Reassurance Needed! Poorly Piggies On Baytril

[Joeykins]

Ok, this afternoon I noticed Daisy was walking with her head tilted right over and didn't look very happy, she wouldn't eat and was very unhappy to be handled (I now have several battle scars to prove it!)

So I whisked her off to the vets, along with Buttercup, vet has a good look at Daisy (who promptly looks absolutely fine) and says her face is slightly swollen, she has a runny nose and rattle in her throat so she puts her and Buttercup (as a precaution) on Baytril. Daisy thanks her for this by nipping the vet........ This is not like Daisy!

Got them home and managed to get them both to take a dose (directly from syringe, mixed with a little apple juice to mask the taste) - I am now wearing a fair amount of Baytril.......

I just need some reassurance I've never looked after sick piggies before does anyone have any tips on getting Baytril into wriggly, uncooperative piggies?

X

 

[helen105281]

Have a look at the Hand feeding guide below as it shows how to get a syringe into a pig's mouth. I have also linked to another useful thread which shows the same technique.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/faq-administering-medications-and-wrapping-piggies.36533/

My Phoebe had a head tilt the other week and the vet suggested that it was an ear infection and gave her Baytril which despite my protests did work.

With Baytril you will need to give probiotics at least an hour after each dose as Baytril is notorious for affecting the gut. These are also covered in the hand feeding thread.

Is she eating ok?

It sounds to me like you may be dealing with more of an upper respiratory infection. I recommend a product called Bisolvon which you can get from the vets and helps clear a stuffy nose.

 

[Joeykins]

I'll go and have a look at those threads thanks for the pointers!

Daisy wouldn't eat this lunchtime when I offered her some fresh coriander (which they both love and is reserved for handfeeding as a treat) but did eat some Dandelion Forage on the way to the vets, and has had some hay and watermelon since we've been home

She does seem ok in herself but not quite right, they are still only young (nearly 5months) and quite wriggly and not totally tame yet so I feel like I'm still getting to know what is 'normal' for them.

Couldn't resist adding a cute pic of them from last week, Buttercup is the whiter one and Daisy is the browner one x

 

[katanamoon]

What beautiful girls! I'm afraid I don't have any advice, but healing wheeks to Daisy from Pixel, Widget and the stinky boys! x

 

[Harry&lloyd]

Nala is on day 7 of baytril and going surprisingly well, to get her to take it from the syringe I sit her on her bottom with her back to me and tip her back slightly, and also hold my finger under her chin to keep her head up. I give her 1/3 of the dose at a time giving her time to swallow it all. After every dose she then gets at least an hours floor time so she doesn't associate the syringe with a bad experience. After an hour she gets her veggies with some probiotics sprinkled on top. It's amazing how quickly they get used to it.
Hope she feels better soon x

 

[piggyfan]

I hope she gets better soon. They are gorgeous!

 

[helen105281]

They're lovely. Keep an eye on the eating as you may need to hand feed if she carries on refusing things she would normally eat. It would also be a good idea to weigh her daily.

 

[Caviequeen]

Do you have a person that could hold them as you put it in there mouth, that might be helpful for you

 

[VickiA]

baytril tastes vile (mad but I've tried it myself!). My vets recommended mixing it with a little neat Ribena but it still tastes vile and then stains you when they spit it out!

 

[Joeykins]

Thanks for all your replies the girls seem fine this morning, they are resting a lot but this is not unusual as they are lazy sods at the best of times! Daisy isn't tilting her head anymore, and they are both eating well (aka stuffing their faces as often as they can lol)

I'm so relieved that my precious girls are looking ok! I need to give them their Baytril in a bit, but I've got a secret weapon up my sleeve in the form of my daughters old baby food blender, I'm going to purée some coriander and a cube of watermelon (both absolute fave foods) and mix it with their dose, if they don't love me for that I don't know what to do xx

 

[Stewybus]

Only thing I can add to all the good advice given is to get a medication pouch. You put your piggy inside with head sticking out & push the velcro together to close it. You can get them from Sarah at Chucklebunnies see:-http://www.chucklebunnies.net/

There seems to be a problem with their website so I'll tag her to fix it @Sarah from Chucklebunnies

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

There is a problem with the site - oops. I have left a message with the IT person in our team.

Here is a link to the medium one on ebay -


Hope that helps.

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

That was weird. I wasn't expecting that to happen. But if you search for 'chucklebunnies' on ebay, or 'medication pocket', then it will turn up.

 

[helen105281]

There is a link in the hand feeding guide too though probably doesn't work at the moment.

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

I have just found out that there is a problem with the servers, not anything we can do about it. Hopefully it will all be sorted out soon. Our apologies to anyone who is curious about the website and what's on it.

 

[Joeykins]

Thanks for the info Sarah I will deffo be looking into one of those! Medicine time yesterday turned into more like face painting with green pulp........

Had to go back to the vets this morning as Buttercup started wheezing, vet says keep up the Baytril and gave her an anti inflamitory injection after listening to her chest, she also said keep her indoors while she settles down as the pollen count is high and she might be reacting to it - guinea pig with hay fever? Lol x