question about rabbit medications

[kirbyultra]

Hi everyone

I've read a lot of posts these few months in the nutrition and infirmiry boards and people talk a lot about the various medications and suggestions. Where do people obtain these meds? Are pet meds like human meds and require vet prescription/recommendations? I would like to have necessary meds on hand in case of emergencies but don't know where I can get them? :? I've only gotten meds like Albon and baytril after vet visits. I have purchased benebac at petstores.

 

[Amy27]

I get most of my meds from the vet. Since I am at the vet all the time they will give me extra meds incase I need them over the weekend. Such as Metacam and Buphrenex. I also try to have sub q fluids on hand and will now start keeping critical care on hand that I have obtain from the vet. The gas meds I have I got from the grocery store and then Nutrical I got from the pet store. I think that covers everything I have.

 

[Maureen Las]

If you need bicillin it can be purchased very inexpensively at farm stores like Tractor supply or farm/ Fleet/ it is marketed and sold as an antibiotic for beef cattle and is in the refrigerator section.
no need to buy it until you need it because they usually have it except maybe during the winter months.
panacur which is used for e-cuniculi can be purchase inexpensively at the same time of store. I bought a smaller bottle that was labelled as a goat dewormer (fenbendazole)

You can also buy probios from the same type of store ; it is similar to benebac but comes in a larger tube and is marketed for horses. much better buy than benebac.

Italked one of the vets here into selling me a vial of injectable baytril (it can also be used orally but the taste is so terrible it really should be compounded) ; if I need to use the baytril I can call the vet and often do not need to bring in the rabbit. Injectable baytril is more effective than oral.
If you were a breeder you could buy sulfa drugs to mix in drinking water at farm stores but those antibiotic are often used for treating a herd and you really don't know how much the rabbit is getting( and they are not as potent as many drugs)

many drugs used for rabbits are also used for humans like zithromax , doxcycline, ciprofloxicin however many are veterinary drugs like baytril and (I think meloxicam)


Most of the veterinary drugs need a prescription and if you become educated enough to think your rabbit would benefit from a certain drug you need to find a vet who will cooperate and/or agree with you on it . Sometimes bringing research articles etc. help persuade a vet and sometimes it just aggRavates them.

The drugs sold at the farm store can be sold without prescription because they are marketed for farm animals not pets"
it is very important to get a rabbit knowledgeable vet so that your rabbit will be able to get the appropriate meds ; this would be a vet who keeps up on new research on rabbits (probably an exotic animal vet)

 

[mlg4491]

If it's something that requires a perscription, either the vet will have it or they will tell you where to get it. For example, when my bun had GI stasis, I had to give her metaclopromide (sp?) which I got at a drugstore with a prescription for a teaspoon. The pharmacist looked at my funny, but it works! Otherwise, if it's something like RabbitLax you can get it at the pet store.