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Diarrhea returns

Tani

Tani

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Evening all,

I’m feeling rather deflated because my 6+ year old piggy keeps getting Diarrhea and I’m not sure what to do.

Started a couple of week ago - took her to the vet and they just gave her Baytril and told me to feed her the critical care. She wasn’t poorly though and was moving around and eating normally but I gave her some anyway, alongside diarrolite(?) to rehydrate.

2 days and it started to clear up but she just got covered in it so was washing her constantly.

No new food or dodgy salad and it’s back again! This morning she had slept in a tube and was covered in it but I presumed it was just wee mixed in to make it sloshy as she was clean again until this evening. Mixed up the usually rehydration and critical care but I don’t know why she keeps getting it.

Had the poop tested and it came back clear at the time but would baytril even work if it’s a bacteria causing it?
 
I have read people give their piggies poop soup. I know metronidazole helped my cats when they have diarrhea. Not sure if you can give it to piggies though. Sorry your piggy is ill. Hoping you figure it out and she feels better soon!
 
When you say she was eating normally, does this include veggies? Its most often worth with holding those until at least 24 hours after poops have returned to normal although I usually give it 2-3 days for my one who has a dodgy stomach, it takes the gut bacteria a while to sort itself out after diarrhoea and veggies can upset them.
Probiotics would likely help too, I swear by fibreplex and bio lapis personally but theres others like pro C which are good :) antibiotics would only help if this was caused by a bacterial infection in the digestive system which I would assume isnt the case if the poop sample came back clear, so I would be hesitant to use them at this point.
Are you weighing her? I'd do so daily because its difficult to keep track of how much hay they're eating while they're feeling unwell, tracking their weight is easier. If theres weight loss you can reasonably assume she needs some extra critical care feeds to top her up a bit, the fibre thats in the CC should help firm things up too. I have noticed with my sensitive girlie that even just a small loss of appetite thats barely if at all noticeable is enough to cause a stomach upset.
 
I had this, and am still having it on and off with my girl Lottie. She was diagnosed with roundworms, have you had her poop tested for parasites? Lottie has been through treatment and now has no parasites but the roundworms have sent her GI tract out of whack so she's on long term probiotics (fibreplex) now, it comes and goes which is frustrating but she's gaining her weight back which is a good sign. I've also found feeding 1st cut timothy hay helps a bunch as it's course and has higher fibre. Another thing that was helpful is I stopped giving her veggies for a day or two, now she only gets a large bell pepper strip until she's 100% recovered. :)
 
Baytril would work IF it is an infection that is causing the diarrhoea and IF that infection reacts to baytril. Baytril can be harsh on the guts though so we would always recommend a probiotic half an hour before or after meds. Please take your piggy of fresh veggies until at least 24 hours after the poops have returned to normal, when reintroducing veggies please do this slowly and do not overfeed veggies as this could cause issues.

Tagging @Jaycey as I know she sent a poop sample to a specialist for full investigation
 
Metronidazole (flagyl) is the best antibiotic if you are dealing with a bowel infection. I have used it for a piggy of mine and have also recommended it to a number of people and they have all had amazing results with their guinea pigs.
 
Morning and thank you all for your comments.

Yes I have her on the Pro C as the vet said that was fine (I did ask for the lapis one but she said it’s the same)
When I say she is eating normally - I meant she isn’t ill and hasn’t gone off her food. She lives for her veg so it will be hard taking her away from the bowl this morning :soz:

They put on her on antibiotics in case it was an infection or parasite but to be fair, she had had two lots of antibiotics before the poo was tested and then it was only with one sample and I should have sent three poops in as it doesn’t always show in one.
My sister works down the road at a vet lab testing so she checked it all for me and didn’t find anything. (The vets never even offered or suggested it btw!)
However, she has blood in her poops (little bit firmer from what I gave her last night) so I’m saving a few of them to drop off later in the hope it brings something up this time because she doesn’t just get diarrhoea for no reason!

The antibiotic that worked for you - did the vet specifically prescribe it after testing or did you ask for it? Ours are useless and only give out baytrill for anything so I need to make she has the right thing. It’s definately something more sinister and not just a random bout from food.

I will try the poo soup - have heard of it before :vom:
 
Ps weighed her yesterday and although she seems a bit skinny, she is well over 1kg so I will keep checking it.

Will ready grass help or cause more issues?
The Timothy hay I bought last time they barely touched as it was mostl brown. Not impressed
 
Tani said:
Morning and thank you all for your comments.

Yes I have her on the Pro C as the vet said that was fine (I did ask for the lapis one but she said it’s the same)
When I say she is eating normally - I meant she isn’t ill and hasn’t gone off her food. She lives for her veg so it will be hard taking her away from the bowl this morning :soz:

They put on her on antibiotics in case it was an infection or parasite but to be fair, she had had two lots of antibiotics before the poo was tested and then it was only with one sample and I should have sent three poops in as it doesn’t always show in one.
My sister works down the road at a vet lab testing so she checked it all for me and didn’t find anything. (The vets never even offered or suggested it btw!)
However, she has blood in her poops (little bit firmer from what I gave her last night) so I’m saving a few of them to drop off later in the hope it brings something up this time because she doesn’t just get diarrhoea for no reason!

The antibiotic that worked for you - did the vet specifically prescribe it after testing or did you ask for it? Ours are useless and only give out baytrill for anything so I need to make she has the right thing. It’s definately something more sinister and not just a random bout from food.

I will try the poo soup - have heard of it before :vom:
Click to expand...
Our vet sees so many guinea pigs and has such extensive knowledge, that he pretty much knows what’s the best antibiotic for job. Another good thing to try, is Questran, but again your vet is unlikely to prescribe it.

Questran (Cholestyramine): Side Effects, Interactions, Warning, Dosage & Uses
 
furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Our vet sees so many guinea pigs and has such extensive knowledge, that he pretty much knows what’s the best antibiotic for job. Another good thing to try, is Questran, but again your vet is unlikely to prescribe it.

Questran (Cholestyramine): Side Effects, Interactions, Warning, Dosage & Uses
Click to expand...
Oh you are so lucky.

We don't have any piggy specialists near us at all. One my sister goes to in a town about 30-40 mins away (she takes the tortoise there) says they aren't that good with pigs and they are an exotic vet as well!
It's really depressing when you take them and pay them and they know less than me
 
Tani said:
Evening all,

I’m feeling rather deflated because my 6+ year old piggy keeps getting Diarrhea and I’m not sure what to do.

Started a couple of week ago - took her to the vet and they just gave her Baytril and told me to feed her the critical care. She wasn’t poorly though and was moving around and eating normally but I gave her some anyway, alongside diarrolite(?) to rehydrate.

2 days and it started to clear up but she just got covered in it so was washing her constantly.

No new food or dodgy salad and it’s back again! This morning she had slept in a tube and was covered in it but I presumed it was just wee mixed in to make it sloshy as she was clean again until this evening. Mixed up the usually rehydration and critical care but I don’t know why she keeps getting it.

Had the poop tested and it came back clear at the time but would baytril even work if it’s a bacteria causing it?
Click to expand...

Hi! Older guinea pigs can develop a tender digestion.

Please stay off all fresh veg and - once the digestion has stabilised again - work out which foods cause a tummy upset by feeding any veg one by one. Stick to dry food and hay until things have settled. If it keeps recurring, speak to your vet about it and about testing the poo if necessary.
Guinea Lynx :: Diarrhea

You can support your piggy's digestion with either a course of fibreplex (which you can mix into a little recovery mush if they do not like the taste) and/or give poo soup. This you make by soaking absolutely freshly laid poos from a healthy piggy in a little water. Then syringe the water to the ill piggy to help restock the guts with the right bacteria. if made very freshly, poo soup can be effective, as can a course fibreplex, which is a bit more than just a probiotic.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
 
Tani said:
Oh you are so lucky.

We don't have any piggy specialists near us at all. One my sister goes to in a town about 30-40 mins away (she takes the tortoise there) says they aren't that good with pigs and they are an exotic vet as well!
It's really depressing when you take them and pay them and they know less than me
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not all exotic vets are knowledgeable about piggies. I think piggies are not exotic enough for some of them, but too exotic for a lot of general vets. It really is such a bad situation for guinea pigs.

Our vet is a general vet, but must see more guinea pigs than any other vet. People travel from all over the UK to see him. It's a cat and rabbit clinic, but Simon has said he sees pretty much an equal number of cats, rabbits and guinea pigs.
 
Fibreplex is a must have for me, I always keep a syringe in, it has helped many of my piggies on antibiotics or with digestive upsets, highly recommend. :)
 
Hi all,

My sister has checked everything on the Guinea Lynx site re diarrhoea

Ie
“No giardia, coccidia or worm eggs although was only 1.5g of poo. Saw some budding yeast in poo smear but will have a look properly on a gram stain.”

She also said

“It will take at least 48 hours to get bacterial results for clostridia, didn't see lots of blood cells particularly though, will also stain and check for cryptosporidia

- so I will have to wait until Thursday when she is back in work to find out more.

If it’s not the obvious bacteria and she finds nothing else wrong in terms of an infection, what else could cause it with blood in her stools?

I think my other one might have a touch of it now so keeping my eye on her as well.

Randomly - a local friend’s piggy just had it and I wonder if it can be something in the hay as she uses the same PAH Timothy hay as me? Is that possible?
 
Update -
Sister has checked for everything above and tests have shown up nothing. Really deflated as no idea what could be causing it now :soz:

What would be the next step? Ie blood tests? Could it be something more serious like cancer causing it? She does have some sort of cyst/bump under one of her nipples (?!? Teats? Lol)
 
Sad to report that I had to let my beautiful Minnie go on Friday :(

She recovered from the diarrhoea I posted about after a couple of days and was doing well. The week after, she got it again - and then recovered from that.

A week later, she started to not eat and I took her to the vets again who checked everything and said they couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with her ie breathing was fine, chest was fine, stomach not bloated and no visible growths.
She gave me a load of medicine to try her on and we honestly didn’t expect her to make it through the night. Miraculously, she did - and after a week of full on care (thank god I work from home!) she was back to normal and running around (well waddling around)

Within a few days, she got severe diarrhoea again so I was feeding her as before and cut out the veg etc. She was still eating and happy and purring but thursday night she went downhill again.
Friday morning she refused to eat/drink and just kept standing around on all fours not moving and kept going off to be on her own. Previously she had always crashed out in the hay box so I knew she was going to pass. It was torture. Vets said she was just old and that her body was trying to shut down but I was just keeping it going.
Unfortunately she wasn’t passing any food/water that I was giving her and she started bloating up.

I’m feeling just so gutted as I really hoped she would pull through it and spend more time with us. At the end, I asked the vet if he would put her to sleep in my arms (he gave her an injection to make her sleep) She wasn’t in much pain at the end but I didn’t want to risk keeping her at home in case she got worse and died in pain. I’m so sad. She was like a little cow - always chilled out lying in the hay without a care in the world
 
Tani said:
Sad to report that I had to let my beautiful Minnie go on Friday :(

She recovered from the diarrhoea I posted about after a couple of days and was doing well. The week after, she got it again - and then recovered from that.

A week later, she started to not eat and I took her to the vets again who checked everything and said they couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with her ie breathing was fine, chest was fine, stomach not bloated and no visible growths.
She gave me a load of medicine to try her on and we honestly didn’t expect her to make it through the night. Miraculously, she did - and after a week of full on care (thank god I work from home!) she was back to normal and running around (well waddling around)

Within a few days, she got severe diarrhoea again so I was feeding her as before and cut out the veg etc. She was still eating and happy and purring but thursday night she went downhill again.
Friday morning she refused to eat/drink and just kept standing around on all fours not moving and kept going off to be on her own. Previously she had always crashed out in the hay box so I knew she was going to pass. It was torture. Vets said she was just old and that her body was trying to shut down but I was just keeping it going.
Unfortunately she wasn’t passing any food/water that I was giving her and she started bloating up.

I’m feeling just so gutted as I really hoped she would pull through it and spend more time with us. At the end, I asked the vet if he would put her to sleep in my arms (he gave her an injection to make her sleep) She wasn’t in much pain at the end but I didn’t want to risk keeping her at home in case she got worse and died in pain. I’m so sad. She was like a little cow - always chilled out lying in the hay without a care in the world
Click to expand...

I am so very sorry. You have made the right decision. It is the last, most precious and loving but also most heart-breaking gift we can give our beloved ones to spare them any unnecessary suffering.

RIP Minnie
 
Oh I'm so sorry for your loss. Minnie is out of pain now and making new friends at the Rainbow Bridge. Sleep tight little piggy.
 
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