Hello is there anyone that can advise me please?. Dolly was taken to the vets Monday with a suspected stomach bug, she has been given 0.32ml of baytril. She hasn't picked up at all and stays away from my other piggies. She did manage a dandelion leaf yesterday and I'm giving her fluids but she is not herself, does anyone have any comments about this. Does she require another trip to the vets. Thank you.
Hi! Please start topping up any guinea pig that is not eating properly ASAP; the guts will otherwise slow down and stop working altogether rather quickly. Up to 80% of the daily food intake should be hay, which you cannot control anyway - but fibre is what a guinea pig lives on and what it absolutely needs to re-balance the guts again! If your girl has been experiencing diarrhea, please take her off any fresh food until the poos have firmed up again.
Switch to weighing any guinea pig that is not eating properly once daily at the same time instead of the usual weekly weigh-in in order to monitor the food intake.
Our step-by-step syringe feeding guide also has got tips on what you can do with what you have got at home or easily available in an emergency:
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
What were your girl's symptoms that let to a diagnosis of a stomach bug? How piggy savvy is your vet?
Please be aware that baytril is an additional appetite dampener/killer, as it works as much on the bacteria that are vital for the digestive process as on any "bad" bacteria. Please give a pinch of probiotic 1-2 hours after the antibiotic. You can also support the gut by syringing water in which you have soaked fresh poos from a healthy guinea pig to re-stock the guts with the "right" stuff. This mimics natural behaviour from recovering guinea pigs.
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