# Giving babies Baytril?



## salemsparklys (Jul 29, 2012)

Thor has a mild RI which the vet gave Baytril for, I also have to treat the rest of the mice and Pringle the rat to be on the safe side. Vet mentioned that due to the babies size and age it was a catch 22 on if I should give it to them or not and said she would leave it to me to decided as they could die if they caught the RI or they could die from the Baytril :?

They are 5 weeks old now :?


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

What I would do in that situation is change the substrate to paper towelswhaich would keep the cage free of dust from other substrates and keep the cage in a place that maintains a temperature of between 70-75F plenty of shredded paper also for bedding. Eliminate any possible draughts whilst still maintaining a good air circulation.

Not the easiest of tasks but I would do all I could to avaoid giving animals any medication at such ayoung age unless absolutely necessary.

It is very difficult to give alot of answers to medical problems as we all do it and do not supply all the information as to environment such as if the room is heated and how it is heated whether by electric fan heaters, central heating system, open fires etc, like us humans I believe that all animals are susceptible to ailments that are triggered by our environment as a house heated by central heating is prone to dry air as against ones heated by an open log fire, the latter is probably due to air circulation of cold air coming in through the air bricks to replace the heated air as it rises up the flue.

Also insufficient information about bedding and substrate can also give people a better idea of what may be the cause of the RI and as such help others to avoid using particular types of bedding or substrates.

In regards to your post the only person that can decide on if to give Baytril to 5 week old pups when the vet has already supplied his professional opinion in that it is a 50/50 risk of the animals getting the RI or the Baytril killing them, is you. What you must doo as a responsible animal owner is to try and eliminate the cause as quick as possible so as to help the young to not get the RI to start with, again something that is not an easy thing to do as any RI could have come from anywhere, but atleast eliminating the basics is a good starting point.

With the exception of a fully environmentally controlled room that has air purification system and heating and lighting systems humidity controlled etc then all we can do is do our best in housing and managing the animals in our care.


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