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Do I give Baytril?

Teddy-Boys

Teddy-Boys

Junior Guinea Pig
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I posted the other day about my 2 Guinea pigs being a bit snuffley sometimes, particularly when I’ve just picked them up. Meatball is nearly 3 & has been like this for months, probably longer (a previous vet said it’s probably just the way he is) & Milkyway is 2 months & I think he only started about 5 days after me bring him home. My other guinea pig Spaghetti died following a retrobulbar abscess, which is worrying me that it’s all linked.

Anyway Meatball & Milkyway went to the vets on Monday, she listened to their chests & said they sounded ok. She said Meatball did sound a bit snuffley as he was desperately trying to escape her arms to get back in the carrier (he got in a right panic) so she said we could try Baytril to see if it improves. However I don’t know whether to give him the Baytril as he’s been like it for many months & seems totally fine in himself & I know it’s common for Baytril to cause loss of appetite. The vet said Milkyway can’t have Baytril unless he’s really ill as it’s bad for his bone growth being so young. So if all Meatball’s snuffling does go after taking Baytril, surely he’d just re-catch it from Milkyway anyway?

At the moment both are full of life with big appetites. Their symptoms are concerning me, but I’m also worried about using antibiotics on Meatball, almost an experiment to rule out a URI, could make him go downhill when he’s had this for months without it bothering him. So I don’t know if I should try the Baytril or not? If I try it & it does improve, are there any safe antibiotics Milkyway can have? The vet said the only licensed one for them was Baytril.
 
You should possibly try and see if it gets any worse or continues. If so , try giving small amounts of baytril to see iAd it helps
 
It is true I believe that the only licensed antibiotic for guine pigs in UK is baytril. Many vets will treat with off licence drugs if they are safe such as septrin if they feel it will get rid of an infection better than Baytril. Some vets however won't prescribe off licence. It often helps to have a vet with Guinea pig knowledge we have auk vet list here Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

Baytril is a good AB is works on certain types of bacteria it may not work on others, as all antibiotics do they work on different types. Vets will prescribe the antibiotic in most cases they feel will combat a stain type of bacteria. As to wether you use the baytril is a choice for you and your vet. It is true baytril can dampen appetite but not always the case, I have had piggies fine on it, I have had piggies go off food on it.
Some piggies are sniffly piggies and get dust off the hay etc... If he has been like this for 3 months I would personally doubt he has a uri. I have had piggies with URI in past and they sound awful and go off food etc...

What are they bedded on?
 
Do you know if there are any other common antibiotics used to treat URI in younger guinea pigs? As Milkyway is also a bit snuffley & he’s only 2 months so the vet didn’t want to give him baytril. My guinea pig who passed away completely went off food on baytril which led to other issues & his health deteriorating, which is why I’m so nervous about giving it to Meatball, particularly as there’s currently no treatment plan for Milkyway so if it was a URI wouldn’t Milkyway likely pass it straight back to Meatball?

They were on carefresh paper bedding until a week ago when I temporarily went back to wood shavings due to the cost. However the snuffling was there before they went back to wood shavings. I thought it was just the way Meatball was until Milkyway started 5 days after I got him, making me think it’s either something contagious or they’re allergic to something in my home.

Thanks, I’m in the West Midlands. I have traveled to the cat & rabbit clinic before but as I have to take half a day off work unfortunately I can only really do that in emergencies.
 
You'd need to talk to a vet. Where a outs in west mids are you?
 
I would maybe suggest fleece as a bedding. See if this helps. Also use this time to ring round all vets in your area see if any have experience with pigs this is how we found our vet.

Uri didn't always pass between Guinea pigs I have actually never had it happen when one of our girls had it, the other four never got ill.
 
I’m Dudley way, my vet said only to give Milkyway the Baytril if he became unwell because of the risk of bone deformation with him being so young. The vet recommended trying Meatball on the Baytril & stopping if he became unwell on it but I’m a bit scared to try it because I’d feel guilty if he stopped eating & got sick when the snuffling he’s had for months doesn’t seem to be bothering him.

Last time when Spaghetti was ill, I called around several vets & visited 2 different Vets in the area & whilst they tried to help as much as they can, they did say they weren’t specialists in guinea pig care, I think they’re mainly used to treating cats, dogs etc.

Unfortunately there’s no way my bf will let me put fleece in the washing machine, however Meatball was on carefresh for 2 months which is paper so no dust & it didn’t seem to make a difference with his breathing. I am going to be ordering some more disposable paper based bedding though, just trying to find one cheaper than carefresh as it works out around £8 per cage clean!
 
I use fitch paper bedding from amazon, it’s not dusty and it’s about 20 quid for a massive bale which is about the size of my under counter fridge. I used to use vetbed and washed in a pet ware wash bag but with work and everything else found it too much work
 
Thanks, that sounds good. I’d been looking at a few different option but was struggling to judge how big they were & which was most cost effective, as some were in kg, some in litres & others in bales so that’s useful to know! Wood shavings definitely are not Milkyway friendly with his long fur haha
 
Literally massive. Trying not to get in the photo myself after 2 bottles of prosecco 😂
 

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Haha sounds like a fun night 😂 got to make the most of this nice weather, I have Milkyway in one hand & a glass of wine in the other! Wow that does look big, I always worry they’ll turn up tiny! 60 litre of carefresh sounds a lot but it doesn’t even last me 4 cage changes!
 
If you want to carry on using fleece I’ll send you my pet wash bag as I don’t use it if you want to use fleece?
 
Aw thanks that’s really kind, unfortunately I can’t actually use fleece at the moment as my bf won’t allow it in the washing machine (!) but I do like the idea of it so something I might use in the future if I can get another washer dryer just for that
 
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