Baytril (enrofloxacin) dosage question

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!!

It is a little high, according to the online sources I've seen. Usual dose seems to be 10mg/kg 2x/day, or 20mg/kg once a day, from The Textbook of Rabbit Medicine and RWAF, which are pretty reliable sources for up to date info on rabbit care.

For a 1.5kg rabbit, that would be 15mg 2x/day or 30mg once a day. At 40mg, if this was long term I'd be concerned based on the cautions about high dose long term dosage. Shorter term may not be as concerning, but if you're still feeling worried about the dosage, maybe research it a bit and bring your concerns back to your vet.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Common_drug_dosages_for_rabbits

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Metacam-A4-poster-2023.pdf

https://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm

JBun said:

It is a little high, according to the online sources I've seen. Usual dose seems to be 10mg/kg 2x/day, or 20mg/kg once a day, from The Textbook of Rabbit Medicine and RWAF, which are pretty reliable sources for up to date info on rabbit care.

For a 1.5kg rabbit, that would be 15mg 2x/day or 30mg once a day. At 40mg, if this was long term I'd be concerned based on the cautions about high dose long term dosage. Shorter term may not be as concerning, but if you're still feeling worried about the dosage, maybe research it a bit and bring your concerns back to your vet.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Common_drug_dosages_for_rabbits

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Metacam-A4-poster-2023.pdf

https://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm

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Thank you for your response!

I found a bottle of my other bunnies baytril that I didn’t throw out at the back of the cabinet. Unfortunately he passed away last year. He was about the same weight and was on 0.3ml twice a day. Based on 50mg/ml that would be 15mg twice a day, 30mg total.

I think maybe I’ll just change to that myself. I only gave him one dosage yesterday of the 20 mg for the day because I was worried. I did call the vet today to voice my concern and they said his dosage was correct and actually could even be higher based on his weight. So I guess it’s just up to me to do what I think.

So 15mg which works out to be 0.3ml (50mg/ml strength times 0.3ml is 15mg) twice a day would be okay? I know I saw online it’s like 5-15mg on one website and other says 5-20mg and they both say either once or twice a day which is actually quite a big difference in total amount if it’s once or twice! It’s a big difference.

Some of the info on dosages might be from older references and not as up to date. And dosage will also depend on the infection and health issue being treated.

Molly Varga wrote the current edition of Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, and she's pretty much considered a rabbit specialist in the UK. She trained with Frances Harcourt-Brown, who is probably the most knowledgeable rabbit vet (retired) alive. So I'm pretty comfortable going by the dosage amount referenced from there.

But maybe your vet knows something we don't. Maybe there's more current research that suggests the higher dose is better.