• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Mistletoe Has A Suspected Uri

Status
Not open for further replies.

flowerfairy

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Messages
5,766
Reaction score
7,091
Points
1,600
Location
Somerset
Poor Mistletoe was breathing with a bubbly sound this morning so I whisked her and Jingle off to the vet. He listened carefully to her lungs and to Jingle's lungs and said that he could hear a bit of a crackling sound on Mistletoe's lungs.

They are each to have baytril twice a day by syringe ... oh dear. Going to get some ribena tomorrow to help the medicine go down and will have treats at the ready.

They were delighted to get home and are both eating away even though they were given a bayril injection at the vets. I know it can suppress their appetites.

I hope that it clears up after the 10 day period.
 
Hi, sorry to hear this. My advice is don't bother with ribena it prolong s the amount you need to get in. Get someone else to hold piggy if possible and then syringe in. Sending lots of vibes x x

Will reply to your pm later on tonight when home x
 
Sorry to hear this.
I agree with Lee. Tough love and direct medicating is the easiest way to get the whole dose in. They hate it but it does them good.
Hope she soon picks up.
None of my piggies have ever stopped eating on Baytril. But then they never stop eating. Full stop.
 
Ok undiluted baytril it is. I asked the vet if it tasted horrible and he said no. I was not impressed as I have always read that it is awful.

They are back to making little noises and generally communicating again (big silence when they first got home).
 
OHHH! poor Mistletoe! anyway it was caught in time and the piggies are young and strong! I am SURE that everything will easily settled. Long ago my pig had Baytril but he did not lose appetite...
Do Mistletoe and Jingle like apple? because if you see that they do not like the syringe, try to get them used to it mixing some drops of water and apple juice (100%, no sugar). Then they will literally jump on you when they see the syringe. Calipso needed to have her head blocked only the first two times (I give my piggies Cabion vit C daily, you know).
Try to be very relaxed because they feel when we are nervous and insecure...
Here vets advice to double the amount of drops of Cebion when the piggie is living in some stressful conditions, is ill or in recovery, especially during/after an URI. You could have a talk with your vet about it.
I hug you!
 
Thank you so much everyone. I have just into their room and given them more grass. They are very happily eating. Will get some pure organic apple juice tomorrow.

Really hoping that yummy meds will make a lovely bond between us and i will have cuddley guinea pigs!
 
There is no way Baytril doesn't taste awful, I spent 2 full weeks trying to dose Comet with it and he found every way imaginable to avoid it. Ribena, using fruit and veg, and in the end an antibiotic injection sorted him out.

Good luck for Mistletoe...and for your sanity, I hope she behaves better than Comet did.
 
@flowerfairy It's worth getting in some probiotic, just in case the Baytril puts them off this food. You can give it as a precaution if you want , as it won't do any harm. Or you can keep it in your piggy supplies just in case.

I've managed to get most pigs med's in my mouth at some point, and I can safely say that Baytril tastes grim. I can see why pigs fight the syringe.

I tend to give it as is, and then give them a chaser of a coriander stalk, sweetcorn leaf or something they currently enjoy having.
 
Well ... Jingle was not too bad. Took the baytril didnt want the fruit juice and just sat frozen not eating til i put her back in the cage.

Mistletoe batted the syringe with her front paws and tried to bite it away and would not eat any of the tempting yummies that i gave her as a reward.

They hid for a bit but were soon merrily taking food from my hand once they had been back in the cage for a while.

It is going to be hard to catch them tomorrow. They aint daft. Think i will fence them in to a tiny bit of the cage and offer them their hidey houde ... It isnt fun when the wheek at the tops of their voices in protest and try to head but my hand away.

Perhaps i will do some non medicztion handling as well so its not all bad.

Will order some probiotics. Eta probiotics ordered. Now to make up a list of irresistable yummies any ideas welcome.
 
Last edited:
Definitely handle them a bit more, just so they don't associate lap time with med's time.

My current two are on medicine and I give them a bit of grass between doses. I also have some sweetcorn leaves that they get after they've had all of the meds.

Things that they don't have regularly is a good thing to give them, like herbs or a bit of fruit. Offer a bit of dill or coriander, or a few bites of an apple.

I find that they'll fight for a few days but eventually work out what's happening and will struggle a bit less. Jon has been on meds for 8 days now. He still tries to move his head away but he doesn't struggle half as much.
 
Thank you Jaycey that is really encouraging.

It was really easy to get the meds into them today! They didnt like being caught and picked up (used the hidey house but they still squeaked like crazy when I took them out of it).

I offered them yummies whilst still on my lap but neither of them took me up on the offer! I brushed Jingle's lovely long orange fur really gently with a soft brush. She was still and quiet. No tooth chattering. Awwww.

Mistletoe was less settled so just gave her a short brush.

Feeling a lot better about handling them. I love them.
 
Last edited:
Your doing amazing! Baytril is a nightmare to give normally.... It won't damage your bond, they'll soon forget about it after the course of AB's. Sending love x
 
Excellent! I sometimes find giving them meds and doing things that they don't like strengthens a bond.

Arnold was a pig who hated the sight of me, but in old age he started to suffer with sore back feet so I used to have the bathe them. He'd have to stand in a little tub of water and cleaning solution and I'd feed things to him to keep him entertained. After a while he was okay with me.

It sounds like your bond is starting and it definitely sounds like it will be a strong one.
 
Thank you sport billy and jacey. I only managed to give one dose today (extremely busy) but it went well. No problem with them taking it at all. Going to get some ribena tomoz to make it tastier. They will be pleasantly surprised!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top