bump, medicine

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra. I sent you a question a while ago and then a follow up. It past 3 days after I sent the follow up so I pressed the link it said to press. I was confused when I got my reply because there was no answer to my question on it so I'll just ask it again. My rat Sammy has a tiny bump that feels like a bug bite (and is sneezing)and you asked if it had a scab on it and I said no in my follow up. My follow up I sent also asked if I could buy medicine from a rat rescue and use that for Sammy. One of my friends used this medicine on her rats and they stopped sneezing. I would prefer to use this medicine because it costs only around 10 dollars. Please tell me if this is a bad idea. If it is, I also know of a good vet in my area that can treat him. I was also wondering how I can get them to eat their pellets. We bought oxbow regal rat food and they don't eat it anymore. Should we switch to a different food?

ANSWER: I hate to tell you to spend ten dollars on something that may not work. If your rat has an infection and it is not treated properly, the rat can get worse.  Tell me the name of the medicine first so I can know if its something that can help.  As for the good vet in your area, are they  an all exotic clinic?  As for the regal rat, you can add more to his diet than just regal rat. This can get pretty tiresome for rats to eat the same thing daily so having a variety is important so they dont get bored with their food.  Please see my website, Sandyscrittercity.com and refer to the page on proper diet for ideas on how to make a healthy homemade diet for them and also what other foods to feed them other than just a pelleted diet.
Sorry the follow up did not get the proper response.  I dont handle that part, I just get them in my  email.  I have no idea what your email address is etc...its all filtered out by allexperts for your privacy.
glad you wrote back though. thats the best thing to do when stuff like that happens.

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


rat bump   QUESTION: Hi. Thank you for your answer. Do you know what Sammy's bump could be? The medicine was called zithromax.I live in orange county, ca so I was thinking about going to Westminster vet group because thats one that you recommended to someone else. We started adding a homemade rat mix to their food called suebee's grain mix. If you have heard of it, do you know if it's any good? We have also always given them fresh fruits and veggies, not only regal rat. Thank you in advance.

ANSWER: Sue Bees is fine as long as you use it with other food and not alone as it is not to be used as the only food since it is not as nutritionally balanced as some people think. Continue to use a good rat block and vegetables daily.

Westminster Group is fantastic.  Your rat will be in the best of hands when going to this clinic. I have sent several people there and two of the rats were dying.  The Vets there saved their lives when they were both so sick their previous vets had given up and wanted to put them to sleep.


The bump may be a little cyst. Has it grown much?

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

QUESTION: Hi Sandra. His bump has not grown at all. Also, do you think zithromax is a good medicine to give him for his sneezing?

Answer
Yes,  zithromax is good but keep in mind that if you do not see an improvement in three days another antibiotic should be used, namely, baytril.  Most of the time a respiratory infection is caused by mycoplasmosis and the only antibiotics that can be used are those that fight the cell of the organism, not just the cell wall like most antibiotics do.  Few antibiotics are able to fight the cell of an organism with the exception of a few such as zithromax, baytril and doxycycline.