• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Medication question. What is it?

Leighanne

Leighanne

New member
Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Messages
955
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
40
Location
Ohio
Alright I had to order in some Medicine from the Vet for my Rattie Daughters. I am confused though. I thought I was getting Baytril but its called Ciprofloxacin. Whats this stuff and what does it do? I needed it for their Phyphorin. I think I spelled that right. Rayne is all the time sneezing it and HoneyPuff is now to and her eyes get gunky for a few days in a row sometimes but then they usually clear up. I hope this helps the bulk of my matters. What sucks is administering it twice a day and orally. Anybody ever had Pet Rats and had to do that? Pain in the bum bum. lol The Vets office is closed today and I was just curious. Thanks guys! :)
 
Nevermind, disregard this post. I called my Rat friend Nicole and found out its not Baytril but its better then Baytril. Its supposed to help control the mucus flow which is good and works better then Baytril at least for Ratties. It helped Nicole's Rat Violet get through the Pneumonia she just almost had. Its strong stuff.

I've been learning a lot about my Ratties lately, a lot about everything and am very glad for the education. The Leo Rescues taught me SO much about Leos. An as for the Ratties I know now there number one health problem is going to be Respiratory, so I'm glad I'll know what to look for. Phew!

You always feel bad with your firsts of any animal but they Teach you so much. Did you know every ten days of a Rats life equals 1 year of a Humans and so by two years old for a Rat thats a 73 year old Human! With Rats of two years of age you should start looking for and paying attention to Respiratory problems because thats when these problems start pooping up. So this Winter I now know to be prepared! Thank Goodness and Thanks for looking guys! :)
 
Yep, Cipro is good to use if they have an actual infection. But if they don't and they just have some allergies/sneezing/porphy noses, then using some Triaminic Orange(chlorpheniramine children's liquid), Children's liquid Benadryl, etc, will also work just fine too. That is IF they don't have an active infection going on. www.ratguide.com for dosages.

A Baytril/Doxycycline combo is also good for respiratory infections.

As for getting them to take it, LOL, try melted ice cream, diluted chocolate syrup, maple syrup, watered down peanut butter, etc. Really anything you can think of that is liquidy and can be put in a syringe or bowl. I have over 22 rats, and some have had to go through chemotherapy treatment for cancer. I've had to do all sorts of tricks and stunts to get them to take their dang meds! LOL!

Hope that helped and good luck with your girls.
 
Wow, I haven't checked on this in awhile. They are doing fine now. Active, loveable little Ratties and they HATED the Medicine. My friend Nicole uses the ice cream. You do know that choclate will kill them and peanut butter can choke them. If it works for you thats cool but I will have to sway from choclate and peanut butter. No offense. I REALLY appreciate the info though. I always wanted to use over the counter stuff but couldn't find the info. I knew you could do it.
 
My friend as long as I know ciprofloxacin is a drug that is used to treat infections caused by bacteria and is being studied in the treatment of bladder cancer. Ciprofloxacin is a type of fluoroquinolone. Also called Cipro.
 
Leighanne said:
I called my Rat friend Nicole and found out its not Baytril but its better then Baytril.
Click to expand...
Ciprofloxacin is not better then Baytril (enrofloxacin). They are both antibiotics in the class of fluoroquinolones and have similar but not absolutely identical ranges of antibacterial activity. In individual instances one may be indicated more than the other, but to say one is better than the other is like saying that a BCI is better then a BCC, to draw a crude analogy.
 
Wow I couldn't keep up with that. I get what your saying, thats just what my friend said not like her word is gold but she goes to the stupid Vet a lot more then anybody I personally know. Ya know.
 
Why would you resent that? Some of them I'm not so impressed with.
 
Also, chocolate will not kill them. They aren't dogs. The ingredient in chocolate doesn't affect them the same way it affects other animals. They actually benefit from small amounts of dark chocolate as we do, as it boosts their immune system and can act as a bronchodilator if they have lung issues.

And peanut butter isn't a problem either, as long as you dilute it with a bit of water first. I have rats with malignant cancer and they are(and were, one has since passed last year) on chemotherapy(tamoxifen and piroxicam), so I had to use EVERYTHING to get them to to take it.

Being a vet tech, I would hope I would know what would kill my fur kids ;) One of my dwarf harley rex rats just recently had emergency surgery to spay her, darned rotten kids(more meanings than one).
 
Sorry Dr.Alan, I didn't realize you were joking. I thought you were going to come back and say you were a Vet. At least I thought there was one on the boards? An Becky no offense but I've never read choclate can help us. I only heard that dark choclate has caffeine and I've read a FEW books that state no choclate for the Rattie. I understand your a Vet Tech but I still don't trust it. Anybody have an article on Rats and choclate? I'm just saying I've read no, no, no choclate. That subject would just have to be better explained but I am interested on how and why it acts as a bronchodilator. What about the caffiene?
 
Actually there's truth in both viewpoints. The toxic factor in chocolate is theobromine, which is closely related to caffeine. In high doses it can be toxic for dogs. Rats are certanly much more tolerant of theobromine than are dogs and there is anecdotal evidence that dark chocolate may help stimulate the immune system of many mammals, including rats and people. On the other hand, there is also significant verifiable evidence that theobromine causes cellular degeneration of rat testicles.

Rats. Give 'em chocolate and they wind up needing Viagra.

That's another joke, folks. And I am a veterinarian.
 
How are Rats more tolerant of theobromine? They are much smaller then Dogs. Also what is theobromine and what does it do?
 
lol Nevermind its closely related to caffeine but I still don't get how Dogs are affected worse by it then Rats when Rats are smaller. So is a small bitsy dose of dark chocolate good in all standards to give to a Rat when they are having Respiratory issues? I'm interested in whats good to feed or if theres any over the counter medication to give for a Rats respiratory problems. Mine are both female. They are almost two years old and I'm positive this Winter is going to be the Winter their Respiratory problems hit and I might lose one or both. I like to be preventive, thats why this subject is interesting.
 
Leighanne said:
I still don't get how Dogs are affected worse by it then Rats when Rats are smaller.
Click to expand...
Not so hard to understand really, and has nothing to do with the size of the animal. Different creatures have different tolerances for toxins. Rats are minimally affected by theobromine (putting aside the testicular thing), but many dogs are very intolerant of it.

You can eat half a pound of chocolate and be fine, albeit maybe bigger around the thighs. If your Lab does it, chances are he will develop bloody diarrhea and seizures. You can eat all the onions you want to. If your dog eats a couple of onions he runs the risk of developing fatal anemia. Garlic is also significantly toxic for some animals, including dogs. You can eat macadamia nuts to your heart's content, but if your dog eats as few as three or four, he is quite likely to develop a fatal neuropathy.
 
Dang, wow I never knew that. Thank goodness I have no Dogs right now. lol
 
As for the winter sniffles, getting a humidifier set up in the room helps ALOT. They just can't stand the dry air and it can get them stressed. I try to keep room humidity around 50-60 in the winter and they do much better. I have a rat who is nearing 4 or is already 4 years old, and she's doing well with this regimen(with the exception that she is a hairless and has constantly dry skin, regardless of the Wellness Senior dog food in their mix and using Aveeno lotion on her, LoL). She's a ratty who needs a walker :)

Their food mix has alot to do with how healthy they are in the long run too. I try to use mostly organic, whole grain foods; cereals, rice mixes(wild rice, split peas, beans), oatmeal, whole grain pasta, dried fruit/veggies, etc. I also put flax seed in their mix, as it's good for their skin and many other organ systems.
 
Back
Top