enrofloxacin

[Anastacia__]

My blue crown conure of 30 years has been prescribed Enrofloxacin 17mg - .14ml 2x per day for 4 weeks. Is this a usual dosage for a parrot?
Thank you for taking an interest to reply.

 

[MonicaMc]

Is your blue cown conure around 140 grams???? If so, that sounds about right, dosage wise. What is he/he being treated for?

Most medications are prescribed for around 2 weeks unless the bird is extremely sick or they just have a very difficult "bug" to get rid of. Not a very big fan of that drug, however...

 

[Anastacia__]

Hi Monica,

Thank you so ver much for your reply.
Yes, she weighed approx. 156 gr.

She was being treated for an upper respiratory infection - not severe.

Last year, her previous vet had prescribed 32mg, .05ml 2x per day for 14days. She did very well and the infection cleared
So, this treatment plan seemed to be quite aggressive for a bird her age.

Frankly, she appeared to be doing well on the most recent dosage (17mg-.14ml.. 4weeks) for the first two weeks.
As time went along, she seemed to be loosing her appetite, regurgitating, and was sleeping more than usual. Finally, she
became ill and passed a few days later. In fact, as i saw her suffering no one
had spoke about a peaceful rest. I was very
emotional, and not thinking clearly. I wish the vet that was present aided me in letting her rest.
later in the week...
Someone had mentioned they do not euthanize exotic pets, as it is traumatic. Well, to me a suffering animal is traumatic.

I feel that the high dosage contributed to her becoming ill.

I owned her for over thirty years. My schedule revolved around her, and i took care of her so well...was always cautious and mindful of her. This time i failed and it cost my pretty girl her life. I am devastated as i feel her passing was unnecessary and painful for her.

I apologize for going on.... I am so torn inside over her sad and undeserving end of life.

 

[MonicaMc]

I'm sorry to hear that! I would not be surprised in the least if the medication contributed to her death.

I lost a budgie because he was sick and the first vet that saw him prescribed Baytril (same thing). The vet never did any tests, and although the budgie did get better, he ended up getting worse... then he'd get better but never 100% better... and then worse again. A second a-vet saw him and couldn't find any reason as to why he was acting ill. Turns out, he had a fungal infection that was not picked up on his last tests and it went septic on him and killed him.

My bourke parakeet is my most recent bird that has been on Baytril and she's estimated to be 16-18 years old, possibly 17-19 now. Yet again, a different a-vet (3rd one - I only trust the 2nd one now!) put her on it due to a sinus issue, and he didn't do any testing either. Sure enough, it helped her! Appears to have cured her problem that she has had for months now (and I've already had previous tests done, too!). Before the Baytril she was already underweight (as compared to her younger days - not that any of these vets would know what she should weigh... bourkes aren't very common), after Baytril she lost another gram. She is now 20% underweight and regardless of what foods and supplements I shove in front of her, she wont gain weight! And she's a very healthy eater!

The Baytril she took was 22.7mg and .02ml by mouth twice a day for 10 days.


I read the 14ml as 0.14ml, not 14.00ml. At her weight, she should have never had more than .16ml of meds per dose.... although the second time it seems like the dosage was weaker, which would account for a longer medication time.



(if I'm reading and understanding everything right)



So sorry she passed away. 30 years is a good long time for a conure, and not many make it that far, let alone many older than that!

 

[Anastacia__]

Thanks again. You are so helpful.
I feel strongly this med contributed in a big way. A few times shE had some small infections, seizures controlled by meds, and no major illness that i was aware of. Though the last check i was told her liver enzymes were high. So, i wonder why the long duration of treatment.

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Your budgie was a very special one.

Like your budgie, my conure had a fungal infection and had been on doxycycline for 5 weeks.
That infection supposedly cleared, and after the follow up i was told my girl had another
infection..hence the baytril.

What i have learned about enrofloxacin a.k.a. Baytril.... Is that it is a particularly harsh drug and duration of meds for birds
is 4-14 days. Hard on their digestive system, liver, and kidneys. I wish i knew that a month ago. since she tolerated so well the first time i thought i was helping her clear the infection.... I should have stopped at 10 days. Also, i learned the bad effects of baytril cannot be reversed.... So if the poor bird becomes ill nothing can be done.

Did your vet suggest probiotics along with the antibiotics?
I usually gave my girl some plain greek yogurt.

My girl had a nasal flush and blood work to determine the cause of her slight weazing.
Other than the weazing she appeared fine.

 

[MonicaMc]

The budgie incident happened.... oh gosh... it was like 4 years ago? He was just lethargic, had droppings stuck to his vent feathers and just not acting normal. No respiratory issues, but obviously sick. The second vet that saw him (the one I trust) did mention probiotics, and I think I may have had some, but it was too late by that time without being able to find out the true cause of why he was so sick. She did mention that the bacterial count was low when they did a gram stain. He and his "mate" were "throw-away" pets because the owner was moving and didn't want to take them with her... only she ended up not moving and when she found out her cute little male budgie died she was sad, until I told her how much I spent on him. Her demeanor quickly changed! Back to being a worthless pet not worth the money... last time I spoke with her!


The bourke parakeet got her Baytril prescription September 21st this year, and I just haven't thrown out the bottle yet! (it's basically empty anyway...). Her sinus issues started earlier this year. She had the nasal flush and that came back clear of infections so I was told to keep flushing her sinuses, and I did, and she got better. Not 100% better, but improved. Then we had fires from California polluting the air, and she got worse. Rather than taking her to my a-vet (50+ minutes drive!), I thought I'd try out a different a-vet that was much closer. Considering her age and history, this vet did not feel comfortable doing anything invasive, so instead of testing her, he just prescribed Baytril. I already don't like Baytril, and I don't like it when a vet prescribes medications without doing any tests! But I thought I'd give it a second try. If she didn't lose weight, I wouldn't be so irked about it! But she was already underweight which makes things worse, IMO.

I am waiting for a reply from my a-vet though to see if there are any additional tests that might be worth pursuing but at the moment, other than slowing down and looking lethargic when she sleeps, she's actually doing fine. Based on her previous behavior when she was sick, she's not currently sick, but I do wonder at times if there's something going on I don't know about. Probiotics haven't been prescribed for her, since her bacterial count hasn't gone down. (gram stains)



Some photos from May... she only had fluid in one nostril, not the other. One nostril swollen, same side there's swelling around her eye. Other side not affected. The only thing the fluid really did was to dry out and clog the nostril. Never any wet sneezes, extra itching or anything else of that nature. She acted normal, but just had a nose problem.

This from September at the vets... more swelling, nose wouldn't remain clear (clogging back up) and this when she got Baytril.

And I haven't taken a new photo since, but I can tomorrow.



On one hand, I'm surprised I haven't killed her, considering her growing medical history. (she also has cancer, had surgery to try and remove it 3 years ago!) On the other hand, I'm surprised she's still alive! Her parents died younger than her (one in an accident that could have been prevented) and I only know of, or heard of, two older than her! She's cute though! She's gotten feistier with age!



If your conure really had a fungal infection and they treated her with antibiotics (doxycycline and baytril), that's another possibility of why she died. Antibiotics kill the good and the bad bacteria within the system, making it more vulnerable to fungal infections. It is the good bacteria that keeps the fungal stuff in check. If she actually had a bacterial infection, not fungal, then they did the right treatment, if not necessarily at the right dosages and strengths.