Any experience with Metronidazole/Metrovis and loss of appetite

[lauryn1289]

I posted the other day about my boy Eggs who has some wounds on his feet, the vet said they’re not too bad at all yet and it’s very early but I assume bumblefoot. Not bad husbandry, just unfortunately Eggs is one of the sillier animals in general I’ve met and he loves lying in wet, soiled areas. The second I fully deep clean their beds which is once a week or spot clean, he’ll pick the one spot he wants to eat hay on and soil it. My other boy Ollie’s feet are absolutely pristine.

He’s on .5mls of Metrovis/metronidazole since Tuesday as well as Exocin drops for recurring eye inflammation and I’m giving him around .7mls of cat metacam split into twice daily. I have some Pro-C in his water which he likes to drink. His feet are also being cleaned twice with hibiscrub. His eye is thankfully looking a LOT better, so I don’t think it’s that but his appetite took a nosedive and I’m assuming it’s the metronidazole.

His vet said split the Metrovis into twice a day instead of once if I notice gastric upset so I’ve started that today, but at this stage I don’t know if I should stop it full stop. He’s barely interested in anything. I went to the shops to get him multiple times of hay and some treats he likes and he did eat a small bit, but a VERY small bit so far. He accepts critical care but I’d really love him to eat more on his own He refused some pepper last night but accepted some carrot this morning. His weigh is down to 719g from about 840g on average. Any advice or experience with metronidazole? I looked through posts here but there’s not a whole pile on it, I only have experience with it myself as a person obviously. I really worry about them when their appetite changes because I’ve had 2 piggies with bloat before and another who stopped eating and passed away after a surgery

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Please contact your vet again.

Metronidazole is better known under the brand name Flagyl and some members may have experience with its use. It is not prescribed all that often but it is usually used specifically against more complex germ issues than straight forward bacteria. Unfortunately for you, I am not among that number.

Please step in with feeding and watering support asap. Your home feeding care can make all the difference.
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Wishing you all the best. It is normal to have the jitters after bad experiences.

 

[lauryn1289]

Hi

Please contact your vet again.

Metronidazole is better known under the brand name Flagyl and some members may have experience with its use. It is not prescribed all that often but it is usually used specifically against more complex germ issues than straight forward bacteria. Unfortunately for you, I am not among that number.

Please step in with feeding and watering support asap. Your home feeding care can make all the difference.
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Wishing you all the best. It is normal to have the jitters after bad experiences.

Thank you! I contacted and they said to give him a day with a split dose and see how he is tomorrow but I’m so conscious of his appetite If he’s still feeling iffy tomorrow I’ll get him seen again. I’m giving him critical care every few hours with syringes of water and he is accepting 7-8mls of critical care when offered luckily, it’s just so unusual for him to be this unexcited by food

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you! I contacted and they said to give him a day with a split dose and see how he is tomorrow but I’m so conscious of his appetite If he’s still feeling iffy tomorrow I’ll get him seen again. I’m giving him critical care every few hours with syringes of water and he is accepting 7-8mls of critical care when offered luckily, it’s just so unusual for him to be this unexcited by food

Hi

That is not great but it also means that his innards are still working. Please split the dosage. It can sometimes make a real difference. Give plenty of probiotics and/or 'poo soup' (live microbiome transfer from a health companion if available) either 1 hour before or two hours after the antibiotic (or both) in order to support the gut microbiome.

 

[lauryn1289]

Hi

That is not great but it also means that his innards are still working. Please split the dosage. It can sometimes make a real difference. Give plenty of probiotics and/or 'poo soup' (live microbiome transfer from a health companion if available) either 1 hour before or two hours after the antibiotic (or both) in order to support the gut microbiome.

Absolutely I halved his dose today and hopefully halving it helps. I’ve been using Pro-C probiotics in his water but also mixing it into his critical care to make sure he’s definitely getting a good amount of it, but not averse to doing some more poop soup I’ve had to do it many times over the years despite how much they hate me for it

He just begged for 9-10 syringes full of critical care and he’s eating some of his hay now so fingers crossed maybe he is starting to feel a bit better after .25 instead of .5 in one go

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m glad you are directly adding probiotic to syringe feed - that, or into a syringe of water, is the only way it should be administered.
It is not recommended to ever add any probiotic (or any substance) into drinking water bottles.

I hope he is ok

 

[Wiebke]

I’m glad you are directly adding probiotic to syringe feed - that, or into a syringe of water, is the only way it should be administered.
It is not recommended to ever add any probiotic (or any substance) into drinking water bottles.

I hope he is ok

Absolutely I halved his dose today and hopefully halving it helps. I’ve been using Pro-C probiotics in his water but also mixing it into his critical care to make sure he’s definitely getting a good amount of it, but not averse to doing some more poop soup I’ve had to do it many times over the years despite how much they hate me for it

He just begged for 9-10 syringes full of critical care and he’s eating some of his hay now so fingers crossed maybe he is starting to feel a bit better after .25 instead of .5 in one go

Good that you are adding them to your feed (which I also prefer to do, provided I use a non-enhanced recovery brand). The bottle is generally not a good place for piggies because it promotes the growth of algae.

Fingers firmly crossed that your boy is feeling better in himself again with the split dosage and willing to eat his syringe feed more willingly.

 

[lauryn1289]

I’m glad you are directly adding probiotic to syringe feed - that, or into a syringe of water, is the only way it should be administered.
It is not recommended to ever add any probiotic (or any substance) into drinking water bottles.

I hope he is ok

Thank you! My other boy wouldn’t touch tainted water but Eggs actually likes it in the water so I only ever add it to water when he’s on antibiotics and change it after a day or so like the packaging says but even then I’m not confident how much he gets so into the critical care it goes. The syringe method is more practical anyway so I’ll dump it out

My previous vet who was terrible with guinea pigs would try to get me to administer antibiotics inside their water, absolutely not

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you! My other boy wouldn’t touch tainted water but Eggs actually likes it in the water so I only ever add it to water when he’s on antibiotics and change it after a day or so like the packaging says but even then I’m not confident how much he gets so into the critical care it goes. The syringe method is more practical anyway so I’ll dump it out

My previous vet who was terrible with guinea pigs would try to get me to administer antibiotics inside their water, absolutely not

Promoting Algae growth and not being able to control the amount is completely why nothing should ever be added to water - even is he will still drink it it’s still not recommended
Not good the vet tried to give antibiotics that way

 

[lauryn1289]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I stopped the metronidazole (and the probiotic in water as advised) the other day and he’s still not fully perked up. He was down to 680g last night so I started syringe feeding as much as I didn’t want to have to do that at all He usually LOVES critical care and has been accepting top up syringes of it the past few days no problem but he’s decided he’s not interested in that now either, I was really hoping he’d at least stay interested in the critical care so I didn’t have to force it on him. He’s back up to 700g now since feeding. I see him sporadically eating little bits of hay (he has 4 types of hay in his cage to try and get him interested!) and he has mostly been really accepting of veggies and fruit, just can’t seem to get him eating with any consistency or enthusiasm. Back to the vet tomorrow and can hopefully figure out and help whatever’s bugging him so much. I assume the wounds on his feet are (naturally) hurting but he’s been getting at least .7mls of metacam divided into 2 doses daily so I’m not sure how much it should even be hurting him

 

[lauryn1289]

Also, was hoping to try alternatives to critical care like Emeraid or the Burgess DualCare but can’t seem to find them at all in Ireland! Burgess cat and guinea pig products are in virtually every pet shop here and even Tesco so I’m so surprised I can’t even find that. Such a shame

 

[Wiebke]

Also, was hoping to try alternatives to critical care like Emeraid or the Burgess DualCare but can’t seem to find them at all in Ireland! Burgess cat and guinea pig products are in virtually every pet shop here and even Tesco so I’m so surprised I can’t even find that. Such a shame

I am very sorry. Access to international brands can vary enormously from country to country.

The microbiome usually takes a while to bounce back. Hang on in there and persist.

 

[lauryn1289]

I am very sorry. Access to international brands can vary enormously from country to country.

The microbiome usually takes a while to bounce back. Hang on in there and persist.

Thank you! He’s pooping but very clumpy/wet poops. The vet game him a metaclopramide injection and sent an email with a photo of his feet for advice to an exotics vet to get another gameplan going for him

 

[Wiebke]

All the best.