste about the consistency of mustard.    You have plenty to play with, so if the mixture is too watery, try again.  Now pick up the mouse by the scruff of the neck.  This is the skin just behind its head.  This does not hurt it-- it's how its mama used to carry it-- but it will struggle valiantly.   Holding it gently but firmly,  quickly place a small amount into its now open mouth.  This is hard.  Be careful of its nose!  Wipe a bit more onto its whiskers and chin.  It will ingest that when it washes itself.  If you couldn't get any inside it at all, wipe some more on its head and sides.  Put it back into the cage so it will wash itself.  Keep any other mouse from washing it, if necessary removing the other mice for an hour.

At the same time, the best thing to wipe the eye with is saline solution such as you get for contact lenses. Use a Q-tip very gently with a very generous amount of the liquid. If it still seems to make things worse, don't do it. It seems like it should help.

If the problem is an infection, it should be much better within 3 days.  He probably scratched his eye on something in the cage.  This is pretty common. But if he is scratching at all, the cause might have been scratching due to mites. If you think he has mites write back or read my recent  questions (archives).  

I hope he gets better quickly,

squeaks,

Natasha