Question regarding Baytril for Syrian hamster (Urgent!!!)

[Peanui]

My emergency vet just gave me Baytril 5% (50 mg/ml) for my hamster who is having some white discharge from his urinary tract. The dosage according to him is 0.04 ml/day for 10 days.

Here's the problem. I don't speak French well and that's all the doctor could speak and from what I understand he gave me a Baytril which is injectable but asked me to administer it to him orally. I am unsure as some others advised me against giving it to him. All exotic vets are now on holidays and won't return until the 27th. Can anyone tell me if it's safe or can I give it to my hamster.

He is 23 months young and is a male Syrian hamster.

Many thanks.

[Ria P]

I don't know the answer because i'm not a vet but understand your concerns. I have no idea why the vet didn't prescribe the oral dog Baytril. Couldn't you phone the vet surgery to speak to an emergency vet who speaks the same language as you, even if it's not an exotics vet?
It's not uncommon to prescribe dog Baytril for hamsters so any vet should be familiar with it.

[Pebbles82]

Are you sure it’s the injectable one? If it definitely is then no I wouldn’t give it - if it’s the injectable one you could ring the vet emergency number and ask for the correct one to be made available. That might mean you can’t start the antibiotics till the week end or early next week.

What we’re they prescribed for/what is wrong with your hamster?

[Pebbles82]

Just looked at your photos and see link below. Yes it is definitely the solution for injection and should not be given orally. I would ring the vet emergency number tonight. They might be able to leave the correct baytril out for you to collect (OH vet has a little box outside for collecting meds).

I suspect the oral one was prescribed and this bottle has been given in error.

Baytril 5% Solution for Injection | York Vet Supplies

Also just read back and see your hamster has discharge. Ideally you’d start the baytril in the next day or two but hopefully he’ll be fine until you can get the bottle swapped.

[Peanui]

Originally Posted by Ria P

I don't know the answer because i'm not a vet but understand your concerns. I have no idea why the vet didn't prescribe the oral dog Baytril. Couldn't you phone the vet surgery to speak to an emergency vet who speaks the same language as you, even if it's not an exotics vet?
It's not uncommon to prescribe dog Baytril for hamsters so any vet should be familiar with it.

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Just looked at your photos and see link below. Yes it is definitely the solution for injection and should not be given orally. I would ring the vet emergency number tonight. They might be able to leave the correct baytril out for you to collect (OH vet has a little box outside for collecting meds).

I suspect the oral one was prescribed and this bottle has been given in error.

Baytril 5% Solution for Injection | York Vet Supplies

Also just read back and see your hamster has discharge. Ideally you’d start the baytril in the next day or two but hopefully he’ll be fine until you can get the bottle swapped.

Thanks a lot for writing to me. I called the emergency vet and he said that this is the only Baytril that they have and that it is safe to give it to him orally, if diluted correctly. He gave me the 50 mg/ml concentration one and asked me to give 0.03 ml per day and dilute it to avoid the bitter taste. I tried to confirm it from the Exotics Vets group on Facebook and one doctor confirmed it (Exotic Vet Corners Educational Group --- Vets/Approved Contributors Comment). I am thoroughly confused now. This area is pretty bad with emergency vets. He has a white pus-like fluid coming out of his urinary tract.

Should I then wait until next week?

Many thanks and apologies for the trouble.

[Pebbles82]

If the vet says it’s ok to give it orally then I guess it is. Baytril tastes nasty even when it’s the oral version and they won’t usually take it unless the taste is disguised. If you have some honey you could try a tiny bit of that on a little plate (I use a jar lid). Less than pea sized because you need the hamster to eat all of it. So maybe very small pea sized blob and drop the Med on top of that and stir it in a bit with a cocktail stick or similar. But so the meds are still on top “ish” - you don’t want to stir it down to the bottom or the hamster might not get it all.

I would do that rather than dilute it. I use meaty dog food to disguise the taste - it needs to be something with a strong flavour that they can’t resist. 0.03 ml is a very small amount - you should have a 1ml syringe with 10 markings on. Each one of those 10 is 0.1 ml. Each one of those 10 has 10 smaller markings. 0.03 ml is 3 of those smaller markings - the amount is about a drop and a half if you can imagine that.

The important thing is that they get the full dose at about the same time each day, and finish the course.

[Ria P]

The injectable Baytril is 5% whereas the oral Baytril is 2.5%.

I think this would explain the small dosage. I always draw up the Baytril first followed by Ribena to dilute it and disguise the bitter taste.

My hamster wouldn't take it in food and by administering it straight into the corner of his mouth i knew that he got the full dose.

See what works best for your hamster and go with that.

[Pebbles82]

Yes some depends on the hamster - I prefer giving it in food as ours got so stressed being held to squirt it in - and some Syrians will spit it out again. I also worry about it going down the wrong way if they wriggle a lot - it can go down the windpipe. Giving it in food is fine providing it is something that disguises the taste, is easily licked up and a small enough amount that they eat/lick up all of it .

[Peanui]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

If the vet says it’s ok to give it orally then I guess it is. Baytril tastes nasty even when it’s the oral version and they won’t usually take it unless the taste is disguised. If you have some honey you could try a tiny bit of that on a little plate (I use a jar lid). Less than pea sized because you need the hamster to eat all of it. So maybe very small pea sized blob and drop the Med on top of that and stir it in a bit with a cocktail stick or similar. But so the meds are still on top “ish” - you don’t want to stir it down to the bottom or the hamster might not get it all.

I would do that rather than dilute it. I use meaty dog food to disguise the taste - it needs to be something with a strong flavour that they can’t resist. 0.03 ml is a very small amount - you should have a 1ml syringe with 10 markings on. Each one of those 10 is 0.1 ml. Each one of those 10 has 10 smaller markings. 0.03 ml is 3 of those smaller markings - the amount is about a drop and a half if you can imagine that.

The important thing is that they get the full dose at about the same time each day, and finish the course.

Originally Posted by Ria P

The injectable Baytril is 5% whereas the oral Baytril is 2.5%.

I think this would explain the small dosage. I always draw up the Baytril first followed by Ribena to dilute it and disguise the bitter taste.

My hamster wouldn't take it in food and by administering it straight into the corner of his mouth i knew that he got the full dose.

See what works best for your hamster and go with that.

Thank you both so much for your patience and your guidance. As I was still unsure, I contacted another vet on Just Ask and she said the same as both of you. Because I didn't have honey and didn't know what else to do, I took 0.03 ml (which is three-tenths of a marking of 0.1 ml in a 1 ml syringe), I diluted it with water to make it 0.4 ml and following the advise of the vet on Just Ask, I tasted a drop (which made me change the dilution from 0.3 ml to 0.4 ml, where I could hardly perceive the bitter taste any more). Peanui (my baby) drank it (not very happily) and I immediately gave him some more water and then a mix of tofu and a tiny bit of carrot. He lapped it up happily. I am also very scared of giving it to him in the syringe as I also feel that it can go into their windpipe. What I did today was push it really slow (to the very corner of his mouth) such that he drank it just as he would from his bottle. I waited for him to swallow one drop before pushing the syringe further. It took me a long time, but I didn't take any chance. But, tomorrow, I will try mixing it in his oat porridge with this dilution and spoon feed it to him.

Once again, I can not thank you both enough as this has indeed been a difficult time for Peanui (and also me) and I hope he will manage to take this Baytril without further issues.

[Peanui]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Yes some depends on the hamster - I prefer giving it in food as ours got so stressed being held to squirt it in - and some Syrians will spit it out again. I also worry about it going down the wrong way if they wriggle a lot - it can go down the windpipe. Giving it in food is fine providing it is something that disguises the taste, is easily licked up and a small enough amount that they eat/lick up all of it .

Also, Peanui loves blueberries. I am planning to give him one blueberry tomorrow with the Baytril injected in it. But, because he can have at most 1-2 blueberries a week, I have to be creative every single day.