Calcifer
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- You can quote me
Vet should have a 3, 6, 10 or 12 cc available. Try looking in the baby aisle of a major drugstore (Walgreens, CVS); sometimes they'll sell syringes for medicating infants or small children in those intermediate sizes. You can also just ask the pharmacist; tell them it's for treating a sick pet and they may just give you a few. (Ditto bpatters.)
Carpenter's exotic formulary says 5-10 mg/kg twice a day for Lasix. He's currently at 3.66 mg/kg twice a day, so there's room to go up on the Lasix if he needs it, but don't unless he needs it. You want the minimum necessary to meet his needs.
Did the vet say anything about adding Vetmedin into his regimen?
Carpenter's exotic formulary says 5-10 mg/kg twice a day for Lasix. He's currently at 3.66 mg/kg twice a day, so there's room to go up on the Lasix if he needs it, but don't unless he needs it. You want the minimum necessary to meet his needs.
Did the vet say anything about adding Vetmedin into his regimen?
We asked the Walgreens Pharmacy for 5ml oral syringes and they gave us a couple for free.
We have been back several times and they still seem happy to let us have 1 or 2 each time for free. I even offered to pay for them but they said no its ok.
5ml seems to work best for syringe feeding 1ml and 3ml seemed too small (Unless you have a really sick piggy who can only take a small amount at a time) and it was too difficult to control the flow with anything larger.
We have been back several times and they still seem happy to let us have 1 or 2 each time for free. I even offered to pay for them but they said no its ok.
5ml seems to work best for syringe feeding 1ml and 3ml seemed too small (Unless you have a really sick piggy who can only take a small amount at a time) and it was too difficult to control the flow with anything larger.
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Depending on what you are feeding, the 1cc syringes with the restrictive tip cut off(lower syringe) can make softened pellets and CC easier to feed (food mixes can get stuck at the "shoulder" of small and larger syringes). With the restrictive tip cut off, the plunger can actually be pushed all the way through.
I'll ask my pharmacist or vet for some larger syringes next time I'm in. He seems to be drinking less water on his own and is just waiting for the pedialyte instead, which can be kind of an issue if nobody is home to give it to him.
He's been getting the 0.3ccs of the Lasix and the 0.2ccs of Benazepril but his breathing still hasn't gotten any less laboured. My vet did not mention adding Vetmedin, but wanted to try increasing the Lasix. Right now I'm holding him and he's breathing very hard, and it seems worse than before I went on my trip (it had gotten a bit better just before I left). He's drinking less Pedialyte, too. This just seemed to happen today, I didn't notice any changes in his behaviour yesterday.
He's been getting the 0.3ccs of the Lasix and the 0.2ccs of Benazepril but his breathing still hasn't gotten any less laboured. My vet did not mention adding Vetmedin, but wanted to try increasing the Lasix. Right now I'm holding him and he's breathing very hard, and it seems worse than before I went on my trip (it had gotten a bit better just before I left). He's drinking less Pedialyte, too. This just seemed to happen today, I didn't notice any changes in his behaviour yesterday.
Overnight his condition worsened significantly, and he's now struggling to breathe (less than 60 breaths a minute) and making a clicking sound when he inhales. He refused to take his medicine this morning, I would assume because he can't breathe, and I didn't want to stress him out any more so I didn't force it. Is it worth it to take him to the ER vet 30+ minutes away? Grady Animal Hospital is the closest 24 hour veterniary hospital to my location (I've taken Cal there once before for bloat) but with the traffic it would be longer, and they don't exclusively deal with exotics. My vet office opens at 8, and the vets don't arrive until 9 usually.