Baytril reaction.

Question
QUESTION: I just adopted a new hairless rat from the pet store yesterday. They had given it to me in replacement for the baby that had fallen ill.
This tipped me off that something may be wrong, so this time I paid more attention to any symptoms.
She seemed to have a respiratory infection so I took her to the vet within the hour today. The vet didn't seem too experienced, but I trusted that she was confirming what I had already suspected; myco.
I understand that most rodents are given oral antibiotics, but I've never experienced a sq injection in a rat before.
She gave her a red colored injection, the bag's marked Baytril, right around her left shoulder. She warned me that the liquid will pool and make a blister-like pocket.
After an hour, I had gotten her home and this pocket has turned a dark blue/black and it's very sensitive to her.
Is this normal? Should I be worried about it scabbing and/or turning into an open wound?

Also.
I was given to syringes of the Baytril for oral administration. What's the best way to give this to her? She told me just to open her mouth and inject it, but it seems a little stressful to me.

ANSWER: I find it astounding that your vet went for an injectable dose of baytril rather than just starting you on oral to begin with; but OK! I guess that particular vet likes to jump start things. She should have explained that baytril has a VERY VERY strong ulcerative side effect at injection locations. If this only lasts a day or so, you're lucky. It may continue for a week or even in some cases, two. If the site pops/opens, make sure you keep it very clean, otherwise, leave it alone and hopefully it will resolve itself.

If your baytril is sweetened, some rats love it and will willingly take it off the end of the syringe. Try it. If she flat out refuses to take it voluntarily, I find it easiest to dose my kids by grasping them in my palm so that my index finger and middle finger grasp their shoulders, and my palm drops over their back, my ring finger, pinkie finger and thumb around their tummy. Lift them and place them with their back legs against your chest so they feel somewhat secure. Your rat probably won't like this. Then you pop the syringe into their mouth (quickly) and push the plunger in.

Like most rats, she may resent you for it, but I usually offer mine a treat and make nice-nice directly after to lessen the blow. Within a few days it will be routine.

Good luck!

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

QUESTION: I was thinking that the injection may be a little too much.
I told her this, and I also told her that I couldn't afford a lot of medication right now but she seemed pretty eager, so she did it for free.

How long do you suppose she needs to keep taking this antibiotic?
She told me to come back for more when I could afford it, because she had given me two days of free medication.

Also, I've been looking for a couple of hours.
I have her in her own little cage right now, but the extra bedding and t-shirts don't seem to be warming her enough.
Would I ever be able to introduce her back into the main habitat?

Answer
Oh my lord. Your vet shouldn't have even started you on medications if she didn't give you a full dosages worth. Did she explain how myco works, or are you familiar with it? In case you're not, I'll give you the abridged version. Every rat has myco, every rat is born with it. Its much like the chicken pox in that everyone has it, however it only displays when the body is stressed enough and the immune system weak enough to display it. For hairless ratties, this is often much sooner than furred rats, because they already have a compromised system due to their lack of fur.

Now, given that she's hairless, in my opinion (although I am no vet, by all means), she should not have been given an injection anyway. They're so much more prone to drug reactions as it is, that just seems so iffy. If she only gave you two days of medication, your vet is setting you up for failure. In order to get a myco flareup under control, you need to continue treatment for a bare minimum of 14 days, the most being 21 days (and only in very severe cases). At that point, the rat should be given a 7 to 14 day rest period and started back on the baytril regime if she needs it. Most often, the flareup is taken care of, and you'll be fine until her little system is stressed again and the myco flare ups come back. Myco also works like tuberculosis does -- it causes scarring and tubers on the lungs with constrict the amount of air intake your rattie is getting each time she inhales. The more myco flareups and the more severe each case is, the harder it is to take care of, and the more damaging to her system it is.. which is why its important to nip this in the bud immediately rather than allowing it to continue. By treating her for two days and then nothing for a few days, you're allowing the bacteria in her system to grow a little more resistant to the meds. Myco is hard enough to treat based on the lack of a cell wall, you don't need the super-sickness either!

Eventually her myco will get to the point where she is basically constantly sick and constantly being treated - but that could be a year and a half from now, or it could be next week. It depends on the individual. I have no problem re-introducing my myco kids back into the main population. Myco is not contagious and you don't need to worry about her passing it to anyone else. You will need to worry about the others picking on her in her weakened state, though.

Regarding keeping her warm, give her something to curl up in, and if you positively need to, invest in a 30 watt blacklight to hang on one corner of the cage. Give her ample room to get out of it if she wants to, and police the temperature often to be sure you aren't roasting her. I use this with my nursing litters, it works charms. But nothing more than a 45 watt max!