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Piggie is under the weather

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thorpig

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Since Saturday one of my Piggies squeaked when he did a wee. He only did this twice the only night, he was still eating normally, however he was drinking a little more than usual. I decided to give him some diluted craberry juice as I suspected a UTI. There has been no blood at all in the wee or poops.

I planned to take him to the vets on Sunday, but he didnt any more noises and had stopped drinking so much. I still continuted to give him a little bit of dilted cranberry. Monday he didnt make any more noises either.

Tuesday he made some noises when he pooped and weed, but not all the time, so I decided to take him to the vet on Tuesday. Who gave him some Baytril (1ml) and Metacam (0.3ml) per day. I have also been giving him some home made pearl barely water which he really seemed to enjoy. The vet felt his bladder and said he was tender there.

Tonight (Thursday) he ate his tea as normal and he had his medication and was his normal self. As the night has progessed I took him out of a cuddle and noticed his belly was a little bit bloated. He also began to squeak and I noticed his poop was very soft.

Now I am wondering if it could be the Baytril affecting his gut flora? And is there anything I could give him to ease the bloat/soft poops?

Has anyone experienced this before?
 
Did the vet test his urine or discuss x-rays with you? Some probiotics would probably be helpful for your pig at the moment given he is on antibiotics. How long did the vet prescribe Baytril for and when is your follow up appointment? 1ml of Baytril seems like a high dose to me, but I'm not sure - my 1.1kg piggy is currently on 0.2ml twice a day.
 
I agree 1ml of baytril does seem a high dosage.

I much prefer Septrin for UTI, and a prebiotic to help with gut flora too.
 
I did think it seemed like rather a lot, my piggie is 1.3kg though. Do you think then that because it is such a high amount, that it is causing his soft poops, rather than a seperate illness/infection?

I wasnt overly keen on having Baytril anyway and I did express my concerns as when my other piggie was on it put him right off his food and made him very lethargic.

She did discuss the possibility of a stone however it seems unlikely as there no blood, no weight loss, he doesnt squeak every time he wees. He was generally well within himself, other than tongiht with the soft poos.

I think i will stop the baytril and speak to a different vet tomorrow. Hes on Metacam so hopefully he will not be in any pain.
 
It would definatly be a good idea to give a probiotic, no matter what the next vet advises as this will help with the soft poo and generally settle his guy. :)
 
Please don't stop the antibiotics until you have spoken to a vet. While the dose seems high to me, I'm not an expert and you should ask your vet about it as they may have a valid reason for prescribing this dose. Regardless, it is important to complete the full course of antibiotics as otherwise the infection (if there is one) will not clear up. Whenever my boys have been on antibiotics the course has usually been for 14 days, but 3 weeks is not unheard of.

I'm wary of saying that the antibiotics are causing his soft poos, but it does sound like it could be. Equally could be that you are feeding too many veg at the moment? Are you giving him probiotics already - I believe these can sometimes cause softer poos too?
 
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It depends upon the concentration of the baytril suspension being given.

Baytril is supplied in 3 oral suspensions of differing concentration:
0.5%;
2.5% (most common) and
10%.

The dose for piggies is 2.5-10mg/kg twice daily. Assuming we would be dosing at the upper limit of 10mg/kg, then this would represent

0.4ml/kg of the 2.5% solution which equals 0.52ml for a 1.3kg pig or
2.0ml/kg of the 0.5% solution which equals 2.6ml for a 1.3kg pig.

So check your bottle and see what it says. If it is the 0.5% solution you are well within limits. However, if it IS the 2.5% (which is what vets normally prescribe) then 1.0ml is 25mg and your piggie wieghing 1.3kg is therefore being dosed at 20mg/kg which is double the maximum dose.

Don;t stop the antibiotics - but I Suggest you ring your vets first thing tomorrow morning to discuss dosages - vets are only human and can make mistakes.....(I've picked up vets several times on their calculations)

HTH
x
 
Pebble the Baytril the vet gave us is 2.5%, so thanks for that information and ill bring it up with the vet tomorrow.

Last night I called the emergency vets as his poos went from soft to watery, and he was sulking in the corner. He advised I give him some zantac which we had and to stop giving him the baytril and see how he is in the morning. As well as syringe feed if needed.

As soon as i got off the phone he was popcorning around his cage as if nothing had ever bothered him rolleyes . Anyway i syringe fed him at about midnight and 5am. This morning he didnt eat his normal amount but he ate a lot. And his poos are back squidy.

Anyway I've made an appointment for tomrorow to see a different vet, but I've been advised to keep him off the baytil for now!

Thank you for all your help and advice! I was so worried last night. This morning he seems his bright normal self! :red
 
Went back to see my normal vet, who gave us some fibreplex, probiotic, and more critical care. He hasnt lost much weight which is good news. :))

The vet advised to stop the metacam and baytil and if his poops are firm by Monday to take him back! He seemed very positive that he should make a full recovery.
 
Whilst withdrawing the baytril may stop the soft poops...it doesn;t deal with the initial unrinary problem. THAT may still be present.

Has he had a PROPER diagnosis of infection (ie sterile urine culture)?

If not, then whilst the poops may go back to normal, you will still have the ongoing urinary sumptoms to deal with (plus the added bonus of now having drug-resistant bacteria developing from stopping the anitbiotic in such short time)

PM me for my phone number if you want a chat on where to go from here...

x
 
The vet said that once his poops are firm, to give him a split smaller dose twice a day, with the probiotic. His poops are aleady formed, which is great news and are nealry hard! So its just a waiting game.

Thank you so much for the kind offer of the call/PM! I am sure I will need to take it up one day :)

I dont think that the bacteria will get resistance that quickly, my OH and I both have Biology degrees!
 
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