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Unknown antiobiotic given for possible UTI

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Jerrybelly

Jerrybelly

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Jerry went to the vets today as he's been having some blood in his urine. This is not unusual for him as he has bladder sludge, but the blood hasn't cleared up after a few days like it usually does.

The vet suggested antibiotics, in the first instance, and if he is still having the blood in one week then he'll be x-rayed.

The antibiotics were given in injection form, but I'm unsure what it actually was. The vet did say, but I stupidly forgot to write down the name. mallethead It began with a 'C' and the vet said that it is an alternative to Baytril. It's apparently long-lasting - up to 10 days.

I know that's not a lot to go on, but I just wondered if anyone knew what the antibiotic might be? Is it commonly used for UTIs (I've never heard of it before) and is it known to be effective?
 
Chloramphenicol? It's the only 'c' drug I can think of that my pigs have been given, though it was oral and not a shot.
 
Jerrybelly said:
The antibiotics were given in injection form, but I'm unsure what it actually was. The vet did say, but I stupidly forgot to write down the name. mallethead It began with a 'C' and the vet said that it is an alternative to Baytril. It's apparently long-lasting - up to 10 days.
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The only 10day one I can find is Convenia (as already stated) from Pfizer. Having looked at the literature - I'm not convinced this will be suitable or work properly in a guinea pig with a suspect UTI.

Monitor over the next 2 days - if no improvement or situation gets worse - go back to the vet.

IF it is a UTI then septrin (and poss metronidazole - flagyl-) is best bet for AB's with metacam/tramadol/both anti-inflammaotry and pain relief.

HTH

x
 
Conenia! That's what I was trying to think of last night, but at nearly midnight my brain wasn't working. Woke in middle of night and it came straight to me. Isn't it wonderful how the brain continues to recall things even after you have stopped consciously thinking about it. If it is indeed this that your piggie has been given then I have some info as Simon mentioned it a while ago. Apparently quite a few vets think it has the same long lasting affects in guinea pigs as it does in cats, but although it can last up to 10 days in cats it is out of a guinea pigs system within about 9 hours. I think you may need to get this checked out. xx
 
Jerry is not himself. Well, he is and he isn't. He's bright-eyed and bouncy, as usual. But he's being really picky with his food. He left a lot of veg last night and hasn't looked at his nuggets this morning.

His poos are tiny and very soft and there were only a few overnight. I've been up an hour and he hasn't done any yet.

He is eating hay and hasn't lost any weight yet.

Help! Thoughts? I'm assuming it's an intolerance to the antibiotic. Will it wear off. He had the injection at 10am yesterday morning.

Convenia sounds about right, but the vet opens at 8am so I'll ring then to ask...
 
Edit: He has just done around 8 poos but they are tiny and mushed together. Also a slightly funny colour with tiny bubbles on the surface?!:)>>>
 
I've just found this on a vet website:

'Cefovecin is of low acute toxicity in rats (oral and subcutaneous) and dogs (subcutaneous). A sensitisation test, however, revealed acute toxic effects in guinea pigs after intradermal injection, due to effects on their gut flora, and so the use in small herbivores (including guinea pigs and rabbits) is contraindicated.'

Panicking now!
 
Anynews? You keep sending me blank PM's lol

Love to Jerry x
 
Thanks everyone.

Sorry for my last few hurried posts - the internet can really scare you when you started searching for things! I've had to leave Jerry to come to work, even though it was heartbreaking to do so. I'm going to leave early, and he's booked in to see a different vet at 3pm.

When I left he WAS eating some hay, but he was only really picking at it. He wasn't interested in his nuggets. His poos were awful and very few indeed. I've given him his snugglesafe and put probiotics in his water to try to counteract the ABs. He's a good drinker and loves probiotic.

So I'm assuming these 'side affects' are due to an intolerance to the Convenia? What should I be asking the vet for? Gut stimulants because he's not eating enough? Critical care?

Also, should I be encouraging veg, or not? His poos are so soft and wet, but at least he might show some interest in eating them.

I feel so guilty because apart from the blood in his wee Jerry was doing really well before the injection. Now he seems so unhappy. I knew that I hadn't ever heard or read about the AB before so I wish now that I'd asked more questions and pushed for something like Baytril which I know he can tolerate. The thought of a 'one-off" injection was just really tempting and I believed it would be less stressful for him :(
 
Jerrybelly said:
Thanks everyone.

Sorry for my last few hurried posts - the internet can really scare you when you started searching for things! I've had to leave Jerry to come to work, even though it was heartbreaking to do so. I'm going to leave early, and he's booked in to see a different vet at 3pm.

When I left he WAS eating some hay, but he was only really picking at it. He wasn't interested in his nuggets. His poos were awful and very few indeed. I've given him his snugglesafe and put probiotics in his water to try to counteract the ABs. He's a good drinker and loves probiotic.

So I'm assuming these 'side affects' are due to an intolerance to the Convenia? What should I be asking the vet for? Gut stimulants because he's not eating enough? Critical care?

Also, should I be encouraging veg, or not? His poos are so soft and wet, but at least he might show some interest in eating them.

I feel so guilty because apart from the blood in his wee Jerry was doing really well before the injection. Now he seems so unhappy. I knew that I hadn't ever heard or read about the AB before so I wish now that I'd asked more questions and pushed for something like Baytril which I know he can tolerate. The thought of a 'one-off" injection was just really tempting and I believed it would be less stressful for him :(
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Don't blame yourself. Jerry was poorly so you took him to the vets - We rely on vets to do the best for our pets, they are the trained experts. It does sound like he's had a reaction to the AB, pro-biotics should help with the gut flora as AB's do kill it off... Poo soup with poo made from a healthy piggie would certainly be beneficial. I think any eating is good eating at the moment. if he isn't pooing then I would ask regarding a gut stimulant.
Hoping someone with more medical expertise may be on in a while.

Big hugs x

Hoping all goes well for Jerry
 
I am seeing Simon tonight so will ask him about Convenia and any possible side effects etc. From what he said before I would think it would be completely out of Jerry's system by now, but I guess could still have caused changes that need to settle down. I will be in touch as soon as I have more info xx
 
Thanks Debbie, that would be great. Jerry certainly won't be having it again!

I've just come through the door from work and I was terrified about what I might find. Luckily, it is a little better than expected. His bowl of nuggets remains completely untouched, as does most of his hay. There are, however, around a dozen slightly more solid looking poos in the cage. I just cut him a handful of grass from the garden, and he finished the entire bowl in about a minute!

So perhaps we've made a little progress on the poo-front. Equally concerning, though, is that he's just done a wee and it's yellow! Not in the normal creamy sort of way, but yellow with a slight tinge of green!
 
It's quite ironic that he had the AB because his urine was red with blood. Well it's not red at the moment, its yellowy/green!

Off to the vets now, will update when I get back.

Cath x
 
Well we're back. Saw a different vet, not an exotics one but the only one available (I figured any vet was better than no vet) I must have terrified the poor guy as I went in there armed with questions and notes written down on paper. Luckily he seemed friendly and willing to listen to my suggestions.

Jerry was examined and is not showing any signs of gut statis/bloat, which is great news despite the lack of poos. The few poos that he has done in the last few hours are a positive sign. His temperature is normal and his weight remains stable. The vet thinks he seemed happy in himself.

He has been given a gut stimulant (largely at my request) and I've been told to keep an eye on him over the next 12 hours. I requested some critical care, just in case I need to syringe feed. If there's no improvement he needs to go back again in the morning.

I asked about Convenia, and he said exactly the same as the other vet did yesterday - that it's an antibiotic that is used more frequently now for its long-lasting properties. He said that in cats and dogs it can last a few weeks, so in guinea pigs this time is reduced to around 10 days because of their fast metabolisms. He also said it's 'effective for UTIs' (though I think he was mainly referring to cats!). I must admit, I'm still not convinced. If it was so effective, and would avoid the need of having to medicate the pigs daily, then why aren't all the vets giving it?!

He doesn't think that Jerry's current problems are anything to do with the Convenia, but that this is just another symptom of the possible UTI (or whatever else he might have) that we're trying to treat. Again, I'm not convinced. I'm almost certain that Jerry has reacted badly to the antibiotics.

So Jerry went to the vet with one problem, and has returned with a completely different one :(

I'm hoping the gut stimulants will work soon and that things will return to normal. He remains uninterested in his food, but is nibbling on hay and drinking water. His wees are still a very strange yellow colour, though, for the moment at least, there is no blood present!
 
Just been talking to Simon and he said the use of Convenia in small herbivores was discussed at a recent CPD course he attended. It was suggested that it should not be used, as although it is long lasting in dogs and cats, the actual amount of time it is likely to remain in a guinea pigs system was about 8 hours. It was also felt that it isn't a suitable antibiotic for guinea pigs. Simon did feel that Jerry's recent symptoms had most likely been caused by the Convenia.

I so hope he's looking brighter now. I am about all evening if you wanted a chat.
 
Jerry is still struggling with the after-effects of the antibiotics. He's barely got an appetite, and despite a gut stimulant nearly 5 hours ago we've only had one very misshapen poo! To top it all off, he's still got blood in his wee.

My poor little man :(
 
Hi, apologies if this posts twice, computer is playing up.

Firstly, I hope Jerry is OK. I wanted to tell you that I had a similar experience with Clive last year - took him to the vets with a runny nose, but otherwise fine, the day after the antibiotics the vet gave him he basically shut down - very few poos and not eating any fresh food or hay. After an emergency visit and a gut stimulant we fed Clive through the night and next morning he had done 17 poos. It took him around a week but he did recover. I asked for a note to be put on Clive's info not to give him that antibiotic again. One vet thought it may have been a reaction to that, but our other, more cavy savvy vet, said it could have been the original ailment, the stress of the visit or something else unrelated.

All we can do is take them for treatment and follow the advice of people who have trained for years to be a vet.

Please don't feel guilty, I hope you are OK xx Gaynor xx
 
How was Jerry's night? Been thinking of him x
 
bessiehen said:
Hi, apologies if this posts twice, computer is playing up.

Firstly, I hope Jerry is OK. I wanted to tell you that I had a similar experience with Clive last year - took him to the vets with a runny nose, but otherwise fine, the day after the antibiotics the vet gave him he basically shut down - very few poos and not eating any fresh food or hay. After an emergency visit and a gut stimulant we fed Clive through the night and next morning he had done 17 poos. It took him around a week but he did recover. I asked for a note to be put on Clive's info not to give him that antibiotic again. One vet thought it may have been a reaction to that, but our other, more cavy savvy vet, said it could have been the original ailment, the stress of the visit or something else unrelated.

All we can do is take them for treatment and follow the advice of people who have trained for years to be a vet.

Please don't feel guilty, I hope you are OK xx Gaynor xx
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Hi Gaynor, thanks for your message. Jerry is soldiering on. He is still refusing nuggets and is being very choosy about his veg (he usually eats anything and everything!) He took some syringe food last night and did a few poos. This morning I've had him moving around as much as possible, plus he's eaten a handful of grass and two small pieces of lettuce. He's picking at his hay. We've had 11 poos since 7.30am so I'm hoping that's a good sign. I'll be keeping a very close eye on him today. I just want him to get his strength back so that we can try again to deal with the original problem of the persistent blood in his wee!

C. x
 
sport_billy said:
How was Jerry's night? Been thinking of him x
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I checked on him a few times and he seemed lovely and peaceful! I, on the other hand, slept for a total of 2 minutes and then worried myself silly all night! The things our piggies put us through!

He's currently napping on his snugglesafe. We have now had a total of 13 poos since 7.30am. I'm not sure whether he needs another vet visit and a second gut stimulant, but I'm holding off at the moment to give him chance to sort himself out.
 
Poor you, it is so stressful! With Clive our vet seemed encouraged by any amount of poos the next day, and he told us to keep feeding him whatever he would to eat (although that was before his bladder problems and low calcium diet!) We just kept giving him recovery feed every four hours, followed by cucumber and lettuce or anything else he would eat (I think he ate some babycorn too). Fingers crossed for you x
 
bessiehen said:
Poor you, it is so stressful! With Clive our vet seemed encouraged by any amount of poos the next day, and he told us to keep feeding him whatever he would to eat (although that was before his bladder problems and low calcium diet!) We just kept giving him recovery feed every four hours, followed by cucumber and lettuce or anything else he would eat (I think he ate some babycorn too). Fingers crossed for you x
Click to expand...

Do you remember the name of the antibiotic Clive was given? Just wondering if it is the same one...
 
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