Went to vet today..

[Yield]

We took Sabriel and Solara to the vet... and the guy said that Sabriel's heart and lungs were fine.. couldn't get his temp.. but perscribed him AND Solara baytril just in case they might have pasteurella cause Sabriel's been sneezing A LOT and has had clear (maybe white, I can't tell cause his fur is white) discharge from his nose.

And they charged us 30 dollars for him to PICK up Solara and WEIGH her even though we did that ourselves! We're never going there again.

My mom is going back and she's gunna raise hell.

But anyways. Do you think it was right of the vet to perscribe them baytril, when he doesn't even know for sure if they have pasteurella or not? I'm feeling a bit wary about the whole thing.

We have to disolve it in red gatorade and feed it through a syringe...

Also, we found out Solara is 5 lb and Sabriel is 4! I though Solara was 4, and Sabriel 3. I was mistaken lol.

 

[tonyshuman]

That is too bad that they charged you that way. I am not really happy with the idea of dissolving the baytril in gatorade either. A good rabbit vet will make up a solution for you, and hopefully it won't be as full of sugar as gatorade is.

I am ok with prescribing Baytril in this situation mostly due to my own experience with a very similar situation. Benjamin was sneezing a lot and had mucus (that was clear). The vet first had us put him on children's Benadryl, which only improved it a tiny bit, which did not surprise me because allergies are very rare in rabbits. She then gave us banana-flavored Baytril to give to him. We gave it to him until we ran out, which was 10 days, and he has only sneezed once since about the 4th day of Baytril treatment. I know Baytril is overprescribed and many bacteria are resistant to it, and that you're supposed to do at least 14 days, but this worked for Ben.

However, the fact that they gave you tablets to dissolve means they don't carry it in the correct form. The tablets are made for dogs and cats and are flavored like liver. They make a form that isn't flavored and can be made into a liquid suspension for small animals. The vet would carry that if they saw a lot of small animals.

The text book "what you're supposed to do" for a runny nose is to culture the nasal discharge to see if there are bacteria there and determine what antibiotics they are sensitive to. In the meantime, you put the patient on a broad-spectrum first-tier antibiotic like Baytril (in humans the equivalent approach would be to culture and give the person ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin). However, it can take up to 2 weeks to figure out if there are bacteria there and what they are sensitive to, and in that time the infection can clear up due to the Baytril, meaning that all the culture and sensitivity work you did was useless. Most cases will be cleared up by Baytril, so that's why they don't always do the culture test.

I would look for a new vet and in the meantime try what this vet recommended. I wouldn't dissolve it in Gatorade, use pedialyte or canned pumpkin or something. If they won't take it dissolved in these things, you'll just have to get it from another vet. Ours flavored the solution for Benjamin with banana flavor and he would take it without argument. If you can't find a different vet and the Baytril doesn't start to make Sabriel improve within 3-4 days, you'll have to ask the first vet for a different antibiotic, and maybe a culture and sensitivity test.

 

[Yield]

tonyshuman wrote:

That is too bad that they charged you that way. I am not really happy with the idea of dissolving the baytril in gatorade either. A good rabbit vet will make up a solution for you, and hopefully it won't be as full of sugar as gatorade is.

I am ok with prescribing Baytril in this situation mostly due to my own experience with a very similar situation. Benjamin was sneezing a lot and had mucus (that was clear). The vet first had us put him on children's Benadryl, which only improved it a tiny bit, which did not surprise me because allergies are very rare in rabbits. She then gave us banana-flavored Baytril to give to him. We gave it to him until we ran out, which was 10 days, and he has only sneezed once since about the 4th day of Baytril treatment. I know Baytril is overprescribed and many bacteria are resistant to it, and that you're supposed to do at least 14 days, but this worked for Ben.

However, the fact that they gave you tablets to dissolve means they don't carry it in the correct form. The tablets are made for dogs and cats and are flavored like liver. They make a form that isn't flavored and can be made into a liquid suspension for small animals. The vet would carry that if they saw a lot of small animals.

The text book "what you're supposed to do" for a runny nose is to culture the nasal discharge to see if there are bacteria there and determine what antibiotics they are sensitive to. In the meantime, you put the patient on a broad-spectrum first-tier antibiotic like Baytril (in humans the equivalent approach would be to culture and give the person ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin). However, it can take up to 2 weeks to figure out if there are bacteria there and what they are sensitive to, and in that time the infection can clear up due to the Baytril, meaning that all the culture and sensitivity work you did was useless. Most cases will be cleared up by Baytril, so that's why they don't always do the culture test.

I would look for a new vet and in the meantime try what this vet recommended. I wouldn't dissolve it in Gatorade, use pedialyte or canned pumpkin or something. If they won't take it dissolved in these things, you'll just have to get it from another vet. Ours flavored the solution for Benjamin with banana flavor and he would take it without argument. If you can't find a different vet and the Baytril doesn't start to make Sabriel improve within 3-4 days, you'll have to ask the first vet for a different antibiotic, and maybe a culture and sensitivity test.

:/ My mom had a fit when I read what you said to her. Mainly the text in red. She was like "Hopefully this doesn't happen again cause it's more expensive everywhere else!" The baytril was 60 dollars at the vet we went to.

She's not very happy with having to spend money on my rabbits, but she'd probably spend anything on the dogs. Ugh.

Is it even SAFE to give my rabbits the dog/cat version? Because if it's not, I'll tell my mom to take it back. I'm not gunna give my rabbits something not safe.. :I

What is pedialyte?

Thank you for the help.

 

[Yield]

Also, should I move Silas out of the room? I'm really hesitant to do so because he is my baby and I want him in my room too.. and the cage and NIC pen would be really hard to move... but if it is recommended that we should, I guess we will have to.

 

[kirbyultra]

Pedialyte is an elctrolyte drink that is formulated for children and babies, you can find them in most drugstores.

50 bucks for baytril? Holy cow not even my vet charges that much and I was pretty sure I was paying 300% too much to begin with. I think have asked the same question about baytril before and vaguely remember folks said that baytril is the same for buns, cats, dogs.

 

[Yield]

kirbyultra wrote:

Pedialyte is an elctrolyte drink that is formulated for children and babies, you can find them in most drugstores.

50 bucks for baytril? Holy cow not even my vet charges that much and I was pretty sure I was paying 300% too much to begin with. I think have asked the same question about baytril before and vaguely remember folks said that baytril is the same for buns, cats, dogs.

Noppeee, 60$ (for both of the rabbits.. but still). So even more than that! It's OUT OF HAND.

And okay.. that makes me feel better, thank you.

 

[tonyshuman]

The Baytril is safe, but yeah, that price is ridiculous. I don't think you need to move Silas out, but if you feel more comfortable it is not a bad idea. We usually say not to separate bonded pairs because they've both been exposed to the illness, but since Silas isn't bonded to them, and he hasn't been in contact with them for long, it's possible he hasn't been exposed to this illness yet so you want to keep him away from the others.

 

[Yield]

Thanks, Claire! And Silas be okay as longheis notin contact withSabriel and Solararight?

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, I think he'll be fine. Some stuff does spread through air but he's probably already been exposed to the bacteria and they haven't caused an infection.

 

[Yield]

Thank you
Yeah he's been in my room for over a week almost. He's been fine
I hope it stays that way!

 

[Sweetie]

WOW! $60 for baytril for both rabbits. That is ridiculous!!!! Over here, baytril is half that or less than half that. That is at All Creatures and they are an expensive vet around here.

Hope your rabbits feel better soon.

 

[Yield]

I know right!
Yeah I hope so too.
I've hardly had the chance to give them ANY of the baytril.
I've tried hiding it in banana.
Hiding it in veggies.
Hiding it with the gatorade.
Hiding it in an apple.
UGH!
Nothing WORKS!!
I've even tried forcing them to eat it plain.
Just doesn't work and I feel sooo bad afterwards.

 

[tonyshuman]

Well, it tastes like something they just don't want to eat--meat. Sometimes honey will work, I have heard. Or a raisin or craisin?

 

[Sweetie]

I haven't had any trouble giving baytril. Maybe try giving noserubs after they take the baytril every time, whether they fight taking it or not. It might help and they might not fight taking it so much. I did this when Prince started fighting me and it worked.