Small guide to using drugs in laboratory animals, birds and reptiles

Laboratory animals (namely, mouse, rat, hamster, guinea pig, rabbit), chinchillas, birds and reptilian medicine is a relatively new specialty of veterinary medicine, being until recently in the "early" stages, therefore at least in the last decade, some studies on these types of animals appeared in the literature and cosecquently, therapy issues of various disease states in these animals. Besides the fact that laboratory animals and reptiles are used in biomedical research, we would say, already routinely not to neglect is the growing number of holders of such "pet animals". In search of appropriate dosages to theese species, scientists have tried to extrapolate doses from dogand cats, based on experimental studies and then published. Based on "accumulation" of therapists in the recent years, only few drugs have been approved yet (especially for rodents), most of them having still the status application beside instructions (off-label application). Already known increased susceptibility of mice and rabbits to the toxicity of antimicrobials is particularly important due to intestinal flora, dismicrobism due to the narrow spectrum antibiotics often leading to the increasing of gram-negative and gram positive anaerobic, organisms which will induce in these species toxicity and death. In conclusion, dosages presented are the result of some clinical studies that could be yet considered as "empirical" and "extrapolated from other species" and which are perfectible every day by the information accumulation following the administrations. In this respect an "up to date" self-improvement of vet specialists who have interests in this field is required.