• 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

Bacillus cereus

Andy33335

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 5, 2019
Messages
89
Reaction score
26
Points
220
Location
Romania
Hi guys! My old man has been having soft poos for a while now and i decided to take a poo sample and send it to analysis. It cam back as bacillus cereus, resistent to majority of antibiotics, sensitive only to florfenicol which i don't think is a antibiotic for guinea pigs. Also, my man is almost 7 years old so the vet decided to use probiotics to try to balance the gut flora since there isn't much that can be done.
Have any if you any experience with this bacteria? I am afraid it will keep in growing until it takes him down
 
Sending wishes for recovery 🙏❤️ Hopefully someone who has seen this will come along 🐾
 
Hi

We have not come up against a bacillus cereus case in guinea pigs on here; it is gram positive so trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMS; better known as bactrim or septrin or derivates), chloramphenicol or baytril (enrofloxacin) are the antibiotics that can be used in guinea pigs but that is basically it. It is unfortunately resistant to many antibiotics. :(

Vomiting (which guinea pigs cannot do), nausea and diarrhea are the usual symptoms and in many cases, most humans get over it within 2 days or so of rather violent and painful acute food poisoning but it can get a lot worse than that.

Bacillus cereus is well known for causing food poisoning in humans, especially in rice (not properly stored or cooked), meat and other foods. Have you got a dry, cool but not cold place for your guinea pig staples or a safe source for guinea pig food and hay as the problem could also have originated with a supplier or seller and not necessarily with you?

I feel for you but I actually think your vet has read up on it and knows what they are doing; as hard as the bad news is for you (and for them as well, as no vet likes being helpless).
I truly wish I had better news as well. :(

You could try US-based Guinea Lynx Forum as a last resort, which specialises in medical cases, to see whether there is further information on bacillus cereus, as they are more likely to have had an enquiry for your rather unusual health issue from other people in your unfortunate situation.
However, it is not a friendly place and I strongly doubt that they know of a miracle cure, either.
Emergency & Medical --- login for full access - Guinea Lynx Forums

Our own UK-based forum specialises in general care, species understanding etc. and in home care and moral owner support during illness and loss, but due to the much stricter regulations in our country we cannot replace any veterinary care.

I am very sorry that I don't have better news and that you were not dealing with such a nasty bug in the first place.
 
Back
Top