Your expertise

Question
I am concerned about the quality of expertise when it comes rats and wanted to be sure I was asking the right expert on here. I have conversed with Miss Janell, who seems to be a wealth of knowledge and doesnt seem to have to look things up before she answers a question and seems to know things off the top of her head, which is comforting. I have also asked you many things over the past few months and have had very in depth and accurate answers. My husband is a Veterinarian and therefore I go over answers I get with him when every single time I do, he says you are spot on with everything. Although he treats small rodents, he has alot to learn when it comes to them and says he has learned from you and your website, Critter City along with The Rat guide too. So we are seeking an answer that was rejected by another expert, Tami that was asked the other day. She said to use amoxil rather than baytril, but I asked her how she can justify this when amoxil is unable to destroy myco and 90% of the infections rats get are caused  by this bacteria. How do you know that the rat doesnt have myco without running tests? Wont delaying treatment cause more problems in the long run?
Where did you study, how and with who, by the way?

Answer
Wow....this is kind of putting me on the spot here, but I am confident I can answer this for you.

For starters, its a safe bet to say that over 80% of the infections rats are troubled with is caused by the bacteria mycoplasmosis. Rats are born with this bacteria unless they are laboratory rats born via cesarean section to a myco free mother and are kept in an environment free of the same bacteria.  The problem with using another drug other than an antibiotic that is made to destroy an organism that does not contain a cell wall like mycoplasmosis is that it will simply delay treatment and if myco is allowed to continue to develop and multiply, this only causes problems in the long run such as damage to the rats delicate lungs, leaving them scarred, blistered and often partially if not fully collapsed. This is when our rats end up with chronic lung disease, or COPD. You may see gasping, labored breathing and this often leads to heart problems too, since impaired lungs are taxing on the heart as well.  My suggestion is to always start out treating any respiratory infection using either baytril or zithromax (in immature rats under 3 to 4 months of age) and if they do not respond in three days, add another broad spectrum drug to the dosing schedule.   However, sometimes if the condition is severe, I will suggest using two antibiotics such as baytril and doxycycline.   Its not a good idea to start out treating any respiratory infection as anything other than myco in my experience. Its almost reckless to do so and only leads to more problems.  Please read my site, sandsycrittercity.com and refer to the page on myco for further information on proper treatment of this disease.

As for other experts expertise in rat care, I cannot say either way if anyone else is right or wrong.  I have first hand experience with another expert on here, who would be Miss Janell, and she is a very experienced breeder and is pretty educated when it comes to rat ailments as is Miss Sandra Beasley, who is limited to answering one question per day on here.

As for my credentials, I have all of that information on my profile so rather sit here and type out everything you asked, please refer to my profile for the info you are seeking. I have trained with various vets that have much experience with rat care and also have been mentored by a Vet who is strictly exotic and who is also currently seeking certification in the specialty of exotic companion mammal medicine and is also a board certified avian/exotic Vet and also a board diplomat, so rest assured that I have plenty of training under my belt. I also had the pleasure of being contacted by general vets throughout the country how have either written to me for advice or have had a telephone conference with me and I have given them advice on treating rats for various ailments. There was no question that these vets have read my material and felt confident enough in my ability to give accurate and up to date advice on rat care that they came to me for advice. That was very gratifying and has helped put my name out there that I have earned respect from Vets across the country.  I also am known to not hesitate to call out Vets that have improperly treated rats and who were responsible for their premature or unnecessary deaths due to lack of proper education to treat these small animals. My website has various pages that guide rat owners on how to find the right Vet and to realize that although vets claim to see exotic animals at their clinic in NO WAY means they are board certified exotic Vets. In fact, there are only a handful of vets in this country that are certified in exotic companion mammal medicine and anyone that claims to hold this title other than the dozen or less Vets are making these claims illegally as it is against the law to claim that that are licensed in a certain field when they are NOT.

I hope I have answered your questions enough to assure you that coming to all experts for advice on your pet rats needs is not a risk in any way, and you can be confident that I will answer you with accurate and up to date information as it is available to me.