Norway Azithromycin mix - vs - doseage

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra,

First off I would like to say a massive, extremely well deserved THANK YOU for taking the time to help people and the rats who love them!

As we are all too fully aware rats are notoriously uncelebrated and under rated as pets - and they are incredibly wonderful pets!

Would you be able to give me advice on the proper dosage of Azithromycin to give our son's rat who has a slight respiratory infection (recurrent mycoplasma.)

She had a mycoplasma infection when she was young which we treated with Baytril for 30 days and has been fine until about a week ago when she started making faint breathing noises which went away during the day (they still do ease up during day.) We thought they might just be a cold or the sniffles but it didn't go away so we'd like to treat her.

We have Azithromycin 40 mg/ml oral suspension which was for our 7-year-old son (Keilani's) bronchitis (he recovered without the need for using it however so it's still completely unopened and only a month old).

I suppose that's a pediatric dosage and not the usual mix ratio for Azithromycin normaly used for rats? In any case it is mixed at a ratio of 40 mg/ml.

I have consulted the Rat & Mouse Gazette Medical Chart and see that we should give her 8 mg/lb X 2 oral doses daily. Mozy is 800 g - appx 2 lbs.

We're in Norway where small mammal vets are an absolute rarity and pretty much non-existent in our town.

I've done some calculations and it seems that she should receive 0.3-0.4 ml azithromycin twice a day.

I have read that Baytril is usually better for older rats and she is about 18 - 20 months old now. Are there any better meds to give rats for myco/respiratory ailments now in 2011?

Any info you may be able to give would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Renn, Keilani & Mozy

ANSWER: 8 mg/lb is correct, but it is suggested this be given for 14 days at twice per day and after that, once per day for the following 14 days.  If this is working, I would just continue using it twice a day.  Doxycycline and zithromax (azithromycin) together is also a good way to combat infection if it is truly caused by myco. However, there may be a secondary infection as well and sometimes azithro alone is not strong enough.  I do prefer baytril as first choice though when dealing with myco unless they are babies under 3 months old, and even at that time, if the benefits outweigh the risks its a wise idea to treat them with baytril too.
Please see my site, sandyscrittercity.com and go to the page on rat illnesses and look up the page on MYCO for more info.

800 grams huh?  Ha.You have a chubby one too, I see. My boy that just passed away due to colon cancer was 930 grams and my boy, Jaxson, is 802 grams and his brother, Pepsi? He hasnt been weighed but he is bigger than Jaxson, I shudder to think what he may weigh. The are just really big boys, though. Fluffy not fat:)

As for new meds in 2011...are you kidding?  We are lucky if anyone even cares enough to try to find a good treatment for rats when they are sick, period. Here in the states there are vets that are willing to see rats but are clueless and cause more harm than good, others that will refuse to even try to help and a small handful of vets that really know what they are doing. Its rare I find  a vet that knows more than I do about rat care and that scares me.  
I do have a name for you though if you are interested in seeing if this vet is in your area or not. Its no fun having a sick rat and no vet to depend on.

Here is what I have as far as vets that treat exotics, including rats.

http://www.sinsendyreklinikk.no/


http://www.avivet.no/

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you SO much for your very useful information. Dishearteningly sad to hear that the vets in the U.S. are so inept at proper rat care and so woefully lacking in knowledge!

Sadly Norway's worse so I thank you again very much for the information about exotic animal vets here in Norway. Of course they're in Oslo about 400 miles away from where we're living on the west coast but I can at least get info via the phone and emails so it is very useful and caring information: You are SO right about it being NO fun whatsoever to have sick rats with no proper vets around.

I have cared for and nursed a few sick rats in the past using the information at the Rat & Mouse Gazette and these other sites... also I have read your information at Critter City.

Mozy's wheezing has improved markedly after 4 days on twice a day doses of azithromycin. I have done the twice a day for the first 14 days and then once a day doses for an additional 14 days regimen before when Mozy was young. I had Baytril then. Perhaps I'll get some Baytril and carry on a single dose daily after the zithro course.

Is it ok to use the Baytril after the Zithro? I have heard of people using Azithromycin together with enrofloxacin although I have heard that is not recommended for some reason?

Would it be safe to combine the Baytril or switch to the Baytril for the last 14 days of single dose?

Your insight and knowledge is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,

Renn, Keilani, & Mozy

Answer
Figures the vet is 400 miles away.  Just our luck huh?!!  

As for going to the baytril after the zithromax....my suggestion is that once she is off of it, get her on baytril and keep her on it for the rest of her life. Once a day dose is fine. This will just come back and it could possibly end up causing damage to the lungs so that is why we suggest to keep them on the meds for the rest of their lives once they relapse.  True, its not the best thing to do but either is developing scar tissue or blistering of the lungs, either, so the long term effects of antibiotic therapy is far better than chronic lung disease.