[hydra]

The man I got Pearl and Grace from took a look at them both today (Pearl has been sneezing and gagging) , and Pearl seems to be afflicted with the respiratory problem. He gave me antibiotics that I will be disloving in their water every night for 10 days, and he said it should clear things up. He wanted to give me a new rat at first, but Pearl is my baby, and I'll do what I have to do to make her well again!
Luckily Grace hasn't been infected, but she will be getting the same treatment, as they share a water bottle and all. (he said it was fine to keep them both together as long as they're getting the antibotics)
We shall see within the next few days how things go.

 

[Darksong17]

That is strange.. antibiotics don't do well in water, and if they make the flavor of the water change it's possible for the rats to stop drinking and dehydrate. It's usually not recommended to medicate via water bottle. Do you know what he gave you? It's possible he just picked up some of that crap from a pet store which won't do much good to be honest. Pet store remedies rarely do much good as they are not the proper strength needed. A vet however can get you the antibiotics you need (most are in fluid form and sryinge fed).

Edit: Mind you it IS possible he had vet strength antibiotics on hand if he's a breeder and has a good relationship with his vet. However.. they wouldn't be put in water

 

[hydra]

its... tetracyclinehydrochloride.
he is a breeder thats been dealing with rats for 62 years...so we shall see within the next couple days what happens. I will moniter the water use to make sure they're drinking. I wouldn't want anything to happen to them, they're my babies.
hopefully it'll work

 

[Darksong17]

I looked it up:

http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/tetracycline_hydrochloride.php


Seems it's ok for respiratory stuff so long as it's a mild case. Also seems to be okay in water. So yes, just keep an eye out and make sure they don't go off their water.

 

[hydra]

thanks for the info !

pearl is drinking from the water bottle as we speak, so i know shes getting it in her system. we'll see what happens in the next few days...

 

[Darksong17]

Best of luck! Keep us updated ^^