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Lethargic, Tired And Loss Of Appetite And On Baytril - Advice Please!

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Adam27

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Hello there,

We got one our guinea pigs Bobby back from a boarding home on Wednesday morning after 6 days away, and when he got back was acting strangely, flopping down wherever he could and ignoring his food. The lady who runs the boarding place said he was absolutely fine in the morning and ate his veggies and was his usual boisterous self. We weighed him before and after the visit and he had lost 100g in weight.

We took him to the vets that afternoon and the vet couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, so wasn't sure whether it was an infection or perhaps the stress of the 20 min car trip back home that might have caused this. He prescribed us some Baytril (0.5ml twice daily) and Ranitidine (0.3ml twice daily).

Yesterday he was perking up a little, and ate some veggies, hay and dry food, though not his usual amount and put on 10g in weight. He became a little more active in the evening and strayed out to the hay rack himself for some food.

This morning though he is not eating at all and seems very tired and lethargic. We gave him his medicines (which he had enough energy to try and resist!) but isn't touching hay, dry food and veggies. We're really worried that perhaps the baytril has caused his loss of appetite especially since he might not even need the baytril at all! Just wanted some advice on whether it would be wise to stop the antibiotic or not - I am also going to try and hand feed him a little later and give him some probiotic in water to try and encourage him. Would just appreciate some words of advice as its really distressing to see him so sad and tired.
 
Hiya, a lot of people on the forums tend to advise that when you give antibiotics to give probiotics about 1 - 2 hours after they've been given the antibiotics as it can upset their stomachs plus from what I've read kill the good bacteria in their stomachs, some people also suggest "poop soup" which is poo taken from a well piggie and I think it's mixed with water?

Here's a link

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Others like @Wiebke and @helen105281 will probably be around in a bit to advise.
 
Hi! Getting him some probiotics would be wise.

I'd suggest taking him back to the vet, asking them to listen to his lungs and take his temp- if both are normal they may advise to stop the baytril and see if he perks up again. Being home could be enough to get him over the stress of his journey/stay. Please only take him off them if the vet says so, but i would definately reccomend havin him checked first.

In the meantime please step in with syringe feeding. Here is info on that:

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

All the best x
 
Hello there,

We got one our guinea pigs Bobby back from a boarding home on Wednesday morning after 6 days away, and when he got back was acting strangely, flopping down wherever he could and ignoring his food. The lady who runs the boarding place said he was absolutely fine in the morning and ate his veggies and was his usual boisterous self. We weighed him before and after the visit and he had lost 100g in weight.

We took him to the vets that afternoon and the vet couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, so wasn't sure whether it was an infection or perhaps the stress of the 20 min car trip back home that might have caused this. He prescribed us some Baytril (0.5ml twice daily) and Ranitidine (0.3ml twice daily).

Yesterday he was perking up a little, and ate some veggies, hay and dry food, though not his usual amount and put on 10g in weight. He became a little more active in the evening and strayed out to the hay rack himself for some food.

This morning though he is not eating at all and seems very tired and lethargic. We gave him his medicines (which he had enough energy to try and resist!) but isn't touching hay, dry food and veggies. We're really worried that perhaps the baytril has caused his loss of appetite especially since he might not even need the baytril at all! Just wanted some advice on whether it would be wise to stop the antibiotic or not - I am also going to try and hand feed him a little later and give him some probiotic in water to try and encourage him. Would just appreciate some words of advice as its really distressing to see him so sad and tired.

Hi!

A weight loss of 100g doesn't happen in just 20 minutes of driving home. If it happens in a day, it means that a guinea pig has not eaten or drunk anything at all in 24 hours. Otherwise, it must have happened gradually over the course of several days.

Baytril is an additional appetite killer, so please give a pinch of probiotic 1-2 hours after the antibiotic.

Please start syringe feeding and watering asap to prevent the guts from closing down, unless your boy is already too weak to swallow or is struggling disproportionally, in which case he is not able to process any food anymore and is dying. Give little, but often, around the clock - the more often, the less food he will accept. If you want to give him a chance at survival, it is vital that he eats or drinks. You can use mushed up pellets.
Here is our illustrated step-by-step guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

The stress of a move to a strange place can weaken the immune system and can sometimes bring up underlying problems.
The lethargy is very worrying indeed. Did your vet check his guts for GI stasis and his heart? Either can cause the symptoms.
 
Hi!

A weight loss of 100g doesn't happen in just 20 minutes of driving home. If it happens in a day, it means that a guinea pig has not eaten or drunk anything at all in 24 hours. Otherwise, it must have happened gradually over the course of several days.

Baytril is an additional appetite killer, so please give a pinch of probiotic 1-2 hours after the antibiotic.

Please start syringe feeding and watering asap to prevent the guts from closing down, unless your boy is already too weak to swallow or is struggling disproportionally, in which case he is not able to process any food anymore and is dying. Give little, but often, around the clock - the more often, the less food he will accept. If you want to give him a chance at survival, it is vital that he eats or drinks. You can use mushed up pellets.
Here is our illustrated step-by-step guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

The stress of a move to a strange place can weaken the immune system and can sometimes bring up underlying problems.
The lethargy is very worrying indeed. Did your vet check his guts for GI stasis and his heart? Either can cause the symptoms.


The vet checked both his guts and heart and said there was nothing unusual there.

He was eating yesterday, but this morning was different. He still moves around a little and seems to have energy to resist us getting him out of the cage, for example. I am going to syringe feed and give him some probiotic also - I hope he will revert to his condition yesterday and take food on.
 
Just wanted to say thank you for your advice everyone.

Bobby is doing much better now - lively, active and eating by himself again. I think the probiotic helped a lot. Still checking his weight and keeping a close eye on him, but think he is on the mend now.
 
Just wanted to say thank you for your advice everyone.

Bobby is doing much better now - lively, active and eating by himself again. I think the probiotic helped a lot. Still checking his weight and keeping a close eye on him, but think he is on the mend now.

Thanks for the update!
 
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