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Persistent URI

ElmoRosie

ElmoRosie

New Born Pup
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Hi.

My 8 year old boy came down with a URI a week or so ago (a very snotty nose). We took him to the vets who prescribed Baytril and Metacam. He finished the course but was still a little snotty.

Then a few days ago he suddenly had very bad diarrhoea. The vets put him back on Baytril, Metacam and Fibreplex. The poops have mostly gone back to normal after taking him off veggies and leaving him to munch on hay.

The URI however hasn’t gone and is worse than ever, a snotty nose and occasional wheezing and breathing trouble. He’s still on the Baytril and Metacam but I’m not sure what else to do. He has lost weight but seems to be eating normally now so hopefully will put some back on in the next few days. Should I be reintroducing vegetables now? (No veg for 4 days). Is there anything else I can be doing other than keeping him comfortable? Should I be asking for a different antibiotic?

I just want to know I haven’t missed anything or let him down as he’s a much loved piggy

Thankyou
 
I’m sorry to hear he is unwell.
Please syringe feed him a recovery feed or mushed pellets if he is losing weight. This is essential to replace lost hay intake.

Only reintroduce veg once poops have normalised. Make sure you reintroduce veg slowly. Starting with a small amount of herbs can help as they tend to be milder on the tummy.

If he isn’t getting better on baytril, then do go back to the vet. There are other types of antibiotic which can be tried.
 
Ok I will slowly reintroduce some herbs and start with some syringe feed! I’ll also take him back to the vet and ask for a new antibiotic. Do you know what other antibiotics they can have? Mine have only every been given Baytril
 
When my guineas had a URI and were on antibiotics, I noticed soft, stinky poos even after their antibiotics were done. I recommend using benebac which is just a general guinea pig probiotic to avoid that. Hope your piggy gets well soon!
 
The type of antibiotic needed depends on what bacteria are in play. Baytril is the go to antibiotic, but there is sulfatrim which could be another one to try. I believe baytril is best for URIs and sulfatrim is better for UTIs but that doesn’t mean to say they don’t work vice versa, as I say, it depends what bacteria are present.

Definitely give a probiotic either 1-2 hours before or after an antibiotic dose.
Pro C or Fibreplex are among the most commonly used in the UK
 
Unfortunately the vet wouldn’t prescribe any other antibiotics. He said there was a risk of diarrhoea with other ones so he’s still just on the Baytril. He’s already on Fibreplex 3 times a day so hopefully that’s helping
 
ElmoRosie said:
Unfortunately the vet wouldn’t prescribe any other antibiotics. He said there was a risk of diarrhoea with other ones so he’s still just on the Baytril. He’s already on Fibreplex 3 times a day so hopefully that’s helping
Click to expand...

There are many other antibiotics which can be safely used. All antibiotics come with a risk of upsetting the gut as they also kill the good gut bacteria as well as the bad - some are more likely to cause issues than others. However as an undertreated URI can have serious consequences, it can become a case of taking the lesser risk.
This is why syringe feeding, poop soup, probiotics can help.
If after a reasonable/couple of courses of baytril the issue isn’t resolving then it’s either a case of a longer course or it’s possible the bacteria isn’t responding to baytril and a different medication would need to be tried to make him better.
If your vet is adamant they will not prescribe anything else and the issue isn’t resolving then it may be wise to get a second opinion
 
I will phone back and make a new appointment and insist on a new antibiotic. His poops have cleared up and are looking very normal now which is great and hopefully the Fibreplex will keep things stable. I’ve also started him on some dry herbs and will move onto some leafy greens next!
 
Piggies&buns said:
There are many other antibiotics which can be safely used. All antibiotics come with a risk of upsetting the gut as they also kill the good gut bacteria as well as the bad - some are more likely to cause issues than others. However as an undertreated URI can have serious consequences, it can become a case of taking the lesser risk.
This is why syringe feeding, poop soup, probiotics can help.
If after a reasonable/couple of courses of baytril the issue isn’t resolving then it’s either a case of a longer course or it’s possible the bacteria isn’t responding to baytril and a different medication would need to be tried to make him better.
If your vet is adamant they will not prescribe anything else and the issue isn’t resolving then it may be wise to get a second opinion
Click to expand...
I have a question about my guinea pig. He was on antibiotics for awhile. Now he has been having soft poos and I'm wondering if you could recommend any probiotics. I've heard about benebac and fibreplex- is there any that would work the best?
 
I've used Fibreplex which is easy to get over here. I've heard Benebac or Benebac Plus recommended over there - perhaps it's more common.

If he developed soft poops on the antibiotics they might well have been the cause - but if he had normal poops after the antibiotics but then developed soft poops later it might be unrelated. Sometimes it can just be that they are getting too many veggies or fruits (the forum doesn't recommend fruits because of the high sugar content) and the poops go a bit soft. You could try cutting out all veggies for a day or so and just giving plenty of hay and the normal pellets to see if that makes a difference. One of my three has a sensitive stomach and we've had to do this before - she was a bit miffed but it worked.

Proper liquid diarrhoea is an emergency which requires a vet. Soft poops with no obvious cause that don't clear up with probiotic or cutting out veg short-term should also raise a red flag for you... maybe there will have to be a vet visit at some point. You could reassure yourself with regular daily weighing - the weight will go up and down a little but if the soft poops persist and he is losing weight day after day think about going back to that vet. Good luck lil' fella x
 
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