what to do about potential respiratory infection

[Pebbles82]

It is probably the taste of the baytril putting him off when it’s in food. Difficult. I tried to swaddle moo to do his toenails and they can be very energetic at wriggling free. I didn’t manage it.

Did you manage to get any runny honey? He might just lick it from
The syringe of the honey is drawn up after the baytril. If they like the taste they sometimes try and grab the string too. While he’s licking it you could gently depress the plunger so it goes in slowly. Assume it’s just once a day?

[Benefitsben]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

It is probably the taste of the baytril putting him off when it’s in food. Difficult. I tried to swaddle moo to do his toenails and they can be very energetic at wriggling free. I didn’t manage it.

Did you manage to get any runny honey? He might just lick it from
The syringe of the honey is drawn up after the baytril. If they like the taste they sometimes try and grab the string too. While he’s licking it you could gently depress the plunger so it goes in slowly. Assume it’s just once a day?

I don't have any runny honey with me, but I do at home so I'll try that when I get back on Friday. What worked for me yesterday was wholewheat bread, I took a little piece of bread and it absorbed the medicine, and he ate it without fuss. And the baytril is twice a day but the metacam is only once a day

[Pebbles82]

Excellent the bread worked. It probably needs a strong regular dose of baytril to knock the pneumonia on the head.

[Benefitsben]

good news!

it looks like he's getting better already. he's still squeaking, sneezing, and his breathing sounds a little odd, but he's not side sucking nearly as much and he's not struggling to breathe anymore. he's also eating and drinking better, and he's a lot more lively - he was running around and scratching at the sides of his cage (which I know is a sign of stress because he's in a smaller cage than he's used to, but he's going back to his normal cage tomorrow)

hopefully this means that he does just have a respiratory infection that was just not cured fully before, and not a heart issue :)

[Pebbles82]

Excellent news. Important to finish the full course of baytril though. How long is the course? I would have thought it would need to be at least a week to prevent any recurrence. Antibiotics can be amazing life savers .

[Benefitsben]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Excellent news. Important to finish the full course of baytril though. How long is the course? I would have thought it would need to be at least a week to prevent any recurrence. Antibiotics can be amazing life savers .

the course is 3 weeks long, so he's nowhere near finished yet

[Amethyst_ice]

Glad to hear you have a competant vet, good dose and length. The crackle may remain if the lungs are scarred. Keep the wheel out when home and still try limit any stress on breathing like climbing stairs etc hopefully got him seen in time

[Pebbles82]

Ditto - I was a bit worried it might not be a very long course- pneumonia needs a longer course. My OH had pneumonia and was seriously ill in hospital for a week and on an antibiotic drip plus long follow up on antibiotics.

[Benefitsben]

Originally Posted by Amethyst_ice

Glad to hear you have a competant vet, good dose and length. The crackle may remain if the lungs are scarred. Keep the wheel out when home and still try limit any stress on breathing like climbing stairs etc hopefully got him seen in time

I put the wheel in, but I'll take it out now. yeah hopefully his lungs aren't permanently damaged, fingers crossed

[Benefitsben]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Ditto - I was a bit worried it might not be a very long course- pneumonia needs a longer course. My OH had pneumonia and was seriously ill in hospital for a week and on an antibiotic drip plus long follow up on antibiotics.

sorry to hear about your OH, hope they're doing better now