Hi All. One of my friends is looking after her grandchildren's guinea pigs whilst the family are on holiday. One of the the little guys took poorly last week so they took him to see a vet who prescribed Baytril for an ear infection. Normally my friend's son helps her giving the meds as she isn't very confident, but he was unable to do this due to work commitments this morning so they asked me if I could go down and help out, which is what I did this morning and is why I'm asking for advice!
The guinea pig started on Baytril on Sunday (0.15 ml twice daily) and the vet said to give for five days, so this should be the last day, even though there is enough left for another day (maybe two). First question is would it be ok to carry on giving the Baytril until it is used up as the little fella is still poorly? Apparently there is an improvement to how he was (the vet had said it was touch and go whether he survived that first night), but to me he still seems quite ill. I don't know anything about guinea pigs but have kept rats for quite a few years in the past so know some signs to look for which I would imagine apply to gps too eg hunched position, raised fur, eye discharge, and the obvious - lack of appetite and lethargy. My friend said she'd pop in the vets again this afternoon to ask more advice but I thought it wouldn't hurt to get extra advice from a forum like this (and if my personal experience of keeping rats is anything to go by often members on such forums as this often have a more thorough knowledge anyway after years of keeping the animals and in depth research that the vet may lack).
The little guy seems to have lost his appetite, apparently won't even eat dandelion leaves which he usually loves. We tried him on some apple this morning, which he wasn't interested in, and grass which he had a little nibble on but didn't eat. I've been reading up on what sort of things gps like and thought about doing up a little dish full of different things like a bit of strawberry (I read these have to be fed in moderation so it would only be a bit), sweetcorn, pepper, carrot, cucumber. Or should I cook up some veggies and puree them? After he's been given the antibiotics, my friend has been giving him some water in the syringe as they are worried about him dehydrating.
The family don't get back from holiday until late Saturday night, so there's still a couple of days yet with novices trying to take care of him, and I'd like to think we are doing the best we can for him, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Tracey
The guinea pig started on Baytril on Sunday (0.15 ml twice daily) and the vet said to give for five days, so this should be the last day, even though there is enough left for another day (maybe two). First question is would it be ok to carry on giving the Baytril until it is used up as the little fella is still poorly? Apparently there is an improvement to how he was (the vet had said it was touch and go whether he survived that first night), but to me he still seems quite ill. I don't know anything about guinea pigs but have kept rats for quite a few years in the past so know some signs to look for which I would imagine apply to gps too eg hunched position, raised fur, eye discharge, and the obvious - lack of appetite and lethargy. My friend said she'd pop in the vets again this afternoon to ask more advice but I thought it wouldn't hurt to get extra advice from a forum like this (and if my personal experience of keeping rats is anything to go by often members on such forums as this often have a more thorough knowledge anyway after years of keeping the animals and in depth research that the vet may lack).
The little guy seems to have lost his appetite, apparently won't even eat dandelion leaves which he usually loves. We tried him on some apple this morning, which he wasn't interested in, and grass which he had a little nibble on but didn't eat. I've been reading up on what sort of things gps like and thought about doing up a little dish full of different things like a bit of strawberry (I read these have to be fed in moderation so it would only be a bit), sweetcorn, pepper, carrot, cucumber. Or should I cook up some veggies and puree them? After he's been given the antibiotics, my friend has been giving him some water in the syringe as they are worried about him dehydrating.
The family don't get back from holiday until late Saturday night, so there's still a couple of days yet with novices trying to take care of him, and I'd like to think we are doing the best we can for him, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Tracey
