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Ear Infection, Antibiotics Causing Him To Not Eat.

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SandraZ

SandraZ

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Hello,
My guinea pig ( Who is 1 year and 4 months old) wasn't looking well on Friday and i took him into the vet immediately. his head was tilted to the right and he was pretty weak. Turns out he's got an ear infection. The vet gave him antibiotics ( Trimethoprim Sulfa) and a probiotic as well. Friday he ate all his food as normal but after that he's barely touched anything. Today he ate one parsley leaf and nibbled on some carrot. As for hay and pellets it's mostly been untouched. His head seems to have straightened out, he's not tilting it anymore so i guess the antibiotics are working, however new issues have occurred. He needs to have some food in him. He's become pretty wobbly when he moves, which is rarely, and he's stumbled over a few times too.

Does anybody know how i can get some more food in him? Maybe trying critical care food packets? or should i call the vet and ask her to change something? Also does anyone know if it's best to give him his medicine after his food or before? I'm thinking it might be better after he eats so there's more chance of him eating before the antibiotics upset his tummy or something.

He's also drinking water pretty normally but his fur on his chin and throat are all wet. Is it OK to leave him like this or should i try drying him some way other than a paper towel?

Some other issues are a bit of eye crust. His nose seems fine and his breathing looks normal. his ears seem to be clean too, i haven't noticed any puss or anything strange so far.

Hopefully someone can give me some advice or some good suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to read :)
 
Has he been given any painkillers at all? Piggies can really go off their food if they are in pain. If he has an ear infection then he could be in a lot of pain. If I were you I'd take another trip to the vets to get some pain relief for him. Hope he perks up soon x
 
No painkillers. Just the antibiotics and probiotics. I'll have to call on Monday if anything. i've just been trying to keep very quiet around him to help with the pain, but painkillers might have to be requested.
 
That's definitely what I'd do. Someone more experience with someone like this will probably help when they see this too but to me it sounds like he could be off his food because of pain.
 
My vet told me the antibiotics would also off put him from his food but i was so scared that day i wasn't thinking to ask her what to do if that happens.
 
Please also ask your vet to check your guineas back teeth too, I say this because you mentioned a wet chin and a crusty eye, symptoms of tooth trouble.
I think your piggy is in some discomfort with all this going on, as soon as you can get him some pain relief, that will make things more bearable.
In the mean time syringe plenty of water and soak some of the food pellets until soft enough to syringe too.
 
The vet actually said he's got great teeth. Maybe it's because he's a bit wobbly the water dribbles everywhere?
I didn't think to soak food pellets in water. That's a great idea! I also have a packet of critical care. It's like a powdery food you mix with water and syringe feed.
I think i might have to start giving him this today.
 
This guide should help with getting food into him, but please take it slowly. Also the links are UK based so you may need to Google for the US equivalent.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

I agree with the pain relief recommendations. A pig in pain won't eat and if it is an ear infection it will be painful.

I think the antibiotic you have been given is Septrin in the UK and it does not affect the appetite as much as others. Can I just check that you are giving the probiotic at least an hour after the antibiotic?

Welcome to the forum by the way.
 
yes, i give the probiotic an hour after the antibiotic. Thanks for the link! it works here, too. Do you think it's ok to put my hand on his head like it showed in the picture if he's being fussy? i don't want to cause his more discomfort.
 
Sorry I meant the product links.

If you can get the syringe in ok without doing that then you don't need to.
 
Those links work too. I;ve got a pack of oxbow critical care on hand right now. I had a piggy neutered a while ago and they gave me a packet but i didn't need it then.Thank goodness, i'm grateful i have it right now. And i've also got a lot of spare oral syringes . thank you so much for the help

Do you have any idea what i should do about his wet chin and throat fur? i feel bad letting him hang around wet all day.
 
Happy to help.

You could clean it with a baby wipe, it would still be damp but not as messy?
 
When you go to the vets for pain relief please mention the drooling and get them to smell his breath. If it smells musty like a damp dishcloth he could have oral thrush which tends to appear when a pig is run down.
 
We would wipe down after syringe feeding with a wet wipe then kitchen roll. Lots of healing vibes to your piggy, please keep us updated
 
Thank you!
well i just tried syringe feeding him and he was not into it. He suddenly got enough strength to become the squirmiest piggy to ever be. I did give him some watermelon rind just now and he's munching away on it slowly but happily. At least he's getting some water from that. He also ate a bok choy leaf earlier so maybe he's getting some appetite back but still not much.
 
Good that he has eaten something, however he will need the syringe feed to keep his guts going.
 
ok i managed to get him to eat from .9ml to .2ml. Progress! and i got him to drink a tiny bit of water too. But he's not happy.

How long should i wait until trying again? it's 5:20 here now. He's going to get a plate of veg ( which he hopefully eats a bit of) at 7 and then medicine around 7:30.
 
I would try every couple of hours if you can and aim for at least 5ml per sitting. Can I just clarify how much he has had? Was it 0.9 of a 1ml syringe? And 0.2 of a 1ml syringe so just over 1ml in total?
 
he had .7 ml from a 1 ml syringe. Not that impressive. but more than he had this morning. But i will try to get him to eat more next time. i think i'm getting better at holding him and reading his bodily language. So hopefully i can get him to eat a bit more.
 
hey guys, so just as an update my little piggy is feeling so much better! he's 100% now, eat and drinking normally. i ended up taking him back to the vet one or two days after this post was made because he hadn't been eating or drinking anything. They gave him a 50ml shot of saline and he perked up that afternoon. i'm taking him again in a few days to check up on how his ear infection is clearing up. My vet told me he would be on antibiotics for wither a 4 week trial or 8 week depending on now it was. Doesn't that seem way too high to anyone? i though 2 weeks would be enough. I'm, going to ask her about it when i see her but did anyone ever have a dose of antibiotics for this long? is her information completely incorrect?

Also thank you so much for everyone who replied and tried to help me and wished my piggy a fast recovery. It really helped a lot!
 
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