my rat is chesty and baytril doesnt seem to be working

Question
QUESTION: hi im just needing some advice i recentley lost my 14 month boy rat (paddy) because my vets didnt really know much about rats he was gasping for breath all the time and i had to get him put to sleep. But i still have his brother (max) who is now 15mnths old and has started with sneezes and chestyness. Since i have had them they have been up and down to the vet with bad chests but max has always been the stronger one. I have had him on baytril for the past week giving him 0.2ml a day but now he sounds worse than he was he is eating and drinking but he doesnt really run round much since he lost his brother have you any advice please or any for my vet she is lovely but doesnt really know much about rats and i dont want max to go the same way paddy did thankyou helen .

ANSWER: Hi Helen

Sounds like your rat has something that may be a bit harder for baytril to handle. The problem with mycoplasmosis is that each time the rat ends up with a respiratory infection and it is not treated aggressive the very first time, the rat will relapse again and again and with each time they relapse, there is more damage done to the lungs. This can end up turning into a chronic condition.

First your vet should make sure the rat doesn't have fluid in her lungs and if she does, the first thing needed to be done is she needs to be put on lasix.  

Second, more aggressive antibiotics should be used, but the baytril should not be stopped. Gentocin or Amakacin injections for 3 to 5 days should be given. She really would benefit by staying at the clinic and kept in oxygen during the first few days of aggressive treatment.
Nebulization of baytril should also be done and albuterol can be used to help open the rats airway.
Liquid valium can also be given to keep the rat calm but not sedated.  A calm rat tends to breathe much slower and when they are on valium there is a considerably drop in respiration which is wanted if the rat has rapid breathing or gasping.
When the rat first shows signs of illness the very first attack, they are supposed to be put on baytril and doxycycline for 30 days. The long duration is to prevent relapse. Anything less than 30 days and chances of relapse are very high which is why so many rats end up with chronic respiratory disease due to lung scarring and blistering.
TB is also caused by the mycoplasma bacteria, although it is species specific and rats do not get TB, the bacteria still causes similar problems. TB eats away at the lungs of humans causing scarring etc...just like myco does to the rats lungs.

A treatment regimen for serious and advanced respiratory illness


As a matter of fact, instead of me giving instructions on treating the rat since I am not a Vet, here is the perfect thing you can print off and give to your vet. It is written by a Vet and this is pretty much the exact thing I suggested with the exception of valium, which is not suggested in the instructions below. I really hope your vet is able to help.
I can also help you locate another vet that is more experienced with rats if needed. AN exotics specialist is always a good thing to have. If you want, let me know your location and the cities nearest to you and I can give you a few names of exotic vets that may be able to get this under control. There is no need to have to lose this battle when there are treatments available that have worked successfully on some very sick ratties.  

The following treatment regimen for use in rats with advanced lung infection or more serious respiratory illness with Mycoplasma as the suspected agent , is recommended by Dr. Michael Hutchinson, DVM; Animal General, Cranberry Township, PA., and is based on his experience treating rats and current literature:

     enrofloxacin (Baytril) 15 mg/kg BID, PO (oral) for 10-30 days
     doxycycline 5 mg/kg BID PO (oral) for 10-30 days
     nebulization for 15 minutes, 2 to 3 times a day, for 14 days, with the following mixture:
     8 mL sterile saline
     0.5mL gentocin injectable 100 mg/mL
     0.5mL Albuterol 0.083 Inhalation *Note: excess mixture for nebulization can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

     dexamethasone 1 mg/lb BID, then weaned down as follows:
     1 mg/lb BID injectable or PO (oral) for 3 days
     1 mg/lb SID for 3 days
     0.5 mg/lb SID for 3 days
     0.5 mg/lb orally every other day, three doses

     Other veterinary recommended reduction schedules for dexamethasone may also be used.

**********

Please keep me posted....

Sincerely

Sandy

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

QUESTION: hi again hope you dont mind me asking more questions. I have phoned my vet today with the advice from you to see if she will get me some doxcycline in or amoxil because they dont store meds except baytril so i will let u know how max gets on. The question i wanted to ask was that my rats have always sneezed and max the one i have left is sneezing and always sratching himself do u think its the bedding he has it is recycled cardboard pieces it says dust free and i have used this all the time i have had them is this okay to use.

ANSWER: Hi

Of course I dont mind you asking questions. That is what I do, help rat owners with rat care :)

As for the bedding, although what your using is rat safe, there are still some beddings that can trigger allergies in our rats no matter what it is.  Sometimes the diet can trigger allergies, especially if it is high in protein. Have your rats ever been checked for mites?

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

QUESTION: hi everytime i have took my rats to the vet i have told them about them scratching they have told me its not mites because they didnt seem to of lost any hair or show any type of hair loss is there a chance he could have mites and not loose any hair. I give my rat reggie rat food fresh fruit,steamed peas,carrots,broccoli, weetabix, cheerios a bit of brown rice with crushed garlic wholemeal pasta and the odd bit of wholemeal bread ive tried to put everything in that i can think of. I recently read up that echinea is good for rat immune systems so i have added that to his drinking water thanx again for your time x

Answer
Thats not really the truth about losing fur if its mites. All the rats I have treated with mites did not have ANY hair loss.
Can you check the package of reggie rat and see the protein percentage?  It should really be under 18 percent, ideally around 15 percent. High protein triggers allergies in rats and is bad for kidneys as they enter their senior years.