My gut instinct made me take Nutmeg to the vets and she has Pneumonia, asthma or a heart thing. She's on Baytril incase it is pneumonia and it seems to be working. She eats hay, but i'm not sure if she's eating anything else. She ate some cucumber that I hand fed a few days ago, but won't eat her nuggets. Can Baytril put her off her food?
-
Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement
Does baytril put a guinea pig off food?
- Thread starter Chaz
- Start date
Antibiotics can upset the gut and kill off the good gut bacteria as well as the bad illness causing bacteria causing a reduction in appetite and an upset tummy (soft poops).
When a piggy is on antibiotics it’s best to switch from the routine weekly weight checks to instead weighing them daily. As hay is the most important part of the diet, those daily weight checks are the only way you can tell they are eating enough hay. If a piggy’s weight drops, it’s due to reduced hay intake so you must then step in and syringe feed a recovery food or mushed pellets. If soft poops occur, then you stop giving veg.
Its also advisable to give a probiotic or poop soup made from the poops of a healthy companion to a piggy who is on antibiotics and who is losing appetite
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
When a piggy is on antibiotics it’s best to switch from the routine weekly weight checks to instead weighing them daily. As hay is the most important part of the diet, those daily weight checks are the only way you can tell they are eating enough hay. If a piggy’s weight drops, it’s due to reduced hay intake so you must then step in and syringe feed a recovery food or mushed pellets. If soft poops occur, then you stop giving veg.
Its also advisable to give a probiotic or poop soup made from the poops of a healthy companion to a piggy who is on antibiotics and who is losing appetite
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Some piggies react more strongly to certain antibiotics and I have to say Ruby also went off her food when she was on a long course of Baytril.
I had to top her up with syringe feeds throughout, as well as working extra hard to have all her favourite hays and veg on offer.
Hang in there though because it does get better.
I had to top her up with syringe feeds throughout, as well as working extra hard to have all her favourite hays and veg on offer.
Hang in there though because it does get better.
Freela
Senior Guinea Pig
Baytril can be hard on the gut and it does put some pigs off their food (others seem pretty much unaffected, it really does vary with the individual.) One of my past pigs used to go nuts and try to eat walls, flooring, furniture, etc. while on Baytril, it clearly unbalanced her gut pretty badly! You may want to try a probiotic if your vet can prescribe one to give before the meds to help protect her gut flora. You can also try making 'poop soup' (mixing the poop of a healthy cagemate in water and syringe-feeding that.) As disgusting as it sounds, it helps to replenish gut flora of a pig on antibiotics by giving her some of the normal flora of a healthy friend.