Thanks for the replies on the clicking pup- she's still hanging in there.
Ditrim is brand name for trimethoprim-sulfa. It was prescribed by the vet
and I've had great success with it for URI and other infections in adult
animals. It's a great drug- the kind used in veterinary medicine is the
same kind used in pediatrics. It's got a sweet cherry flavor to it and I've
not had an animal refuse it yet! When one of my guinea pigs was on it, he
actually thought he was getting a treat when it was medicine time!
The pup (Hannah) doesn't seem any worse, but she doesn't seem much better
either. What are some signs that she's declining? If it looks like she's
not going to make it, I'll have her put to sleep, as that must be a pretty
unpleasant death.
Another thing I noticed is that she has no upper incisors. Her bottom ones
have erupted, but there's no sign of any on the top. Late bloomer, or is
this a sign of additional underlying problems?
Thanks again,
Jill
----------
> From: Donna Anastasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; gerbils <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: clicking pup
> Date: Thursday, November 09, 2000 5:38 PM
>
> Hi Jill --
>
> I have gone through three rounds of pup's with respiratory infection and
have now
> become very successful at pulling them through.
>
> I don't know what Ditrim is? Was it prescribed? I use Ornycycline which
is the
> commercial name of a treatment for birds with the active ingredient
tetracycline; I
> use the dosage for a small bird (canary or parakeet) and treat for 10
days. The
> medicine goes into the water bottle and the whole litter and mom should
be
> treated. You need to drip the medicated water directly in his mouth,
since he may
> not be weaned yet. I put a drop on my finger on touch the bottle to his
mouth.
>
> As for feeding the KMR, I think about the position that he's in when
mom's feeding
> him -- basically kind of on his back, but I tilt him up a little. I've
been going
> through this exact situation with a 4 week old male pup. For about 3
days he
> completely fought the KMR. I would flip him back put drips on his lip
until he
> struggled away and then tilt him again (with my hand cupped around him an
thumb
> curled on top of the head). I'd do 50 drips. Well after I'd almost
given up on
> him, he's decided he loves the KMR and now he is lapping up great amounts
at each
> feeding and begging to come out when he sees me. I use an infant
medicine syringe.
>
> (Also, wipe up extra KMR with a moist paper towel -- that stuff dries
like cement.)
>
> Another method for resistant pups is to enclose them in a hand held
against the
> body with a tiny opening at the top, when a nose peaks out but a drip of
the KMR on
> it. The idea is getting enough into him to sustain him and also to get
him to
> figure out it's food, and pretty yummy, too.
>
> Other things that help are a heat source in one corner of the tank (I use
a clamp
> lamp about 10 inches from the tank with a 40 watt grow light and don't
heat more
> than up to 85 degrees -- and I never use a heat source for pups too young
to get
> away from it!) plus a humidifier to add moisture to the air help the
breathing.
>
> It is good that you are taking immediate action, this is a preventable
situation if
> you act quickly. From my experience if you don't both treat the
respiratory
> infection and supplemental feed, the pup will waste away in about a week.
>
> Please just let me know if you need any more details. Donna
>
> Jill wrote:
>
> > Hi all-
> > I have a pup who's clicking *very* loudly, and is significantly
smaller
> > than the rest of the litter. She is getting Ditrim (also Bactrim, sulfa
> > antibiotic) and I am attempting to supplement feed her- but boy does
she
> > resist! I take that as good that there's still some fight in her, but
for
> > those more experienced with this- how do you best give the liquids to
the
> > pups? I know not to put her over on her back, keep her upright /
parallel
> > to the ground, but how do you deal with the ducking and squirming? I'd
hate
> > to scruff her because she's so tiny, but she has to get this stuff in
her
> > system. Please let me know if there are any tricks to this, and keep
your
> > fingers crossed for the little girl!
> > Thanks,
> > Jill
> >
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