Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / July 2005

We bought our nebuliser to administer antibiotics for respiratory
problems with our rats, after Willow died, & thankfully haven't had
further reason to use it yet.

This week we've had Kairi, the last of our original gang of three, at
the vets, to have a tumour removed & a mysterious tail injury treated.
She survived the anaesthetic & is back home now which is a great relief,
but while they treated her tail - removing the last inch which was
rapidly turning gangrenous after 48 hours - they haven't touched the
tumour :/

After anaesthetising her, they found two more tumours in her lower
abdomen, which we'd all missed before. She's 26 months old & atm they
don't seem to be causing her any obvious significant problems, so we
just have to make the best of it.

Anyhow, the vet also prescribed the regular baytril for her tail injury.
I didn't know if it made sense to use the nebuliser to deliver the
antibiotics in this case, so asked. I don't think he's ever heard of
nebulising rats, so said no as you couldn't control the dose. As I'm
given to understand this isn't the case, I have to put his reply down to
a lack of familiarity.

That being the case, can anyone here advise on whether it makes sense to
nebulise antibiotics to treat non-respiratory problems?

As to Kairi's tail injury, we still don't know how it happened - she
managed to get her tail pinched hard enough to cut off the blood supply
to the tip. The only way I can see that happening would be if one of us
humans caught it in one of the cage doors, but neither of us can see how
that could happen without it being brought to our attention pretty
quickly by Kairi, if you see what I mean, not to mention we'd have had
to be pretty careless too :/

Poor old dear.