Question About Baytril

[Bunnybabies]

Hi, I've been reading posts here for a while but haven't introduced myself until now. We have two male house bunnies, a nethie cross and a lop, who have failed to bond and who are kept separately. Both are about 18 months old.

Our lop has been sneezing and last week some white mucus came out. We took him to the vet straight away (he saw the owner of the practice who he hadn't seen before) who, after checking his teeth but without carrying out any other exam, persuaded me that it was probably an allergic reaction (we had lillies in the apartment) and he didn't need antibiotics. Initially lopsy seemed to get better but relapsed last night - lots of sneezing and visible mucus up his nose. I phoned the vet today and they said they would prescribe baytril without seeing lopsy again. I agreed to collect it this evening from their smaller practice. There was done confusion about the prescription as the label states that it has to be mixed before use and neither the receptionist nor the vet on duty (the same one who examined lopsy) were sure what it had to be mixed with - i'm assuming with fruit juice or something to make it more palatable but I was told that I would have to ring tomorrow to speak to another vet to find out.

I'm not brimming with confidence in the practice as a result of all that and noticed when I came home that the dosage seems quite high - 3 ml twice a day of the 2.5% solution He weighs 2.5 kg and I see from other threads that this is way in excess of what other rabbits are on. Is this something I should be querying with the vet tomorrow or are there other rabbits here who have been on similar dosages?

Finally, not sure if there are many Irish members but please let me know if you have any vet recommendations in Dublin.

Sorry for the long winded post !

 

[RedFraggle]

Our rabbit Boo was on 0.5 ml a day and weighed 2.2 kg, but at that point the vet did not think it was serious (turned out it was and we lost him very suddenly). I always dose it neat on a piece of food.
If the mucous was white that sounds like pastuerella which can be very nasty.
I would query it with the vet tomorrow and also try and find another vet as not being rude, if your bun has visible white mucous I would expect them to think URT/pasterella infection rather than allergy. I would also have expected them to listen to his chest.

 

[Bunnybabies]

Thanks for the reply and advice i immediately thought pastuerella as well when I saw the mucus but assumed the vet knew better. He was on a course of baytril previously shortly after we got him and I remember the other vet listening to his heart and lungs so thought the lack of exam was odd. Apparently the vet has diluted the baytril we were given: 1 ml of abx to 2 ml of water so I think this brings the dosage more in line with what I've seen on other threads. Now the fun will be trying to get him to take it. We were successful in hiding it in hollow treats before so hoping that will work again

 

[RedFraggle]

It's very odd that they diluted it. I have never had a vet do that. Hope your bun does ok.

 

[parsnipbun]

I also have never ever heard of a vet diluting baytril - why would they?

It just means more quantity for the rabbit to have to take - and it may not mix well so you dont know how much they are actually taking.

Dd you speak to the actual vet or a nurse?

 

[Bunnybabies]

I spoke to a nurse who put me on hold while checking with the vet. It was going to be hard enough getting him to take the baytril anyway let alone having to give him so much. He's not a cooperative bun either so will just need to do our best. On the plus side his symptoms seem quite a bit better but obviously I'll keep a close eye and make sure he finishes the full course.

 

[parsnipbun]

Hmmm - I would not have a lot of confidence in a vet that diluted baytril and also prescribed without really examining or taking a culture to see what antibiotics the infection might be sensitive to.

Can you get to a more rabbit savvy vet at all or are they scarce in Dublin?

 

[Bunnybabies]

They seem to be thin on the ground. I've been given a recommendation for one vet but she's based at least an hour's drive away. Does anyone have any opinions on whether that's too far. Lopsy gets quite stressed with our current short journey - so much so that we had to defer a vaccination as he was so panicked and his temp had spiked too much. On the other hand im concerned that my current vet may not be very good in an emergency. I know some people complain about the lack of vet training for buns in the uk but we seem to be even further behind