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Emeprid For Bloat?

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CraigGlasgow

CraigGlasgow

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello all!

Given how helpful you all were on my last post I was hoping for some new advice. I lost one piggy to gut stasis a fortnight ago, and my other managed to pull through. Weasley has been doing really well for the last week since he came off his meds but we had been staying with relatives during the festive period at that time. We traveled back to mine (about 2 hours away) yesterday, and last night he started dropping soft stools. He is now back to straining to pass poop and feels quite bloated. I've give him a massage and checked for impaction and managed to get a few pieces to pass and he looks less puffed up but he still seems uncomfortable.

The vet had Weasley on baytril and emeprid, but she gave me some extra emeprid and told me to use it as required if the gut issues came back at any point. Before I give him any I wanted to check that this is definitely to shift the gas and won't do more harm than good if given in this situation? He is still moving about and eating/drinking fine, just very gassy and straining to pass soft poops.

Given I spent over £400 at the emergency vet for Potter before he passed, I can't really afford to take Weasley in unless it seems an absolute emergency so if they would just be giving him emeperid to tide him over until I get him to his regular vet in the morning I thought I'd check before using the last of my savings on a pointless appointment, but obviously if he gets worse I'll be straight over there.

Thanks all for any help :)
 
CraigGlasgow said:
Hello all!

Given how helpful you all were on my last post I was hoping for some new advice. I lost one piggy to gut stasis a fortnight ago, and my other managed to pull through. Weasley has been doing really well for the last week since he came off his meds but we had been staying with relatives during the festive period at that time. We traveled back to mine (about 2 hours away) yesterday, and last night he started dropping soft stools. He is now back to straining to pass poop and feels quite bloated. I've give him a massage and checked for impaction and managed to get a few pieces to pass and he looks less puffed up but he still seems uncomfortable.

The vet had Weasley on baytril and emeprid, but she gave me some extra emeprid and told me to use it as required if the gut issues came back at any point. Before I give him any I wanted to check that this is definitely to shift the gas and won't do more harm than good if given in this situation? He is still moving about and eating/drinking fine, just very gassy and straining to pass soft poops.

Given I spent over £400 at the emergency vet for Potter before he passed, I can't really afford to take Weasley in unless it seems an absolute emergency so if they would just be giving him emeperid to tide him over until I get him to his regular vet in the morning I thought I'd check before using the last of my savings on a pointless appointment, but obviously if he gets worse I'll be straight over there.

Thanks all for any help :)
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Massage his tummy and give the emeprid at the dose advised previously. If his stomach gets worse and he isn't pooing at all then he'll need to see a vet.

Is there any kind of veg that's setting it off? Maybe too much cabbage/broccoli/kale?x
 
Is there any kind of veg that's setting it off? Maybe too much cabbage/broccoli/kale?x

Spot on, usualy to much green veg , and also veg that is past its best by date . Lack of sufficient hay can also be a factor
 
Hi Adelle,

Thanks for that, I just wanted to check to be sure. Gave him a dose this morning and came home on lunch break for another massage and it seems he's back to pooping quite frequently again although they are still quite soft and he's still a bit puffy so will withold veg again today and see how that plays.

I'm always super paranoid with his veg anyway so it gets binned after 3 days and always within date. He's not had any cabbage or broccolli since he first started having issues a few weeks ago and he's not had Kale since Monday. He did get a small extra piece of lettuce shredded up in his carrier on Wednesday because we were travelling and he gets a bit anxious so maybe this was the cause, up until then he's only been getting a very strict diet of frequent small portions so possibly he's gone through the whole lot in one go which wouldn't surprise me!

He has plenty hay (both medow and the excel marigold vit c booster) and two bowls of pellets to choose from as well as the woodlands forrage mix so he's geting plenty roughage judgung by the amount he's getting through haha!
 
CraigGlasgow said:
Hi Adelle,

Thanks for that, I just wanted to check to be sure. Gave him a dose this morning and came home on lunch break for another massage and it seems he's back to pooping quite frequently again although they are still quite soft and he's still a bit puffy so will withold veg again today and see how that plays.

I'm always super paranoid with his veg anyway so it gets binned after 3 days and always within date. He's not had any cabbage or broccolli since he first started having issues a few weeks ago and he's not had Kale since Monday. He did get a small extra piece of lettuce shredded up in his carrier on Wednesday because we were travelling and he gets a bit anxious so maybe this was the cause, up until then he's only been getting a very strict diet of frequent small portions so possibly he's gone through the whole lot in one go which wouldn't surprise me!

He has plenty hay (both medow and the excel marigold vit c booster) and two bowls of pellets to choose from as well as the woodlands forrage mix so he's geting plenty roughage judgung by the amount he's getting through haha!
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Some pigs are sensitive to things others aren't, my fudge will bloat badly if I feed her romaine lettuce yet can eat other kinds fine. My other sow Crunchie will bloat with forage mixes that contain dried fruits etc.

Try cutting it back to the necessities then add in one new thing at a time and see what triggers it x
 
It's romaine I've been giving him since that seems to be his favourite, will switch him to round and see if that helps the situation. Otherwise he gets a combination of bell pepper, corriander, parsley, kale, spinach, carrot the occasional babycorn cob or tomato as a treat. He has had broccoli before but never seemed very fond of it and won't touch cabbage unless there's nothing else on offer! Any advicw on other things to cut out/avoid or which will help him avoid bloat?

Thanks again :)
 
I'd cut back to just one veg to start with, then next meal switch to another, and keep on like that so you can monitor the effects of any given veg. Connie used to bloat on grass, broccoli, cauliflower, spring greens, Kale and any lettuce except romaine or rocket. By giving her only one veg at a time it was easy to identify the culprits.
 
Thanks Vicki, will give that a bash then, he's never had issues with herbs so I'll start there and work up :)

He hasn't had any veg today and seems to be pooping frequently again although still a bit wet to the touch they are now much better formed and darker. Is it worth giving him another dose of emeprid or should I just leave him to balance out since he still seems to be passing them fine after his dose this morning? Also, should I give him a wee bit of corriander since he's looking better or just leave him for tonight?

Thanks again, you guys are awesome :)
 
Herbs are a good start - even considered as "healing" by many so a good place to start when you do reintroduce veg. Personally I would give him another dose of emeprid tonight but hold off any green stuff until tomorrow. Only when you are sure that the bloat has passed, and the poos are a reasonable shape and size would I introduce a very small amount of herb and then build up very slowly. It's trial and error with bloaty piggies, I'm afraid.
 
Grand, I'll give him another dose and a good pile of fresh hay for the night and save the herbs for the morning then. :) Trial and error is no issue, just want to make sure he's a healthy, happy pig! Thanks again for all the help Vicki :)
 
Hey again all,

Had Weasley at the vet again yesterday and they gave him a thorough check and said it seems like a mild recurrence of his previous bloat and gave him new meds to take.

He's currently on oral meds as follows:
Zantac 300ml - 0.4ml every 12 hours
Meloxaid 5ml - 0.5 every 24 hours with food
Emeprid Oral - 0.7ml every 8 hours
Baytril 2.5% - 0.5ml every 12 hours.

My vet isn't open on weekends and I didn't notice how high the Baytril dose was until I gave him the first dose last night. His appetite did diminish slightly between taking the Baytril and his next dose of emeprid and he did seem a bit more lethargic after it, but has been normal since an hour or two afterwards. This is almost double his last dosage only a few weeks ago which was only 0.25ml every 12 hours. His current weight is fluctuating between 1.3-1.35kg depending on how well he's flowing at the time. He's due the next dose in about half an hour so I wanted to see if the 0.5 every 12 hours is a safe dose for him or should it be 0.5 per 24 hours (0.25 per 12 hours) and it's been misprinted? Thanks :)
 
I'm not a vet but that does sound a safe dose of Baytril for his weight. I'm saying that based on my girl who weighs 1.3 being currently on 0.5mls every 12 hours.
 
You're welcome. Bloat can be a bit of an ongoing problem, I'm afraid, and with the vet's permission you do end end up having a bit of a small supply of drugs to hand so that you can start treatment immmediately you see it. Once you get them through the severe and acute bloat there may be subsequent but less severe recurrences. You are clearly well on the ball, as is your vet. It turns into a bit of trial and error trying to get on top of it. But once it's under control you can usually manage decent periods between attacks and it is much more manageable.
My girl is doing fine, thanks and finishes her course of the hated Baytril tomorrow. She's going to take a while to forgive me though. She detests it!
 
The vet said it would be, I worry about him at the best of times never mind being alone and ill, going to be a stressful few weeks at least! Yeah I've got some spare baytril, meloxaid and emeprid in the cupboard already thanks to the vet being on the ball, definitely helped in this instance!

Awh that's excellent, I'm glad to hear she's doing well and judging by Weasley's reaction I'm sure she'll be thrilled to be coming off that horrible stuff, it's the only meds he causes an issue with haha!
 
Can't help with this, but wanted to wish you the best of luck with it. And I'm sorry about Potter x

Lots of hugs to your boy, and to your girl as well VickiA.
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Just wondering why your guinea pig needs baytril (or any other antibiotic) when they are suffering from bloat? I fully understand the gut motility drugs and the pain relief, but wasn't sure why an antibiotic had been prescribed too.
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My thoughts too. A non piggy savvy vet tried to give Crunchie baytril (without telling me) after she bloated after her dental. I went off my head and actually ended up in tears.. If I hadn't of seen the label I wouldn't have stopped her.

If she'd bothered to ask my permission; I would've told her baytril causes severe bloat in Crunchie (nearly cost her her life), not to mention the fact baytril is harsh on the guts so shouldn't be prescribed on a whim to a pig with GI issues.

Safe to Say I didn't see that vet again!
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Just wondering why your guinea pig needs baytril (or any other antibiotic) when they are suffering from bloat? I fully understand the gut motility drugs and the pain relief, but wasn't sure why an antibiotic had been prescribed too.
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I did wonder too but due to Potter going downhill so quickly and having mucus they were concerned it may have been an infection so wanted to check all options with Weasley, and the vetI took him to back home is really good with exotics and she had him on it too, just at a much lower dose as I said above. I'm keeping a very close eye as I've heard about the issues with baytrill before and I already have the local 24hr vet on speedial. I'm giving him tummy massages and about 15 minutes floor time every hour aswell to keep his motility up. At the moment he's only on the Baytril for 4 days with a reducing dose afterwards. They've both had Baytril before and didn't have a reaction so I saw no reason to worry, but will mention this when I go back in on Monday.
 
Teddybear22 said:
Can't help with this, but wanted to wish you the best of luck with it. And I'm sorry about Potter x

Lots of hugs to your boy, and to your girl as well VickiA.
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Thank you Teddy, I took him home and put him to rest at my parents with the other pets so hes in good company :) I'm just glad I brought him home rather than paying the fortune for the overnight stay at the hospital as just as they expected he went not long after and I got to be with him to say goodbye which was a bittersweet but loving moment. It was just such a shock as he's almost never had any issues before.

Weasley's always been invincible haha he's had health issues since before I got him (he had bloat, mites and fight wounds the pet store neglected to mention but were kind enough to cover the treatment for) and he's always in and out of the vet for something every few months. Every vet he's seen seems to find it amusing how he can be both sick and happy as a clam all the time, he's a wee fighter :)
 
Update: he has ballooned up again since his last dose of baytril and can hear and feel his wee tummy bubbling away. Lots of flatulence during massage and he's passed one or two very small wee poos so think I'll maybe pass on the next Baytrill dose and see if it's the culrprit at the moment?
 
Sounds like a plan. Did he have bloat before he was put on the Baytril?
 
CraigGlasgow said:
Thank you Teddy, I took him home and put him to rest at my parents with the other pets so hes in good company :) I'm just glad I brought him home rather than paying the fortune for the overnight stay at the hospital as just as they expected he went not long after and I got to be with him to say goodbye which was a bittersweet but loving moment. It was just such a shock as he's almost never had any issues before.
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Sometimes I think I wish I had done that. You see, I lost Teddy due to gut stasis too, but it was so sudden... the night before he was totally himself. I left him in the vets though, because I didn't think I could be able to take proper care of him at home (they wanted to inject him gut motility drugs) and he passed away a few hours after I left him there...

I'm glad Weasley is a fighter, he better be! He has to have a long and happy life besides you! :nod:
 
Teddybear22 said:
Sometimes I think I wish I had done that. You see, I lost Teddy due to gut stasis too, but it was so sudden... the night before he was totally himself. I left him in the vets though, because I didn't think I could be able to take proper care of him at home (they wanted to inject him gut motility drugs) and he passed away a few hours after I left him there...

I'm glad Weasley is a fighter, he better be! He has to have a long and happy life besides you! :nod:
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I'm sorry for your loss, it is a very quick shock to the system when they go, I know it hit me very hard because it was so sudden. Potter was the same, he'd had soft poops for a few days and had been at the vets for checkups and they hadn't found anything out of the ordinary, but was recovering really well and in a few hours went from almost okay to completely downhill. I probably would have done the same had they given Potter a better prognosis, but they said because he was no longer bloated and had lost so much weight the best case all they could do was put him on fluid and a vit drip and check on him every few hours to make sure he was comfortable and I figured I could sit up with him all night and syringe fluids in a familar place for him and he'd have Weasley to keep him company. It's a tough call in that situation and you can only do what you feel is right. Had they said he'd have a good chance of making it I'd have left him in a heartbeat!

Hopefully he pulls through, he's still munching away and running around, the gurgling and flatulence is a but scary but he's just passed a solid poop after a particularly loud gurgle so hopefully it's working it's way out! :)
 
VickiA said:
Sounds like a plan. Did he have bloat before he was put on the Baytril?
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Originally yes, however this afternoon he was almost flat again and was pooping frequently, he's only ballooned up again since having the Baytril. Still eating and running and enjoying the massages but VERY gurgly and gassy. Will monitor closely for a half hour or so and if he takes a turn will be on the phone to the emergency vet to see if there's a way to flush the baytrill out or if I should bring him in!
 
Thank you, and yes, you're right. I guess we choose to do what we think it's best for our piggies in that moment.

I really really hope Weasley gets better. You're doing a great job x
 
Definitely!

Thank you, all of the support on here has definitely been immensely helpful and greatly appreciated by us both :) you're all so knowledgable and supportive, I wish I'd found this sooner!
 
Do U have probiotics you can give him? It will really help.

Keep massaging and give him his gut stimulants on time as advised. Get him moving on the floor to shift the gas and halt with the veg until it shifts.

If he where mine I would stop the baytril and speak to the vet reagarding his new bloat flare on Monday but that is just me personal opinion.

I'm sure you know the drill by now; but if his tummy becomes solid or he stops pooing- OOH vet for some injectable gut stimulants to hopefully shift it.

Good luck x
 
Adelle said:
Do you have probiotics you can give him? It will really help.

Keep massaging and give him his gut stimulants on time as advised. Get him moving on the floor to shift the gas and halt with the veg until it shifts.

If he where mine I would stop the baytril and speak to the vet reagarding his new bloat flare on Monday but that is just me personal opinion.

I'm sure you know the drill by now; but if his tummy becomes solid or he stops pooing- OOH vet for some injectable gut stimulants to hopefully shift it.

Good luck x
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What would probiotics be? I have liquid feed mix but other than that all I have are the above meds.

He's out on the floor just now having a run and has been for half an hour or so, he's tried lying down a few times but I've been getting him up and moving or giving him a massage when this happens. He's just doubled over and come up munch and left two decent sized poops behind so hopefully that's it starting to work through. He's not had veg since he had the soft poop on Wednesday evening. He had a stimulant the same time as the baytril so he's not due one again until around 4am so I'm monitoring very closely. I managed to squeeze in a nap this morning and this afternoon when he was doing well incase of this happening so I'll be fine pulling an all nighter with him.

Baytril is gone from nownon methinks. He's still got a soft and palpable belly, just very puffed up and gurgly. Soon as he stops passing anything or it hardens up I'll be right down there.
 
CraigGlasgow said:
What would probiotics be? I have liquid feed mix but other than that all I have are the above meds.

He's out on the floor just now having a run and has been for half an hour or so, he's tried lying down a few times but I've been getting him up and moving or giving him a massage when this happens. He's just doubled over and come up munch and left two decent sized poops behind so hopefully that's it starting to work through. He's not had veg since he had the soft poop on Wednesday evening. He had a stimulant the same time as the baytril so he's not due one again until around 4am so I'm monitoring very closely. I managed to squeeze in a nap this morning and this afternoon when he was doing well incase of this happening so I'll be fine pulling an all nighter with him.

Baytril is gone from nownon methinks. He's still got a soft and palpable belly, just very puffed up and gurgly. Soon as he stops passing anything or it hardens up I'll be right down there.
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You can get pro-c from pets at home, avipro plus online or fibreplex from the vet. Pets at home is open tomorrow where you could get some. Don't know how far away from me you are in Glasgow but if you're stuck I have plenty. Fibreplex is good to get things moving too.

The probiotics replace the good gut bacteria that antibiotics kill off, that's why u usually get upset tummies with antibiotic use.

I know you are on the ball, try and get some sleep!
 
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