Meds for Clicking...

[RitzieAnn]

I've read about Ornacycline in several sites, but in a post, some one mentioned another medicine. What do you guys use? And also, what kind of milk do you use as suppliments?

[lydia]

For mild R.I. I use a product called Wheeze - Eeze.It is made by a company called The Birdcare Company,their web address is www.BirdcareCo.com
For more severe R.I. I use baytril antibiotic,available from a vet in conjunction with wheeze-eeze.If I catch the R.I. early,the wheeze-eeze clears it up with no need for baytril,as wheeze-eeze is added to drinking water though,need baytril for very young pups.

If I need a milk supplement,I would use whatever milk I had available,from choice I would opt for goats milk.
I did successfully raise, a baby mouse on regular cow's milk.If I'd started to feed this mouse during shop opening hours,I would have bought goats milk,I also fed it (once it was big/old enough) on human baby food.

Lyd

[RitzieAnn]

Like plain old 2% milk that you get from the grocery store, or do I need to actually MILK the cow for it? (I have the cow, she just doesn't give milk yet! ) And I haven't seen Wheez-Eeze anywhere. Going by their web site, it says resalers- but none listed in my state. Did you feed this mouse formula, or canned/jar baby food?

[sweetie]

You can also use kitten replacement milk that you can purchase at a petstore.

[RitzieAnn]

Any kind of kitten milk? Is there one that anyone swears by, or really likes, or one that has been found to NOT be so good for the little gerbs? I used "Just Born" and the pup that got it died, and the pup that got just a few drinks of it died a few days later. I was just wondering if it was coincidence, or if there have been problems that others have had.

[lydia]

Unfortunately,hand rearing any small rodent is very difficult and they will frequently die.Not because of anything you have done wrong or caused,but just because they are not well enough to pull through, no matter what you do.

I personally wish that more research into rodent milk would be beneficial,at least for those of us that wish to hand rear them.

I did use ordinary cow's milk, from a grocery store,but this was only because it was the only milk we had available in the house.

In the u.k.,puppy or kitten milk is the same,you buy it in powdered form from pet shops or vet's.It is the same formula,for kittens you make it up in a higher potency.I would make it up in a higher potency than this for any rodent,as rodents expend more energy and have a higher metabolic rate.Saying that though,I have only successfully raised 1 mouse pup,and,that was on cow's milk.I did change him to full cream cow's milk,from semi-skimmed cow's milk after a few days.

I would also try evaporated milk,(tinned milk like Carnation),but dilute it with warm water.

Baytril is a very good general antibiotic, that vet's use to treat R.I. You would need to obtain it directly from a vet,or have a veterinary prescription.This can be diluted and added to drinking water,or administered directly to the animal using a very small syringe and dropping a tinly amount into their mouth.For my baby mouse whom I hand reared I gave him 0.1 mls twice a day for 3 days,then 0.1 ml once daily for another 3 days.

Tiny actually stopped clicking after 2-3 days,I just gave him a course of antibiotics to be sure.

When I felt he could take something a little thicker than milk,I bought him a jar of baby banana desert.I did dilute it initialy with milk,then he ate it un-diluted.I opted for a small jar because I didn't expect him to survive,also,there wasn't a lot of choice in my local chemist.I then bought a box/packet of baby banana porridge,this was better as I could mix it up as thick as I wanted.
He did become addicted to baby banana porridge,before he had finished the first jar,he refused milk completely,unless it was flavoured with banana............
I also knew if he was going to feed or not when I put my hand inside his cage,he took to trying to suckle from my finger ;D.

I'll try and post some pics of him soon,of when I was feeding him,and how he is now.I'm very pleased with him,he's done just fine and now has 2 wives of his own.

Lyd

[sweetie]

Hi Ritzie,
I heard of KMR but have never had the experience of using it.