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Emeprid For Bloat?

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CraigGlasgow said:
Awesomes, thanks Adelle. He's just had a wee run around and drank and eaten plenty so he's snoozing just now but I'll try and give him some once he's up. I always hate syringing liquids, feels very delicate! :S

He's peed another 3 times with no blood and is still pooping just less frequently so hopefully he'll be fine for tonight until I get him to the vet tomorrow :)
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Sounds like he'll be just fine :-) remember to sleep! I learned the hard way with fudge.. Don't stay up worrying when they are doing okay.. Take the opportunity to sleep as if anything changes, you won't get the chance and you'll be shattered!
 
Excellent advice, I likewise learned this from Potter after making myself very ill. I took a nap this morning and this afternoon for that exact reason so I've already had a good few hours :) I've got a sleeping bag, blanket and a beanbag set up next to the cage and an alarm set every 2 hours so that if I do doze off it shouldn't be a big deal and he'll still be getting checked regularly, and if he does start wheeking then he'll wake me up :)
 
Update: vet said the bloat feels much better, he now seems to be pooping regularly and there was no blood in the urine he passed in his carrier on the way there. They want me take in a urine sample to rule out stones but they're not very worried. He's to get a reduced dose of baytril as needed depending on bloating and just keep a close eye on him but they think he'll be fine if he stays as is :) they gave me this weird plastic litter stuff to get his urine sample in and first thing he did was try to eat it so I'm in the bad books and down a nice chunk of skin for having to pry 3 pieces out of his mouth and then putting him back in an empty carrier. Oh the looks I'm getting :P
 
CraigGlasgow said:
Update: vet said the bloat feels much better, he now seems to be pooping regularly and there was no blood in the urine he passed in his carrier on the way there. They want me take in a urine sample to rule out stones but they're not very worried. He's to get a reduced dose of baytril as needed depending on bloating and just keep a close eye on him but they think he'll be fine if he stays as is :) they gave me this weird plastic litter stuff to get his urine sample in and first thing he did was try to eat it so I'm in the bad books and down a nice chunk of skin for having to pry 3 pieces out of his mouth and then putting him back in an empty carrier. Oh the looks I'm getting :P
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Urine samples are best taken fresh then straight to the vet if they wouldn't express his bladder at the appointment so u are better doing it at a time where u can drop it off there and then.

If he's a clean piggy an won't wee on u or the floor, give him a long cuddle or floor time and when he looks like he needs, put him into his cage and quickly stick a very flat lid or tray under him to catch the wee. Sook up what u get with a clean syringe (new if poss) then just take the syringe to the vet :-)
 
Adelle said:
Urine samples are best taken fresh then straight to the vet if they wouldn't express his bladder at the appointment so you are better doing it at a time where you can drop it off there and then.

If he's a clean piggy an won't wee on you or the floor, give him a long cuddle or floor time and when he looks like he needs, put him into his cage and quickly stick a very flat lid or tray under him to catch the wee. Sook up what you get with a clean syringe (new if poss) then just take the syringe to the vet :-)
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Theyre open till 6 and just round the corner so I'm hoping to be able to drop one off tonight depending how his bladder feels haha. He's been out for half an hour and had a good guzzle of water so hopefully it's on the way :P

His cage is massive and he normally won't pee unless he's on straw which they said he can't do, so i've just cleaned and emptied his carrier and put him in there for a bit to see if he'll pee in that since I have no tray :) They gave me a syringe and a test tube at the vets so I'm just sitting waiting now.
 
Finally got a sample, walked round and they've closed early, argh! >.<
 
Lot of teeth chattering before and then a wee jump and squeaking after peeing. It's quite white and looks a bit thicker than usual. I take it this is not a good sign?
 
CraigGlasgow said:
Lot of teeth chattering before and then a wee jump and squeaking after peeing. It's quite white and looks a bit thicker than usual. I take it this is not a good sign?
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The squeaking when peeing will just be the UTI. The white stuff is likely excess calcium. Has been getting any higher calcium veg or pellets recently?
 
Ah okay, I was worried he might be blocked up but he's been passing again without squeaking throughout the night. He's not had any veg since last Wednesday because of the bloat, vet said leave him off it until it's definitely clear, I was going to give him a wee bit corriander tonight if he's still looking positive, I've just dropped off a sample at the vets that they're going to analyse for crystals but the most recent passings haven't been grainy just dried slightly chalky.

All he's been eating is plenty of the Excel Timothy woth marigold and dandelion hay, plenty of the bog standard pets at home hay and the Excel with mint nuggets. He's been drinking plenty of water too, usually more so whilst eatig the nuggets.
 
Vets have just called back, some extra calcium in there but only a few very small crystals so painful to pass but not concerning, everything else in line with the back end of a uti, they'll do another check to confirm in a few days but just carry on with treatment as is :)
 
Burgess pellets are alfalfa based so are quite high in calcium. If excess calcium is a problem it may be worth switching his pellets to a Timothy based pellet but I would wait until all this blows over and would do it very gradually because of his bloating issues.
 
Went in and got a full update from the person who did the analysis in person on my way home from work. His urine is highly acidic (over an 8 whatever that means) they think due to the stress of losing Potter and they think this has caused the infection and the formation of some kind of crystal things beginning with an s? Whatever they are there are very few and they're quite small so they don't think any stones have formed as yet.

They said to slightly increase the Baytril again and see how he manages and take another sample in in a few days so they can monitor. They also said to start him back on a small amount of wet veg if the bloat is going down (they suggested cucumber and melon) but they couldn't reccomend a diet on the spot as he wasn't there so they couldn't see the stage of his bloat so they're going to enquire with the more cavy savy vet and phone back with a diet plan based on when she last saw him since his bloat has decreased even further since then and (I think) is pretty much over for now as he's passing plenty of solid poops with minimal effort and there's been far less flatulence. If anyone has any suggestions for wet, bloat friendly veg then do let me know :)

Overall they say it looks very positive and they reckon he'll be back to good health by the end of the month or so! :D Just wanted to thank you all again for all of your help and support in a stressful time and will keep you posted of any updates :) also, if someone can tell me how to donate to the cause since I'm being daft and can't seem to find that page on here, I will gladly do so after payday takes care of my now thoroughly depleated savings :,( :P

Adelle seeing as you're local what pellets would you reccomend switching to? He had museli when he was very young (~6months) but after finding out the poor nutrition it has I switched him to the excel mint stuff and he's been on them ever since (3+ years). I tried him with the blackcurrant ones once when they were out of mint and he wouldn't even touch them :P
 
All sounds like things are moving in the right direction. So glad he is doing well.
One of our members has done a pellet comparison table - here is the thread. Nugget Comparison Chart
A little bit of raw beetroot (uncooked) can help with acidity in the urine and prevent stone formation. Piggies tend to enjoy it, too. But it does stain their wee and that can cause additional alarm so I wouldn't give him any at the moment!
We are always happy to offer help and support. The forum runs off donations - we are all volunteers but we do have to cover hosting etc. We are always happy to accept a small donation towards running costs. I will tag @sport_billy (Lee) who deals with donations and I'm sure he will be along to tell you how to donate when you've been paid. December and January have hit my wallet hard, too. I'm thinking about setting up a standing order to the vets to help me budget better for vet costs through the year.
 
Will drop you a pm tomorrow. I am just so pleased that the forum has been able to help out with support and advise. Continued healing vibes to your piggy.
 
I hope so Vicki, thank you :) also thanks for the link, I will check it out and see if I can find anything in the local shops that will work :)

Thanks Billy :) you guys are doing an amazing job, I don't know any other piggy owners personally so this is all amazingly helpful!

He's never had beetroot for that exact reason so you're probably right about holding off on that until the all clear, but I'll give him a wee bit once he's properly on the mend :) I went and got cucumber, melon, round lettuce and carrots (there were no fresh herbs left sadly) but the vet never phoned back so I'm seesawing about the pros and cons of giving him anything and risking him bloating up again. Do we think it's worth a wee slice of cucumber to test the water?

Also, he does have quite a large cage now he's on his own (5x5 c&c grids which I think is just over 3m^2, whatever it is takes up an entire room in my flat with space for me to just squish in beside with a sleeping bag when required!) so would it be worth reducing this down a little bit? He's not really using the space much at the moment and is tending to stick to his houses. I'm worried this is because a) this is now a lot of open space without his trusty companion to travel with and b) he's not going to make regular enough trips to get water/food/hay if he's a bit tuckered out from all the meds and poking and prodding. Is it worth reducing the cage down a bit for now or would that just be additional stress for him? It splits in half in case I ever needed to separate the two of them (thankfully never did have to) so can be reduced to a 2x5 or a 3x5 area. I've added a photo just for reference, it's about to get cleaned out don't worry :P

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If mine are ill I usually move them to a "hospital"cage which is smaller than their c and c. It's easier to catch them keep them warm, etc. That is an utterly amazing space he has there, but tbh you could easily reduce it to 4 x 2 or 5 x 2 and he would still be an amazingly lucky chap. As he's on his own he'll be feeling vulnerable so a smaller space with tubes etc would probably make him feel more secure. Once he's recovered if you decide to get him a companion then you've plenty of grids etc to build a bigger pen again or divide it. At least you will reclaim a bit of your own home for yourself!
As for veggies, just go easy. Try just a little of one veg at a time and leave time for any adverse reaction before offering anything else.
 
I like that hospital cage idea, I might use the leftover correx to build a wee cage to fit in my bedroom, would be nice to stop sleeping on the floor :P Or I suppose if I reduce it down to a 5x2 that would give me space for an inflatable mattress, and give him plenty extra space for floor time :) It's good to know I wasn't being paranoid about the space being intimidating. Indeed, I'll wait and see how he recovers before looking in to potential companions, want to make sure he's 100% and I can find someone equally easy natured, he's very easily bullied :(

Cool, right I'll give him a small round of cucumber since that'll be nice and wet and we'll see how it goes from there I think :)
 
He found that cucumber very exciting, almost inhaled it and then got a few lengths of the cage :P
 
Seems to like the smaller cage much better, very active now, plenty wandering :) Did hear a small amount of gas but haven't felt any real bloating since the cucumber so hopefully that continues :)

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Great set up and good to hear he enjoyed his cucumber. That probably tasted like heaven to him after being deprived of his veg and given Baytril :lol!:
Sounds like he's on the mend. Just take it slowly with a small amount of veg and see how you go. My old lady pig Violet sonetimes sounds about gassy so I give her a bit of gripe water when needed to help disperse gas (just Woodwards gripe water from Tesco baby section or any chemists). It's safe to use in small amounts and they love the taste. It's cheap to keep in as a stand by!
If you could make a small hospital cage for next to your bed that would be an excellent idea. You need to get your own rest too.
You are doing an excellent job. Just look after yourself too
 
Just poped home on lunch break to check on him, only a dozen or so misshapen and dry looking poos :/ I did manage to massage out two more fairly discoloured and mushy ones and a bit of wind so he is still passing them thankfully, and only feels a little bloated so maybe just dehydrated? I filled his bottles this morning so he seems to be drinking fine so I've got an appointment to get him back in to the vet this afternoon. I've refilled the bottles again so I can check after work and given lots of fresh hay so hopefully it will pass by the time i get home :)
 
Vet update: When i got home he had still only passed one or two very small hard stools, however about half 3 he started dropping a large number of normal droppings and has been consistently dropping a half dozen or so of these every 15 minutes. Vet had a good feel of his tummy and said all felt normal so it was probably just the last of the backed up bloat working it's way out and that should hopefully be fine. I'll keep him off the veg overnight tonight again just to be safe though :)

He also suggested swapping him off Baytril to reduce the risk of future bloating and reduce the risk of immunity build up as he's been on it off and on for the past month almost. He's also taken the emeprid off as he feels there is now just too much passing through his system and it would be the least effect med at this stage.

He is now on:
Septrin - 0.6ml twice daily
Meloxaid - 0.3ml once daily
Zantac - 0.4ml twice daily

He also reccomended putting the probiotic back in to the water bottle rather than syringing to reuce any unnecessary stress or damage (he has a large but harmless growth on his right cheek just by his lip which he's worried might get irritated) he may be having with the excessive amount of oral treatment hes been getting.

However, they're very optimistic that as long as the UTI clears up he'll be fine, knock on wood :)
 
Just noticed his meloxaid has been upped from the cats dose (0.5mg/ml) to the dogs dose (1.5mg/ml). He's already had it so I phoned the emergency vet who said they weren't 100% why the switch but it ahould be safe. Any insights and should I be worried?
 
I'll tag @Wiebke and @Adelle who may know more about that than I do. I'm not sure about cat vs dog doses. But exotics vets do give bigger doses anyway.
All sounds like things are going in right direction. You can hopefully start to relax and catch up on some sleep again :nod:
 
CraigGlasgow said:
Just noticed his meloxaid has been upped from the cats dose (0.5mg/ml) to the dogs dose (1.5mg/ml). He's already had it so I phoned the emergency vet who said they weren't 100% why the switch but it ahould be safe. Any insights and should I be worried?
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What dose are they asking you to give at dogs meloxaid buddy?
 
Thanks Vicki :) He's a wee bit lethargic but still had a wander when I popped him on the floor so I'm not too worried. I had a look through Potter's leftover meds in the cupboard and he was on 0.25ml and weighed only 0.98kg at the time so hopefully that will be a safe dose and he managed to wiggle and get some down his chin so it wasn't the full 0.3 anyway :)

I did some maths and he was on 0.18mg/kg per 24 hours (0.5×0.5 = 0.25/1.35 = 0.18mg/kg) and is now on 0.33mg/kg per 24 hours (0.3×1.5 = 0.45/1.35 = 0.33mg/kg) and as far as I've read the max reccomended dosage they can have is 0.5mg/kg per 12 hours so he should be safe enough and it wears off quickly :)
 
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