Genital myco? :(

Question
QUESTION: I've been up for three days trying to make sure my baby hairless rat would make it through the week after being injected with Baytril.
Around 4am this morning, I was letting her run around all over my and the closet and she seemed perfectly fine.
When I went to change their water before I bed, I didn't see her running around so I looked in with a small flashlight and she was curled up in her hidey-house stiff, without control of her body. Her legs were jerking constantly.

I picked her up, knowing that she wasn't going to make it because she had already turned cold, and I wrapped her up and I noticed a huge glob of blood coming out of her vagina.

I don't know how long she had been that way, but it took her about five minutes to pass, so I'm happy for that atleast.


I was wondering if this was genital myco? She'd been diagnosed with respiratory myco about four days ago, and had been given a nasty shot of Baytril which scabbed horribly.
Is it genital myco, and should I be worried about the others?
Or was it the Baytril?


ANSWER: Oh my, thats not a good sign at all!!

First of all, how old is your baby rat?
Did the vet send her home with oral medication or was she just given a single injection of baytril? I ask this because that shot acts as a single dose and one shot of baytril is not going to help cure anything. Baytril needs to be given on a daily basis for at least 14 to 30 days to treat infection.

Second, baytril should be reserved for rats over the age of 4 months old and instead, zithromax should be used. This is why I asked how old she was.
The use of baytril has been linked to produce erosion of cartilage in weight bearing joints as well as other arthritic changes seen later in life. Also, baytril injections are known to cause what we refer to as "baytril burn" which is a very nasty ulceration that develops in the injection site. This is no doubt, the ugly scab you are seeing. This just bugs me she was given this injection when oral medications for rats come flavored in anything from strawberry to chicken and rats take it readily. The only reason she should have had the shot is to get it into her system faster and if she were that sick, using a nebulizer is the fastest way to get baytril into the lungs for respiratory infection.

You said you were up for 3 nights with worry that your baby rat may not survive the baytril shot.  What made you think it would harm her?  Although the side effects are unwanted in young rats, if she was dosed properly, one injection would not be dangerous for her but did you note any change in her conditon after the injection?
THe vaginal bleeding is not related to the injection so I want to put your mind at ease about that right off.
However, no vaginal bleeding is normal at all. It makes me think several things could be wrong with her, from the fact that she could have a uterine infection due to mycoplasmosis, to pyometra which is very dangerous: a prolapsed uterus needs to be ruled out and also possibly an aborted pregnancy is a possibilty. Female rats can become pregnant as young as 4.5 weeks old.
Her legs shaking tells me that at the moment you found her passing that clot, she was in pain, which may have been from uterine cramping.
She needs to see the vet again as soon as today, however, I do want to ask about the vet she is seeing and how much experience he or she has with exotic pets.  

I dont like to usually question a vets diagnosis and treatment but giving a baby rat baytril is putting her at risk for problems later in life, if she is indeed under 4 months.

Please let me know so I can further advise.


regards

Sandy

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

QUESTION: She had actually died in the five-ten minutes I had been holding her. It was the most painful thing I had ever experienced in a while.

She was WAY under four months. I adopted her at about five-six weeks and had only had her four days.
That's why I was worried. I went home and googled Baytril injections to learn that she shouldn't've had it, and that the burn at the site wasn't good at all.

The vet didn't seem very knowledgeable as she had to go back and look in  the books to see what was wrong and had only given me two days of oral baytril, which she did take readily I might add.

Nothing happened after the injection at all. Her sneezing continued, and worsened towards the end, and her eyes began to shut even more than usual.
When I was up with her, I was trying to make sure the burn wouldn't bust open, as it had scabbed badly, and to make sure she had been eating and drinking properly.

Her last days, she began to drink non-stop. She'd attack my hand when I replaced the water, or when I went to set up a bottle when she was playing on the floor. She'd bite onto the tube and not let go for the life of her.

ANSWER: OMG I am So sorry!!

I need to ask how this vet presented herself to you. Did she say she was an exotic vet or anything like that to lead you to believe she knew anything about rat care?

I am really upset and also wonder now if she did not give that baby too much medication in that injection.

:-(

The massive amounts of water she wanted leads me to believe she was in trouble with her kidneys.

:-(

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

QUESTION: She gave the same amount in the injection as she did the antibiotics. I'll get the bag: .25cc (1ml baytril) and then some chicken scratch.

I had called ahead and they told me she was the only qualified "pocket pet" vet there and that she had treated rats before. When I arrived, the others wouldn't touch her and left her to this woman. She had told me that she had successfully treated pneumonia in rats, so I assumed that she'd be competent enough until I could get the money to travel to an exotics specialist, which are about three hours away.

Answer
I may be able to find someone closer than 3 hours away...
Obviously she was not qualified enough to see baby rats since she gave your rat a medication that is not to be used in rats under 4 months old. That is strike one against her. Strike two is using baytril via injection when it is known to cause serious ulcerations on rats. Your little rat passed away and in my opinion that is strike 3.  It is NOT your fault and I am so sorry you had to go through this. Its heartbreaking. I wish vets that are not properly educated in treating rats would at least have some regards for the animal and do their homework before treating them. Vets like this do more harm than good in many cases. Its not fair to learn from their mistakes because it is at the expense of the rat.
Anyhow, if you would like, I can try to find someone else to take your rat to see. You can email me at Sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com and let me know where your located and also the name of the clinic you went to with your rat so I am sure not to bother doing research on the same person you saw already.
I wish I could change the outcome of this but unfortunately, whats done is done, but I do wish to help any way I can.

best wishes

Sandra