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Going to the vets soon...

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hrl20100

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As some of you may know, my guinea pig Patch has been having some breathing problems for about a week now. After much pursausion, I have finally managed to get the OK off of dad to book an appointment for her! My baby guineas also have an appointment at the same time because they are sneezing.

I have a strong feeling it is a URI and that the babies are catching it.

What will the vet do?
I am geussing:
Listen to heart and lungs with a stethescope.
Listen to breathing.
Weigh them.

Any idea what medication they could/should be on?
How long should they be on medication?
I have taken my rats to this vets before and had to come back 4 times because the treatment didnt work. This was also for a URI. So any advice on to which medication I should be expecting from them, would be great!
(I'm not big at guinea pig illness. Rat illnesses? Yes. Guinea pigs? No)

They are all going in at 12.35 to hopefully get this sorted!
 
They have all seen the vet (It was one of the nice vets. YAY)

The vet thinks that they all have something that rabbits carry in their bacteria. (Begins with a B or R? I can't remember what he called it)
Patch was housed with a rabbit previously and the babies were from PetsAtHome so he thinks they could have caught it from any one of them.

He listened to their lungs and heart with a stethescope.
He weighed Patch.
Took Patch's temperature.
Checked Patch's teeth, eyes and nose.
Felt all of their stomachs or in that general area.
Gave the babies a general check over.

They have been prescribed Baytril. 0.5ml in their water. (I filled it a quarter full, so I can be sure that they drink it all)
This is for a week.
Then I have to continue it on for another 2 weeks.
If they look ill or are showing any other signs or illness, I have to bring them in again ASAP.

Does that sound okay for them all?

With my rats, I have had medication in water before-not sucessful. It was Baytril as well! But then again, they only had .2ml in 100ml of water.
I resorted to buying medication online for them. Its worked.
 
Ah poor babies! Hope they get better soon!
I'm not so sure about the baytril in water because piggies hate the taste of baytril so it might put them off the water and you won't know how much baytril they are getting. Could you not ask your vet about given it them by syringe? :)
 
Bordetella bronchiseptica is the name of the bacteria cause by rabbits, i think cats and dogs can also carry it!

Giving the medication in water is usually a recommendation given just to supposedly make it easier to give the same as with dogs you can put it in some chicken etc. I would call your vet back about a dose to syringe feed as it will be much more accurate and as mentioned above will prevent your piggy from being put off the water.

I would always be careful with buying any medication online as there has been many cases of foul play with online pharmaceutical companies often causing more illness!

Good luck hope your piggies get well soon :)
 
Baytril shouldn't be put in the water as you will not have an accurate dose and it will also put them off from drinking the water as it tastes bad. Please re contact your vet regarding this. They can show you how to syringe meds.

Where do you live we may be able to suggest a vet nearby who is cavy savy if you are in the UK
 
bubble&squeak4ever said:
Ah poor babies! Hope they get better soon!
I'm not so sure about the baytril in water because piggies hate the taste of baytril so it might put them off the water and you won't know how much baytril they are getting. Could you not ask your vet about given it them by syringe? :)
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with bubble&squeak4ever, it would be much better to give the Baytril by syringe as it gives you some control over the exact amount.

It's quite easy, I've been giving Minky 0.5ml of Baytril twice a day for over two weeks now since she came down with a head tilt. She's quite used to it now & never knows what she's getting as I'm also giving her 0.1ml Loxicom daily & 1ml water 3 times a day by syringe as she can't manage her bottle. She's getting plenty more water intake via her veggies & fresh grass.
 
Bordetella is very serious and it is important that the guinea pig is getting all the antibiotic it needs so please do not add to the water. I have recently known of two guinea pigs with this and injectable Marbocyl was the antibiotic that made the biggest difference.
 
Okay, so the vet gave me 15mls of Baytril in a bottle.

Bordetella-thats what he called it (:

I was wondering that...
I called back and he said to keep it in their water as it would be easier for me because of the two babies (at the vets they were very lively and wriggly).
He also thinks that giving them it by hand, will stress them out too much (especially Patch), which could make her worse?
Opinions on this?!

Patch weighs 1.16KG
Not sure on the babies weights yet. I can easily weigh them though.
Anyone here good with Baytril dosages?

EDIT:
I know how to seringe feed. I have done it before (with 2 wriggly rats, patch when she was recovering from a dental and an old piggie).
 
With the babies if it's difficult to syringe feed why not try hand feeding some food that they like with the Baytril on it eg lettuce leaves or some parsley. If the vet is saying 0.5ml between the 3 of them I'd give Patch 0.3ml & the babies about half that. But do try syringe feeding first as it's the best way to get the doseage right.
 
hrl20100 said:
Okay, so the vet gave me 15mls of Baytril in a bottle.

Bordetella-thats what he called it (:

I was wondering that...
I called back and he said to keep it in their water as it would be easier for me because of the two babies (at the vets they were very lively and wriggly).
He also thinks that giving them it by hand, will stress them out too much (especially Patch), which could make her worse?
Opinions on this?!

Patch weighs 1.16KG
Not sure on the babies weights yet. I can easily weigh them though.
Anyone here good with Baytril dosages?

EDIT:
I know how to seringe feed. I have done it before (with 2 wriggly rats, patch when she was recovering from a dental and an old piggie).
Click to expand...
My opinion ... Antibiotics should always be given in accurate doses, adding it to drinking water is not accurate and will most likely result in them not getting enough, or none if they don't drink it. it needs to be given by syringe by mouth. i suggest you try to find a more cavy savvy vet.

Dosages vary, not just on the weight of the pig but on the type and severity of infection, please speak to a competent vet for accurate doses.

Hope this helps :)
 
Well, when he was figuring out the dosage, he said (and I quote)
'I'll do it by Patch's dose, so... 0.5ml in their water, but make sure they drink it all and don't leave any'

I think he put Patch on 0.5ml
95% sure. Unless he added a bit on for the babies, but he didn't say that.
 
Oh, and I add:
Patch hasn't actually drunk anything from the bottle yet.
The babies have and its nearly all gone.
 
It really doesn't sound like the vet knows what he is talking about. Each of your piggies should be getting a specific dose calculated by their weight. Anything else will be either an overdose or inadequate. There is no way they can be getting the right amount when sharing the same bottle and you cant force them drink it. Really should be syringe fed to be accurate.

Think you maybe need to find another vet.

Hope they are all feeling well soon

x
 
Oh I am so sorry, I dont know about the baytril dose etc but just wanted to send your guinea pigs "get well vibes" xx
 
I looked on the reccomended vets thingie.
The nearest one to me is like 30 miles away. My dad would not want to travel that far for my girls...
The one we go to now, is a 2 minute car journey.

Do you think I should stop putting it in their water and give it to them orally?
I can easily find out their weights.
Patch is drinking now (but not much) I think she knows its been medicated.
 
Hi, Yes, you should stop putting it in the water and give them accurate doses by syringe. Most piggies dislike the taste but it is the only way to correctly medicate them. if your parents can't take to an other vet ring the ones you have seen already and explain you want to give the pigs the baytril directly by syringe, tell them their weights and ask for the correct dose. it may not be possible to speak to a vet directly so I would ask to speak to the head nurse as they are usually very helpful and understanding.

Once you have the doses if you struggle to get the meds into the piggies there are plenty of people on the forum who will be able to give you tips.

Good luck, please let us know how you get on :)
 
Okay, I will phone them again tomorrow when I can (:

I told my dad and he isn't very happy about the situation... :/
 
So I took the medicated water away last night and put back in normal water.
The bottle is 150ml (there are normally two), but today it was one.

The babies have been drinking loads! Is that normal? I have noticed they have been drinking a lot ever since I got them, but it didn't occur to me, how much, until yesterday and today.
I changed the bottle over at about 11 last night. It was half full of a mix of meds and water. (So around 75ml) But when I changed it, it had all basically gone. (Maybe about 10ml left?)
Then I put the normal water in (full 150ml) and when I looked this morning, it's about a quarter full.

Watching them now and thinking about them yesterday, I am pretty sure its the babies. I know that guinea pigs can play with their waterbottle and I have looked for this, but I am certain that they are drinking it. (The bedding isn't wet under the bottle)
Is it normal for them to be drinking this much?

Just to clarify, Patch does drink, just no where near as much as the babies. (I've seen her drink twice over the period of yesterday and today, but the babies? Atleast 8 times. Each.)
 
Do you give them fresh veg every day? Guinea Pigs get a lot of hydrates from veggies, and its not unheard of for some Guinea Pigs to appear to drink very little but get enough water through their veggies, so if they don't get enough veggies they may take more from their bottles.

I have to agree with other posters that syringing the Baytril would be far better than in their water bottle. Yes, the piggies will be a bit stressed, but you know that they are receiving the correct dosage. We have found that the stress can largely be offset by offering their favourite veggies straight afterwards. If syringing is absolutely not an option, then try it on their veg. It's important that they receive the correct dosage for the Baytril to work - if they do not receive the full dosage for the full length of time, its possible that the disease may build a resistance to it and the Baytril will become completely ineffective.
 
They do get veg, yes.
They are all tucking into cucumber and carrot as I speak!

I am taking Patch back to the vets tomorrow-she has stopped eating her pellets (but is eating veg and some hay) and is loosing a lot of weight. She is very slim now and is decreasing in size.
Vet said to take them back in ASAP if they are showing more signs of illness. So yeah.

On a good note-
Patch's breathing is getting better!
 
I'm pleased to hear that Patch is breathing better, thats a good sign.

Is she drinking anything today?

It sounds like you're keeping a tally of her weight, how much has she lost

How are the babies doing?
 
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