My rat has Pheumonia and needs help

Question
Hello Im Rebecca an owner of 2 dumbo rats aged 5 months.
I really need help as one of my rats is really ill as she came down with a respiratory infection which the vet said she had. Before we took her to the vet she was panting really heavily and looked ill. She lay on her ledge as if she was going to die. Luckily after the that night she lived. We try to give her the antibiotics which the vet gave us. The thing is she wont take them and barely eats the food we put it in. Its hard to give her it and she isn't getting the right amount. It was today when i saw she looked really ill. She had bad red stuff around her eye and is panting like crazy. She is moving about but very slowly. She isn't eating much and i haven't seen her drink. I'm getting worried about her. When I have her the food with the medicine in it she ate half of it but looked like she was choking. That was when i really panicked and that's why im writing to you. . I love her so much and want her to get better so she can carry on with her happy life.  Thanks for reading and I hope you can help.

Answer
Rebecca,

I would recommend that you switch to syringe medicating your rat instead of putting it her food. You can see how to do that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXN_aR_0cPc

I am curious to know if you are giving Baytril or Amoxicillin to your rat. If the pneumonia is not myco based, but a secondary infection, then the Baytril will have little to no effect anyway.

Here is a very good page for you to read: http://ratfanclub.org/resp.html It should help you understand more about what I am talking about with the Baytril vs. Amoxicillin. Most vets do not prescribe amoxicillin for rats because it can be fatal to hamsters and Guinea Pigs, but it can be a miracle drug when it comes to rats and very safe as well.

Tami
Social Rats Adoption and Rescue