Baytril dosage help please

[bunnygal]

Hey all just a quick question regarding baytril dosage.
Our bunny had a choking episode 1 night ago and we saw the vet in the am. We worried he aspirated so in prevention of pneumonia he got baytril (enrofloxacin) 50 mg/ml strength, 0.4ml twice a day. He weighs 1.47kg. So that’s works out to 20mg twice a day?
Does that sound right? I called the vet to double check and they said it’s right. Everywhere I read online said 5-15mg/kg and at this dosage he would be getting 20mg (50ml x 0.4ml dosage is 20mg and twice a day, so that’s 20mg x 2 is 40mg)

He actually just finished a course of it last week for his snuffles, and i feel it helped him with his snuffles. I didn’t even think about the dosage then but now I can’t get it out of my head. So it sucks he is back on it but we want to not take even a 1% chance in case he gets aspiration pneumonia from the choking because he is 11 years old and I can’t imagine him fighting something so strong like pneumonia.
So I just want some reassurance cause im exhausted and stressed. His chest sounded good and everything at the vet. He’s got enough problems dealing with arthritis which he has been sooo active and happy lately running around and doing good on his pain meds so this was just so not needed!! And poor baby has hop socks for his poor sore hocks too!!

[Bam]

0.4 ml of Baytril 50 mg/ml yields 20 mg enrofloxacine. If your bun weighs 1.47 kg, it’s a dose of 13.6 mg enrofloxacine per kilo body weight.

(50 ×0.4=20, 20/1.47= 13.6)

Medirabbit says the dose can be given bid-sid, meaning once per day or twice per day (a “day” being 24 hours). (This seems counter-intuitive, but it’s not uncommon for rabbits. Rabbits metabolize medicines quickly. They also have a short small intestine, so some meds are not taken up very effectively.)

This would be within the recommended dosage which is, as you say, 5-15 mg per kilo body weight.

How long is he on the Baytril for? Sometimes vets give a high dose of antibiotics for a very short time to quench the very beginning of sth, which would make sense in your case.

(Screenshot from the Safe antibiotics-list on Medirabbit).

[bunnygal]

Thanks for answering!

 

my concern was it’s twice a day which is 20mg x 2 which is 40mg for the 24 hours.

I found an old bottle of my other rabbit who was given 0.3ml (he was the same weight).

he was given this as a just in case he aspirated so he doesn’t get aspiration pneumonia. He choked on a piece of banana. We got it out but there’s always a tiny chance something went into his lungs. He has no rattling sounds in chest and vet didn’t hear anything using stethoscope. No temperature either. He is also eating, pooping and behaving normal. We are just doing the antibiotics as a precaution because he is over 11 years old and we didn’t want to regret it after if he ended up getting pneumonia from the choking episode.

[Bam]

I had an elderbun who did get aspiration pneumonia after choking on a pellet. His non-rabbit vet refused to acknowledge the risk. He eventually did develop pneumonia and thank goodness a rabbit savvy vet was able to save him, but not until he was very ill.

The recommended dosage for meloxicam (metacam and other brand names) is also bid -sid. It means you might have to give the prescribed dose twice per day. In general, meds have to be given at a much higher dose to rabbits compared to cats and dogs. A 1.5 kilo bun I had needed the same dose Meloxicam as a 10 kilo dog, twice daily.

I think it’s wise of you and your vet to treat with antibiotics in order to nip a post-aspiration lower respiratory infection in the bud.

Obviously if your bun has a bad reaction to Baytril (stops eating, has diarrhea), stop it and contact your vet.

 

 

[LBJ10]

I agree with Bam, the dosage you were given is within the recommended range. I think you’re focusing too much on the total mg and not the mg/kg. And, as Bam pointed out, it’s also listed as bid-sid. This means you can give the dose once or twice per day. My guess is the vet wanted to be a little more aggressive since the risk of pneumonia is very real and it’s much more difficult to treat once it has set in.

[Author]

Messages