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Baytril- please could there be a sticky on this

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Becky92

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After losing my beautiful miley i strongly believe there should be a warning.

The vet prescribed her a 5 day course of 0.6ml daily on Baytril after a tooth breaking, he need clipped it & exposed the pulp. Everything was going well, she was eating small amounts on her own , obviously assisted by syringe feeding. The tooth was growing back no problems but all of a sudden 'gave up' & overnight she went to sleep and never woke up. I cant guarantee her death was caused by baytril but after hearing other peoples stories it seems likely.

From this forum & alot of others, i have learnt that baytril is very harsh on guinea pigs guts & a probiotic needs to be given at the same time.

I cant bring my miley back, oh i wish i could :( but please can people be made aware that just because the vet prescribes it , it doesnt mean its ok for your guinea pig.

Please if other people could either correct me or add their stories.
 
Thanks for posting this. So sorry about Miley :(

Its got me worried now too though as my Ebony has been on Baytril for a week and has had no probiotic..... any idea what one I shouldve been giving her and where I can get it ?

Thanks
 
My fennel pig who died last tuesday was given both baytril and a probotic called Fibreplex, but he only had one dose as he died the next day
 
CandyFloss said:
Thanks for posting this. So sorry about Miley :(

Its got me worried now too though as my Ebony has been on Baytril for a week and has had no probiotic..... any idea what one I shouldve been giving her and where I can get it ?

Thanks
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I really cannot comment on whether baytril WAS the cause of your piggy's death; adverse effects usually show within a day or two of taking it. It is not a wonder drug, so if your piggy is already too far gone for an antibiotic to build up to tis full effect, then it can't help whatever you give. Guinea pigs can sadly go downhill very quickly and die suddenly when seemingly recovering from an illness.

Probiotics usually come in powder form and can either be given on/in a peice of veg or mixed in with recovery food if you are handfeeding. Antibitoics will also affect the "good" bacteria in the gut. The probiotic will help to counter this problem and keep the appetite up.

You can get probiotics from your vet - always insist on being given one when you are prescribed an antibiotic. Some p@h stores carry a probiotic or you could order it over the internet.

Unfortunately, baytril is still the only officially licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs and still the best AB for certain conditions. It can cause loss of appetite and diarrhea in some piggies; quite severely in rare cases.

Here is a thread about what probiotics are available (I found it using the search option on the top bar): http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=46964

Here is more info on baytril:
http://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html#baytril
 
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I am sorry you lost your pig and feel Baytril may have had something to do with it.

I intend to work on some medical stickies at some point (very carefully written, as always), and I do agree that a point must be made on the effects antibiotics can have on piggies.

Baytril in particular is believed to affect the gut flora, but it should actually be said that for any drug, if any side effects like diarrhoea - or a lack of poops/very small and dry poops - are noted, an alternative drug should be sought ASAP.

If side effects are fairly severe, the vet may need to consider administering treatment to deal with these in their own right e.g. probiotics/SubQ fluids for diarrhoea, or a gut motility drug if there is GI (gastrointestinal) slowdown.
 
I am sorry to hear of your loss but I think as responsible piggie owners that we are vets are not miracle workers and we must take responsibility of the fact that any drug may or may not work on a piggie. Very similar to humans.

Taking any medication is a risk but when an animal is ill enough to need medicine that risk is worth taking. This is a general comment and not linked to any deaths in particular. I would imagine there will be many good stories of baytril but there will also be the sad stories. Armed with this knowledge we can then decide if our piggies should be on this medicine.

I hope this shows both sides of the Baytril debate.
 
Back in July both my boys were given baytril to treat conjunctivitis as 2 sets of eye drops had failed, they both suffered bad side effects.

Boy 1 approx 1 year old at the time and 1300g was given 0.9ml twice daily along with fibreplex probiotic 3 times daily within 2 days he stopped eating and pooping developed gut stasis which lead to bloat and we nearly lost him, he has still not regained all the weight he lost, he is now stable at 1060g.

Boy 2 8 weeks at the time was given 0.2ml twice daily and fibreplex 3 times daily he lasted about 4 days before he to developed gut stasis, luckily an injection of metaclopramide got his tummy working again. I have since read that baytril should not be given to young animals as it can interfere with development. To this day he has a sensitive tummy we have to be really careful what we feed him to prevent soft poops.

Conjunctivitis was not life threating but the baytril used to cure it could have killed both my boys.

Septrim is apparently much gentler on piggies tummies.

I personally would now avoid baytril, it may be that I am unlucky and both my boys are sensitive to it but it seems too much of a coincidence to me.

I have also since read on guinealynx and this forum of others experiencing similar problems, hopefully in the future a better alternative will be found.
 
0.9 ml twice daily sounds quite high? but I'm not an expert. I have a guinea pig on 0.6ml once daily, started today. In anticipation of her starting on the baytril today, I started her on probiotics yesterday, to hopefully help prepare her gut, but I really don't know if it can do this preparation work. Would be interested in comments. x
 
0.9 ml twice daily sounds quite high? but I'm not an expert. I have a guinea pig on 0.6ml once daily, started today. In anticipation of her starting on the baytril today, I started her on probiotics yesterday, to hopefully help prepare her gut, but I really don't know if it can do this preparation work. Would be interested in comments. x
 
0.9ml 2x daily is very high. I don't know if there is a lower concentration of Baytril to warrant that, most common concentration is 2.5%. Only if it was less than 2.5% could a dose above 0.4ml 2x daily be considered reasonable.

I am not surprised that your pig suffered so badly AgentF, if it was 0.9ml of the 2.5% concentration, he was getting more than double the accepted dose and the side effects would be understandably severe.

If an infection is stubborn against a high dose of Baytril then an alternative would be preferable. Even aside Septrin, there are two used in the US that can work well for deeper rooted infections (doxycycline and chloramphenicol), not to mention the Zithromax that is increasingly noted as helpful here in UK.
 
0.9ml 2x daily is very high. I don't know if there is a lower concentration of Baytril to warrant that, most common concentration is 2.5%. Only if it was less than 2.5% could a dose above 0.4ml 2x daily be considered reasonable.

I am not surprised that your pig suffered so badly AgentF, if it was 0.9ml of the 2.5% concentration, he was getting more than double the accepted dose and the side effects would be understandably severe.

If an infection is stubborn against a high dose of Baytril then an alternative would be preferable. Even aside Septrin, there are two used in the US that can work well for deeper rooted infections (doxycycline and chloramphenicol), not to mention the Zithromax that is increasingly noted as helpful here in UK.
 
That is very high,I used Baytril last week on Fennel and I was told just 0.08ml. He still died but I dont think it was the Baytril - he had already given up the day before :/
 
ive always said Baytril is a drug i use only as a last resort.

If they do have to go on it i dont like them been on it longer than 1 week and even that is long to me, there is many other less harse antibiotics that can be used in guinea pigs that are better on the gut, this is why finding a GOOD guinea vet is very important as most vets are un-willing to prescribe anything else. where good guinea vets are more willing.

not 1 vet ive been to as recommended probiotics while using antibiotics especially baytril.This is something which should always be advised...

it took my guinea pig 4mths to get his gut working well after been on baytril for 5 wks and cost me £400 to get him well, this was before i new more about guinea pigs, looking back now, he didnt even need baytril, he had x2 abscesses post neutering op..

what they should have done was lance it while he was a wake and me flush and clean it each day, he would have been fine in 2 wks and he wouldnt have needed baytril either, something i have learnt from now...

its also found in humans who are on antibiotics for long periods can have the same affect of the gut flora been removed, so its also important that probiotics are used in humans on long term antibiotics too x
 
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in guinea pigs with a server infection i have given a dose of 0.5ml 2 times a day for 2 days then reduce the rate to the ideal amount for the weight of the guinea pig...i found i worked fast at getting the infection but once it was starting to clear i then reduced it to the dose for the weight x
 
clairelove said:
what they should have done was lance it while he was a wake and me flush and clean it each day, he would have been fine in 2 wks and he wouldnt have needed baytril either, something i have learnt from now...
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Hi,
Could you advise how to flush the abscess please (sorry if this is dead obvious and I'm being thick) ? My Ebonys Baytril didnt do anything to help her - it was lanced (again) and flushed at the vets today and I've been told to keep it clean (as there's an open wound this time) with dilute savlon but think maybe if I could also flush it and keep it extra extra clean then that might help ?
Thanks
x
 
Thanks to advice from TGF members Zithromax saved the life of my piggie who had a very bad abcess which did not respond to Baytril. However my vet was very sceptical about using zithromax and warned me that he might not tolerate it,but because it was a last chance I tried it and he is now fit and well.
 
Thanks to advice from TGF members Zithromax saved the life of my piggie who had a very bad abcess which did not respond to Baytril. However my vet was very sceptical about using zithromax and warned me that he might not tolerate it,but because it was a last chance I tried it and he is now fit and well.
 
I've had Baytril work for some piggies, have no effect on others, and really upset George's tummy. I keep Fibreplex in stock all the time now just incase. I have never had a vet give it as a matter of course when on antibiotics, only when I've returned with George as it's upset him.
I think it depends very much on what condition it's being used to treat. Our vet has found it works better for some things and Septrin for others.
 
After everyone telling me my dose of baytril was very high I went back and checked my diary it was actually 0.9ml once a day for the older boy and 0.2ml once a day for the baby.

Sorry for the confusion.
 
Hi I must admit i had my Honey take it for her lump on the side of her face but unfortunately the growth is too large to be taken out and the risk for her to be under surgery was too much, she had Baytril to help get rid of the infection and worked for her, and still going strong! less to say it cost me £100 pounds later but my theory is try it it, and she is doing so well! :) maybe its the every day veg she's getting! :) or just a strong gunieapig! :) x
 
This thread was started a while ago....... There may be more recent information on this.

But with piggies like humans, only certain antibiotics work for certain infections but unfortuately Baytril is one of the few licnesed ones therefore most often prescribed.
 
That really worries me that vets could not know it was harmful but R.I.P MILEY :(
 
Piggie Life said:
That really worries me that vets could not know it was harmful but R.I.P MILEY :(
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All drugs have side effects but they are carefully balanced against the benefits. Doctors and vets have to do this on a day by day basis. Unfortunately some people/piggies cannot tolerate certain drugs but you never know this until you have tried.

Please don't read these threads and disregard vetrinary advice based on someone elses experience. Each case is different.
 
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