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Baytril

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CBGB

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Hi there. I'm new to this board.

I'd had my guinea pig (Captain) for just over two years, having 'inherited' him from some children who'd kept him for 2/3 years and then got bored of pets.

He'd always been very sprightly and ate lots. I've never needed to take him to the vets as he's always seemed full of life. Last night after coming home from work, I noticed that he wasn't moving much and seemed very lethargic. Upon examining, I felt that his belly was soaked in urine and he seemed very unwell. He had mucous caked around his nostrils too.

I immediately took him to the emergency vets who checked him over and didn't think there was anything too wrong with him, besides a respiratory problem but thought we'd brought him in at the right time. The vet gave Captain a couple of injections and gave us some 2.5% Baytril and said to put 0.2ml into his mouth twice a day, starting this morning.

When we went home, we noticed that he seemed to be moving more so hoped that he was on the mend. This morning we also seemed a bit better so I gave him the 0.2ml of Baytril as prescribed. As I was working from home today, I was checking on him every 30 minutes to see how he was doing.

Around 2 hours later, I noticed that his breathing was a lot more heavy and he seemed to have slight convulsions - almost like hiccups, but without the noise. I was worried but decided to leave him and check back again 30 minutes later.

When I checked back, he wasn't breathing and was completely limp. So dead. :0:0

I started to research Baytril online and came across this forum. I also noticed that some people were saying that Baytril could have an adverse reaction on some guinea pigs.

Do you think that it could've been the Baytril that killed him, or was he simply too far gone, especially at the age he was? I'm very sad anyway.

Thanks.
 
well from what you've said he was at least 5 years old depending on how old he was when the children got him so its hard to say whats happened. So sorry for your loss at least Captain got to spend several years of being loved and you were there to keep him company in his final hours. Rest easy little piggy
 
oh no so sorry about Captain, rip baby xxxxx

Baytril is harsh on their guts, people often advise using a probiotic at the same time as it, but I'm not sure if it would actually kill a piggy.

Maybe he was just too far gone? Did you regularly weigh your piggy, this is always a good thing as they can go downhill so fast and tend to hide illness very well. Usually if they are losing weight quickly you can bet their is some illness. If underweight at all and with age, maybe it was just too much? one of mine died last year, he was about 3 and half to 4, had uri that went on for a couple of weeks and progressed to pneumonia. Sadly the vets thought he had a hidden heart problem, and this was just masking it.

Is the vet a pig savvy vet? i wouldnt describe a URI as being not 'anything too wrong', just an idea.

Anyway, again, i am so sorry.
 
Thanks everyone for your kind words. It's just quite a shock as Captain seemed fine yesterday morning when I left for work and he was eating & acting as normal. He's always been a little bit on the heavy side (not dangerously so though) as he loves his food and showed no signs of having stopped eating prior to last night.

He had been living with a male rabbit (Bob) all his life and the two of them got on so well - Bob had been neutered so he was very calm.

I'm worried that Bob might become very lonely on his own but don't know if it's a good idea to introduce another guinea pig in case they don't get on so well together? I'd certainly wait a couple of weeks anyway.
 
maybe it was just his time then eh? And it is a good age really.

Personally i wouldnt have a bunny with a piggy, they dont go together, so i couldnt advise about that sorry. If you look around the forum, you will probably find a few things about this subject.

:)
 
I'm really sorry for your loss! Baytril can sometimes cause piggies to stop eating or can upset their stomachs. It wouldn't affect their breathing. Unfortunately it just sounds to me like he was an elderly pig who developed a respiratory infection that he couldn't kick. ((HUGS))- rest in peace, Captain!
 
CBGB said:
Thanks everyone for your kind words. It's just quite a shock as Captain seemed fine yesterday morning when I left for work and he was eating & acting as normal. He's always been a little bit on the heavy side (not dangerously so though) as he loves his food and showed no signs of having stopped eating prior to last night.

He had been living with a male rabbit (Bob) all his life and the two of them got on so well - Bob had been neutered so he was very calm.

I'm worried that Bob might become very lonely on his own but don't know if it's a good idea to introduce another guinea pig in case they don't get on so well together? I'd certainly wait a couple of weeks anyway.
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I'm really sorry for your loss. :(

Rabbits carry a bacteria called Bordetella in their upper respiratory tract, but are not affected by it and show no symptoms (unless they are immunocompromised). However guinea are very suseptible to Bordetella (picked up from contact/aerosol from thoes which carry the bacteria) which causes respiratory disease. It has a poor prognosis, usually fatal. Treatment is with Batril but its often unsuccessful :(
This is one of the main reasons guineas and rabbits dont live together, along with vit c requirements.

I only found this out a few weeks back, I thought the main reason for not housing rabbits and pigs was due to the dietary requirements, but it appears to due to this.

:(
 
so sorry for your loss. The baytril questions have been answered i think. I just wanted to post and say that you should definitely get a rabbit friend for your bunny. If the bunny is neutered you should get a neutered friend of the opposite sex from a rescue. Your rabbit Will love you forever! Just think he's had no communication with anyone of his own species for years. Make sure you have them paired up ay someone who knows what they're doing as not all rabbits get on automatically! X
 
Thanks again for all your kind words. :)

We've decided to get a spayed female for Bob and possibly look at getting a pair of baby guinea pigs further down the line, although would keep them separated.
 
good plan.

It can be transferred by people and objects too, so just remember to wash hands after handling rabbits, having seperate cleaning things for rabbits and pigs, and cleaning out the suceptible pigs first, then rabbits. should reduce the likelyhood of bordetella transfer.

best of luck for bob and his search for a girlfriend :)
 
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