Baytril's side effects?

[Popcorn bby]

Hi! So my guinea pigs have been on Baytril for nine days now (today is the tenth), and I've noticed a few things in one of them, Popcorn. Yesterday, i noticed that her poops were smaller than usual. Some poops i found were even just tiny balls of poop, literally TINY. Some were mushy, while some were quite hard. She's been eating lots of veggies and hay, as well as pellets. She's also drinking water. Today, i haven't seen her poop at all, except for a tiny diarrhea, which smelled terrible. We have a follow up vet appointment (for their treated URI) on Tuesday (in two days) so I'll tell the vet about it, but any thoughts? Can Baytril be the cause of this?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! So my guinea pigs have been on Baytril for nine days now (today is the tenth), and I've noticed a few things in one of them, Popcorn. Yesterday, i noticed that her poops were smaller than usual. Some poops i found were even just tiny balls of poop, literally TINY. Some were mushy, while some were quite hard. She's been eating lots of veggies and hay, as well as pellets. She's also drinking water. Today, i haven't seen her poop at all, except for a tiny diarrhea, which smelled terrible. We have a follow up vet appointment (for their treated URI) on Tuesday (in two days) so I'll tell the vet about it, but any thoughts? Can Baytril be the cause of this?

Hi!

Please be aware that poo output generally lags 1-2 days behind. Also that over 80% of the daily food intake should be hay, which you cannot control by eye, only by weighing daily at the same time during illness and weighing weekly as part of the life long health monitoring in combination with a body onceover. Smaller or tiny poos indicate diminished food intake; and there could possibly some dehydration if you are in the UK and experience the heat spike. Overheated guinea pigs can suffer from partial GI stasis, i.e. the guts not moving as they should, which can continue afterwards.
Heat stroke symptoms and what to do
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Baytril doesn't just impact on the 'bad' bacteria; it can also impact on the gut biome that is responsible for the digestive process.
Please give either one pinch of probiotic 1 hour before (US recommendation or 1-2 hours after the antibiotic (UK recommendation); either way works about the same. In worse affected cases, a course of fibreplex can help. If you have healthy guinea pigs, absolutely freshly made 'poo soup' which transfers healthy live microbiome is even more effective.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

If your piggies have lost more than 50g/2 oz, please start support feeding, as much as your piggies will take.
The daily weigh-in during illness will tell you how well or badly your piggies are doing and how much support they need.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[Popcorn bby]

Hi!

Please be aware that poo output generally lags 1-2 days behind. Also that over 80% of the daily food intake should be hay, which you cannot control by eye, only by weighing daily at the same time during illness and weighing weekly as part of the life long health monitoring in combination with a body onceover. Smaller or tiny poos indicate diminished food intake; and there could possibly some dehydration if you are in the UK and experience the heat spike. Overheated guinea pigs can suffer from partial GI stasis, i.e. the guts not moving as they should, which can continue afterwards.
Heat stroke symptoms and what to do
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Baytril doesn't just impact on the 'bad' bacteria; it can also impact on the gut biome that is responsible for the digestive process.
Please give either one pinch of probiotic 1 hour before (US recommendation or 1-2 hours after the antibiotic (UK recommendation); either way works about the same. In worse affected cases, a course of fibreplex can help. If you have healthy guinea pigs, absolutely freshly made 'poo soup' which transfers healthy live microbiome is even more effective.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

If your piggies have lost more than 50g/2 oz, please start support feeding, as much as your piggies will take.
The daily weigh-in during illness will tell you how well or badly your piggies are doing and how much support they need.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Hi! Thank you for replying. They stopped treatment four days ago, and her poops have been pretty wild. However, they seem to have gotten better. However, if you're able to reply to this, i did have another serious question about this URI. So as i said, they finished treatment four days ago, where we got a recheck and the vet said they sounded perfect. However, on the third day i noticed still some sneezing. They are also producing this weird noise that sounds like breathing with a ring chirp in it, although Popcon had that when the vet checked her, so maybe it's nothing? I was just wondering if it's possible for the URI to be back? The Baytril got rid of it fast and iand caught it early as well, so how likely is it? We are going on a trip tomorrow, and I'm leaving them w my grandma, but my grandma won't be able to distinguish their healthy behavior from unhleathy, so i need answers pls thank you

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! Thank you for replying. They stopped treatment four days ago, and her poops have been pretty wild. However, they seem to have gotten better. However, if you're able to reply to this, i did have another serious question about this URI. So as i said, they finished treatment four days ago, where we got a recheck and the vet said they sounded perfect. However, on the third day i noticed still some sneezing. They are also producing this weird noise that sounds like breathing with a ring chirp in it, although Popcon had that when the vet checked her, so maybe it's nothing? I was just wondering if it's possible for the URI to be back? The Baytril got rid of it fast and iand caught it early as well, so how likely is it? We are going on a trip tomorrow, and I'm leaving them w my grandma, but my grandma won't be able to distinguish their healthy behavior from unhleathy, so i need answers pls thank you

Any vet will first and foremost treat for URI if there is the least risk that your piggies could have it because it can kill or permanently damage if left untreated.

However since guinea pigs have a very small and sensitive respiratory system there is a vast area of sensitivities to hay dustor wood based bedding dust, pollen, air con or radiator caused dry air, perfumes/scents, pollutants like smoke or smog. it is a slow and gradual process of elimination to work out what is causing the problem.

Guinea pigs can also not breathe through the mouth so any slight obstruction in the nose or throat can create a lot of funny sounds. Most disappear after a good old sneeze during a piggy wash.
The ones that you really need to see a vet over is any crackling or rasping further down in the airways.

 

[Popcorn bby]

Yes

Any vet will first and foremost treat for URI if there is the least risk that your piggies could have it because it can kill or permanently damage if left untreated.

However since guinea pigs have a very small and sensitive respiratory system there is a vast area of sensitivities to hay dustor wood based bedding dust, pollen, air con or radiator caused dry air, perfumes/scents, pollutants like smoke or smog. it is a slow and gradual process of elimination to work out what is causing the problem.

Guinea pigs can also not breathe through the mouth so any slight obstruction in the nose or throat can create a lot of funny sounds. Most disappear after a good old sneeze during a piggy wash.
The ones that you really need to see a vet over is any crackling or rasping further down in the airways.

Got it, I'll check for a crackling sound right now. I don't exactly hear rasping when i hold them up to my ear (although this is not the most accurate way to tell), but i do hear them breathing. I still heard this the day we went to the vet though, so i must guess it's normal. One of them has gotten more irritable today, so I'll check on her as well.

 

[Wiebke]

Yes

Got it, I'll check for a crackling sound right now. I don't exactly hear rasping when i hold them up to my ear (although this is not the most accurate way to tell), but i do hear them breathing. I still heard this the day we went to the vet though, so i must guess it's normal. One of them has gotten more irritable today, so I'll check on her as well.

Just keep an eye out. Do you have dust extract hay or not?
A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)