pet rat looks sick

Question
QUESTION: This morning when I checked on my pet rat she looked lethargic and had dark reddish (almost like dried blood) around her eyes and mouth.  When I picked her up her mouth was full of mucous.  I cleaned her up with some water and put her back and offered her a fresh carrot but wasn't interested. Do you have any idea what may be wrong?

ANSWER: Yes she has excessive porphyrin which means she is sick and she needs a vet right away.  You need to get fluids in her right away and take her to the exotic vet. If you need a vet please let me know and I will give you some names in your area once you tell me where you are, or your zip code etc...

How old is she? Is she congested?

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QUESTION: She is about one year old. She doesn't sound congested. she just had the mucous in her mouth.  
I'm a Registered nurse and have access to antibiotics and can administer via injection if you have a recommendation. in lieu of seeking a vet.

ANSWER: My daughter is an RN too:)

She would need baytril, but injections are not usually advised because the medication is too caustic and it coagulates in the area of the injection and tends to cause very painful nasty sores from the skin breaking down.  We call it "baytril burn".  Someone told me they knew of a rat that bled to death from this sore as it continued to grow. If this is true the rat probably had other problems that kept her from healing properly, but still, baytril burn is a real problem.

Can you get your hands on amoxil caps? 250 or 500 mgs. this would be good for strep infections which would be the culprit in the case of strep pneumonia which is usually acute but it can be aggressive and really does demand immediate action with broad spectrum antibiotics. I usually prefer amoxil and baytril (which you cant get from anyone but a vet) but I do believe cipro is the human drug for baytril. Bayrtil is third generation fluoroquinolone and I do believe cipro is second generation fluoroquinolone. THe reason it is important to use this drug is because if she has some type of infection due to mycoplasmosis, fluoroquinolones are the only drug aside from zithromax and doxycycline that can kill this particular bacteria since it lacks a cell wall. If an antibiotic attacks the cell only it is rendered useless in treating mycoplasmosis which is why its important to have  a vet that has learned this stuff or they waste the rats time that is NOT on their side unfortunately, and give them meds that wont touch it.

What are the chances you can get cipro?



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QUESTION: Got it... How much and what form??  By injection would be best wouldn't it?

Answer
What do you have?

Can you get this?

GENTAMICIN

BRAND: GENTOCIN 40 mg/mL solution
1 to 2mg/lb BID, SQ or IM
.025 to .05cc/lb, BID for 7 days

When injecting rats, the best way is after you draw the medication if going through a rubber stopper, change the needle to a fresh one. Rats have really leathery skin and the sharper the better. DO NOT inject in the neck but instead, the thickest part of the flank. SQ is best but chances are with a rat it will turn IM. Thats ok too.

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ORAL ONLY!

AMOXICILLIN
10mg/lb BID, PO
.20cc/lb for 10 to 14 days

If you have 500 mg capsules, mix with 25cc water, shake well.

If you have 250 mg capsules, you will want to mix with 12.5 ccs water. Make new medication every two days, keep in fridge.