mouse- respiratory-antibiotic dosage

Question
my daughter's little pet mouse is using his/her accessory muscles to breathe i tried a breathing tx. very sm dose it appeared to be somewhat successful, however i think it needs abx.. so I tried Tetracycline and gave it via syringe, also placed sm. amt. in H2o bottle what would be the correct dose?  I no nothing about sm animals w/tiny lungs. The breathing tx was a quick fix, however i dont feel the mouse would benefit from long term therapy.  HELP I dont want him/her to suffer and yes there are 2 mice and yes i know they should be seperated. Please help your abx tx was a great idea but I dont know the dose to give.. thanx for your help.  Robin

Answer
Dear Robin,

You're not the only one who pointed out that I forgot to be clear about dosage and time.  

There are two common sizes of small rodent water bottle.  The smaller one is approximately 6 inches from tip to bottom and holds about 6 oz (3/4 of a cup).  The larger one holds 12 oz and measures about a foot. For the smaller one I use a half capsule of fish Tetracycline, which is 1/8 flat teaspoon of the powder; if you have the tablets, crush them into powder.  For the 12 oz bottle I use the whole capsule, or 1/4 flat teaspoon of the powder.  

It's best to give them a fresh mixture every day.  Continue for a week. Treat the water for the other mouse as well.  You can actually leave them together, since they are being treated anyway.

If I haven't answered your question, it's because I don't know what abx and tx stand for!  Try me again if you need to.

squeaks,

Natasha