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Skinny pig with weight loss and diarrhoea

C

Coco Piggie

New Born Pup
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Hi
I really need some advice. My skinny pig is losing weight fast and has intermittent diarrhoea. It is smelly and ranges from runny to clumped together to normal. I took her to
The vets and was given loxicom and Baytril. I have looked at both of these online and their side affects are loss of appetite and diarrhoea so it seems very odd to give these to her. I tried for two days vet she got worse. She is still eating albeit not very much. She has probiotic in her water. I am very worried about her she is only 2 and a half. Any advice would be welcome, I am taking her to a different vet on Tuesday
 
Please stop all veg (and fresh grass) and step in with syringe feeding her to help her hopefully maintain her weight. The syringe feed will help replace the fibre she is missing by not eating much hay. You will also need to weigh her once a day (preferably mornings) to keep an eye on her weight. Start off aiming for 40ml in a 24 hour period. You can offer in a syringe, on a spoon or in a bowl.

Baytril can lead to loss of appetite but that and loxicom should not cause diarrhoea. Something must be off with her gut balance. What did the vet say when she was seen, and what did they think is wrong?

I wouldn’t give the probiotic in her water. Putting it in water can put her off drinking. It can be given either 1-2 hours before or after the antibiotics dose.

Hope the vet visit on Tuesday is fruitful.
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
 
Hi thank you for the advice, I have tried to syringe feed her but she really struggles and won’t let me, she is still strong and just keeps turning her head away. It says to put the probiotic in drinking water it does not seem to advise how to give it directly do you know how to do this please? The vet did not know what was wrong so I am going to try a different vet
 
I have read so much about the antibiotic causing loss of appetite am worried it’s making her worse she has lost more weight since the vet visit
 
In my case, my Bear started having diarrhea after 5 days into his antibiotic treatment, and not before. However, I do use BENE-BAC PLUSE for my boys with digestive issues.
 
Have a look at the guides I linked to above, especially the third one. It has a video towards the bottom as well as pictures. You do have to be persistent and firm. Perhaps try a different one. The options are given in one of the guides. I have used science selective with success.

It’s not advised to put anything in their drinking water. You should be able to syringe feed the probiotic. Try offering on a spoon or in a bowl as well. Mine happily ate it out of a bowl.
 
If the diarrhoea and weight loss started before she was put on antibiotics then that’s obviously the illness. As advised, please remove veg from the diet and feed increased amounts of hay and syringe feed her a recovery feed or mushed pellets.

Some antibiotics sometimes cause loss of appetite as it can deplete gut bacteria - however baytril is often well tolerated. She will need it if there is an infection.
Loxicom is a pain killer and does not cause diarrhoea.

However if she is having full liquid diarrhoea then please speak to the vet again today.

Please don’t add probiotic directly to her drinking water bottle.
What probiotic are you using?
You can mix it in with the syringe feed.

You do need to be persistent with the syringe feeding - she is losing weight because she isn’t eating enough.
 
Baytril is a widely used antibiotic in piggies - the reason for that is most tolerate it very well indeed. Loxicim (or metqcam - same sort of thing) is pain relief/anti-inflammatory and is also widely used. These are two very standard medications that people who had piggies for a few years will be very familiar with, so your vet has not given you anything unusual. One of my pigs struggled on a different antibiotic (Septrin) that my other pigs never had problem with but, like the above poster, it only really showed itself after about 5 days. Your new vet is unlikely to say much different but they might explain things a bit better. Loxicom is delicious and pigs who know it will fight for a lick of the syringe. My old boy was on it over 2 years and one of my girls stood in line to daintily lick the syringe when he'd done - the other would snatch the syringe and run off with it! No problems with that in over 10 years for any pig - and in truth you're probably on quite a low dose as that is pretty standard.

The thing about syringing is that it can keep them going while they are struggling with a health issue. If you have a transient gut disturbance that is putting them off their food but they are able to get over it (possibly with the help of medication) it's literally a lifesaver. Things like bloat can finish them - and bloat is "just" a build up of gas internally but pigs can't burp (or be sick) so everything has to come out the back end and the syringe food pushes it though. But like people, sometimes piggies have a really serious problem that they can't get over. Syringing won't cure it - but it buys time for the vet and owner to work out which way things are likely to go. Feeling unwell puts pigs off their food and gut stasis is their weak point so we try to avoid that. One of my girls stopped eating completely and needed between 35-40 ml of slurry to maintain at her reduced weight and she didn't want any of it. But a pig that is eating some things can manage with smaller amounts as top-ups. A healthy pig will gobble the syringe food. If your piggy is wary of new foods and has never had syringe food before they may do better with their normal pellets mushed up.

I mix my probiotic into the mush - it's the best way for us. Then they get little bits throughout the day. Using poop soup from a healthy companion can be really effective probiotic too. You'll have read about it in the probiotics link above. Good luck, and well done for getting your piggy the help she needs x
 
Update - I have taken her to a different vet and he was wonderful, she is now on only hay, , tiny amout of nuggets, no veg or fruit, critical care, fibreplex and fecal probiotic, the diarrhea has already stopped and she seems to be more relaxed. She is going back next week for a checkup so really hoping she starts to gain some weight now. Thanks for all the advice!x
 
That’s good to hear. Hope things continue to go in the right direction.
 
Wonderful news 🥲
(This emoji is supposed to be 'smiling face with tear' but it just looks like running nose to me - I don't want to give the wrong impression - I'm happy for you!)
 
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