vibravet paste

Question
hi
i have 2 pet rats ben and jacko. i got these rats last november from a breeder and they were 15 months old. they were sneezing alot and i emailed the breeder and she said its cos they haven't settled in...after a week, i noticed ben had a chesty noise so i decided to get them checked out by the vet. the vet said rats have respirotory infections and put them both on 0.1ml baytril twice daily for 10 days and the rats were good.
two nights ago(22 feb2009) i found ben in his cage breathing rapidly and not interested in eating. i took him to the vet the next morning and he was given baytril injection and hospitalised for the day and subcutaneous fluids and i collected him after work and he and also jacko(whos fine) are to have 0.1-0.2ml baytril twice daily and 1/2 dose vibravet paste also. i just noticed on the vibravet that the expiry date was 12/09, so its 2 months expired..i contacted the vet but she said its still alrite to give....will it be effective still? how to i encourage ben to drink water?
thanks

Answer
Any medication that expired is NOT good.  It wont be strong any longer and will not work.  Your vet is incorrect for saying it was ok to use it.  It may not hurt her to use it, but it wont do its job it was intended to do, either.  I would ask for a drug that was FRESH and not expired to ensure your rat is getting the best treatment.