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Antibiotics

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evymv

New Born Pup
Joined
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Location
Montréal, QC, Canada
Hello,
My Levon was prescribed Ciprofloxacin (eye drops) to treat his watery eyes.
I recently stopped giving that med and Enrofloxacin, because I noticed that his poops started getting smaller and he looked in pain.
I didn’t know I had to give him probiotics to help his stomach not become upset.
The vet said I should keep administering the eye drops but I’m afraid it might worsen his condition?
His poops have become normal and he can poop on his own (without me having to give massages) but he’s still sometimes bloated and has gases. I’m giving him simethicone and critical care (I mix bene bac in it) three time a day. I also massage his stomach all throughout the day.
 
Eye drops won’t cause digestive problems, because they aren’t going into his stomach. If your vet says to give them, then please do so.

Oral antibiotics can upset their tummies as it can also kill the good gut bacteria as well as the bad illness causing bacteria, but giving a probiotic, along with syringe feeding and daily weight checks, then it is usually a temporary issue.

We don’t recommend simethicone because it gathers gas bubbles into a large bubble which is fine for human babies but for guinea pigs, one big bubble is more painful.
Ive added a link to our bloat guide below for further information on dealing with it.

Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
 
The guide i linked in gives alternatives to simethicone (if you can find them in Canada) as well as the medications etc vets usually prescribe to treat bloat
 
Ok, so, I got gripe water and I think it’s works better than the Simethicone. I’m on day 2 of giving him gripe water and he still has gas. I called the vet yesterday to tell him that I didn’t have any more Simethicone and that my guinea pig was still suffering from gases. He prescribed Metronidazole. I have to give it to him twice a day for 2 weeks. Have any of you ever had your piggie taken that antibiotic? I can’t seem to find anything online about it. I’m going to keep giving him the gripe water.
 
Yes, he’s on meloxicam. The vet prescribed that antibiotics because he said it wasn’t normal that he still had gases after one week of being on Simethicone and Trimebutine. That’s why he prescribed Metronidazole, he said there might be a bacteria in his stomach causing gas. I’m afraid to give it to him bc it’s on the same list as Enrofloxacin, which caused him the bloat, as being a strong antibiotic that can messed up his gut. I asked the vet tech if I should give him probiotic along with the new antibiotic and she said it wasn’t necessary?
 
It can take a while to calm bloat down.
The guide explains the meds which are commonly given to treat bloat, along with other things you need to do such as keeping off veg, syringe feeding and massaging.

Giving a probiotic alongside an antibiotics is standard forum advice. Antibiotics can upset the gut bacteria and cause digestive issues and then probiotic can help that. Poop soup made from the very fresh poops (literally just produced) of a healthy companion piggy is very good as it directly replaces the gut microbiome.

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Otherwise, if you aren’t happy with the vets advice then you are entitled to get a second opinion.
 
I’m syringe feeding and massaging him. I’m just afraid to give him the antibiotic, I don’t want to worsen his condition, but I think I’m going to give the med a shot. Do you think I should?
Also, I’ve noticed that he’s been grooming himself a lot lately (he eats his own hair), is that normal?
 
You need to either trust your vet and follow his/her advice on giving the medication, or seek a second opinion.

Self barbering is something some piggies will do and there may or may not be a reason for it - it can be no reason, or it can be stress related, or an indication of pain or irritation if they do it in the same spot for example.

Barbering ( Eating Hair)
 
I had a piggy who was prescribed Metronidazole when he has a gas filled tummy which the other gut drugs couldn't clear. It wasn't the usual bloat which can be fatal if not treated rapidly, it was due to yeast overgrowth - Metronidazole is an antifungal so it stops the yeast growing to excess. Sending healing vibes to your piggy xx
 
Thank you for your answers.
We’re on day 6 of the antibiotic and his stomach is still filled with gas.
Sometimes when I have him on my lap I can feel his stomach inflated as he pushes his poops and at the same time he squeals.
What does that mean? Is it because he’s passing gas?
He did it once before the vet appointment and I mentioned it and they did an x-ray to ruled out stones so I know it’s not that.
 
Hi everyone,
My boy developed gas because of an antibiotic.
It’s been 3 weeks now that he’s suffering from gases. The vet first prescribed Simethicone and Tributine but that didn’t help so he decided to put him on Metronidazole.
When I saw no improvement, I decided to get a second opinion from another vet. This one prescribed Metoclopramide, he said to give it to him until there’s no more gases.
So far, I think it’s working, my piggie has less gases but there’s still some there. I was wondering if I should just go ahead and ask the vet to prescribe him Emeprid and Cispride?
Also, my boy has been losing a ton of weight.
Last time I went to the vet was last Saturday, he was at 910g now he’s at 783g.
I only feed him critical care three times a day, what can I do to help him gain weight?
 
Oh dear that is a lot of weight to have lost. He isn’t eating anywhere near enough. You need to weigh him every day so you can adjust your feeding accordingly. The less he takes per sitting, the more often you need to feed him.
How much feed is he taking in a 24 hour period? If he isn’t eating any hay for himself (or certainly not enough), then you need to aim for at least 60ml of syringe feed per day. This could mean feeding him more per sitting if he will take it, or feeding more times in a day.

You can’t really look for him to gain weight at present though. The priority now is stopping him from losing it, stabilising him and getting him well again. Gaining weight lost through illness takes much longer. Once he is better and eating plenty of hay again properly, then his weight will increase over the coming weeks and months.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
evymv said:
Hi everyone,
My boy developed gas because of an antibiotic.
It’s been 3 weeks now that he’s suffering from gases. The vet first prescribed Simethicone and Tributine but that didn’t help so he decided to put him on Metronidazole.
When I saw no improvement, I decided to get a second opinion from another vet. This one prescribed Metoclopramide, he said to give it to him until there’s no more gases.
So far, I think it’s working, my piggie has less gases but there’s still some there. I was wondering if I should just go ahead and ask the vet to prescribe him Emeprid and Cispride?
Also, my boy has been losing a ton of weight.
Last time I went to the vet was last Saturday, he was at 910g now he’s at 783g.
I only feed him critical care three times a day, what can I do to help him gain weight?
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. The most important thing you need to do is step up the syringe feeding with ideally a timothy based recovery formula. If your piggy is not eating at all and every ml is a fight, you aim for as close to 60 ml in 24 hours as you can get but a minimum of 40 ml in a day; if he is taking at least 10-15 in a session, then you are aiming at 60-90 ml in 24 hours. It means lots of feeding sessions during the day and if necessary once a night. Getting enough fibre into him is crucial.
You also want to support him with probiotics like bene bac or - if he has a healthy companion - additionally with 'poo soup' (i.e. live healthy cavy microbiome transfer) in order to help the badly affected microbiome in the gut back on its legs.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

Emeprid is a metoclopramide, so you are already covered by that; but cisapride in a small dosage may help.
 
Ok, thank you, I’ll get right on that. I usually feed him 15ml of critical mixed with bene bac and sometimes poop, 3 times a day. I was wondering if I could feed him pellets or would that make his gases worse? I have oxbow garden select.
 
So, I got home from work and he was bloated.
We’re on day 4 of medications and I thought from here everything would go upwards not the other way. Is it normal that he’s still getting bloated and that his stomach is full of gases?
I’m just exhausted… it’s been almost a month that he’s suffering from gases.
It’s really stressful.
 
It can take a while to get it dealt with and it can come in waves.

Can I just check

is he in pain medication?
has he been taken off of all fresh veg and grass?
 
878677E9-41CF-4AEE-9BCE-3917FD47F2F9.webpIt doesn’t really show on the picture but his urine is coming out kinda pink/orange. I only noticed today. Should I be alarmed?
 
If he doesn't seem in pain when he pees it can just be a strong urine colour. My boar pees pale yellow but some days it quickly oxidises in the air to an alarming shade of orange... it is still a shock to spot it but we investigated this when it first began and it is just the natural oxidation process. If he chirps in pain, hunches when he pees or has a wet tummy a lot from dripping urine these are all signs of something more serious. I have no bloat experience so I don't know how this might affect things. I hope he's doing OK though.
 
I’m really concerned. Why would this medication make his poop look like that? Wasn’t it supposed to help him? Does it mean that this is not the right medication for him?
 
Hi…
I just came back from the vet. I went back because his poops started to look weird and mushy like the picture above and I suspect it was because of the Metoclopramide.
The last dose I gave him was yesterday at 1PM, since then his poops are back to normal.
The vet said he didn’t know what else to do for my piggie. He said that if he keeps deteriorating, I should consider put him to sleep. He was really
concerned that he was still bloated and still has lots of gas.
I asked him for Cisapride and he agreed but he said he couldn’t guarantee that he will get better , he also prescribed Cloramphenicol.
I’m just so heartbroken, it’s just so unfair that my Levon has to go through all of this because the other vet didn’t mention that I should give him probiotics along with the Enrofloxacin. I really don’t wanna lose him. I can’t stop crying.
 
I'm so sorry for your situation. Bloat seems to be a real issue for some poor pigs and it's possible that the presence/absence of probiotics at that point wouldn't have changed his situation. It was only last year that I actually used probiotics for the first time after giving antibiotics on and off for 10 years of pig-keeping and tbh the pigs I've had just haven't had any adverse reactions despite being on pretty alarming doses for short periods sometimes, and in some cases normal doses for weeks at a time. But those pigs weren't prone to any bloat it seems, because they didn't get it at other times - this is why I have no bloat experience.

I hope the Cisapride/Chloramphenicol combination can help him, but if these are your final times together try and treasure them

@Wiebke @Piggies&buns do you have any idea of how long the Cisapride might need to see whether it can help brave Levon?
 
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