# poorly guinea pig



## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Hi all can someone help me please my guinea pig been treated with baytril for a uri and has recently gone off his dry food and has now got soft poo what can i do to firm up his poo.ive been giving him extra veg because he wasnt eating so do you think its the veg thats m his poo soft or is it the antibiotics.


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Hello can anybody help me


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## Lavenderb (Jan 27, 2009)

Is he having plenty of hay?


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2012)

What is his diet? As in how much hay, what pellets you feed? How long has he been on baytril?


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Well he had a injection at the vets on wednesday and started his baytril yesterday.he has lots of hay and he has harringtons pellets but since he,s been on baytril he,s not eating his food and has developed soft poo,s


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> Well he had a injection at the vets on wednesday and started his baytril yesterday.he has lots of hay and he has harringtons pellets but since he,s been on baytril he,s not eating his food and has developed soft poo,s


Ok I would cut his veg back to what he was on before he became poorly, the soft poos are most likely (IMO) form the up in veg. As he is feeling under the weather it isn't uncommon for them to go off their pellets for a short time, but so long as you offer plenty of hay he shouldn't suffer.

If the soft poo's continue I would pop him back to the vets to get his teeth checked (could also be a reason why he has gone off his pellets) and take in a poo sample so the vet can see what the issue is 

ETA: If you are really worried about him then you can always call you vet up, they might be able to reassure you. They really don't mind you phoning them


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

He,s due back at the vets on wednesday to see if his uri is clearing so if his poo is still soft..if he,s not eating his dry food should i syringe feed him


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> He,s due back at the vets on wednesday to see if his uri is clearing so if his poo is still soft..if he,s not eating his dry food should i syringe feed him


Is he still eating veg and hay?


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Yeah he still eating veg and hay im just not sure whether im doin the right thing buy giving him veg with him having soft poo,s


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2012)

Cut the veg back to green leafy veg (like spring greens, curly kale), broccoli and some herbs. That way you know he is getting some calcium, try to stay away from things like cucumber and other watery veg.

If he is still off his pellets and has runny poo on Monday I would get him back to the vets. With watery poos a lot of his nutrients will just be passing through so you need to make sure he is getting enough calcium.

If you can get some probiotics to give him as soon as you can to try to keep his guts as balanced as possible whilst he is on the baytril.


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Ok will do.ive read that guinea pigs can have human probiotics is that true or not


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> Ok will do.ive read that guinea pigs can have human probiotics is that true or not


As human probiotics are yogurt based I'm going to say no.
Get yourself some Fibreplex it has prebiotics too so it helps to keep the gut as balanced as possible and it tastes like carrot so very easy to administer


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## TheMouse (Nov 28, 2012)

Yip, the antibiotics could be the culprit for the runs. My cat had uri problems, and ALWAYS ended up with the runs when on a certain AB. Vets could swap round and try another antibiotic, his tummy may not be as upset with another type. Kisses  to the piggy from me.


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## TheMouse (Nov 28, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> He,s due back at the vets on wednesday to see if his uri is clearing so if his poo is still soft..if he,s not eating his dry food should i syringe feed him


Be careful if trying to syringe feed (I would only recommend that as a last resort). If not done correctly an animal can aspirate food into the lungs and piggy could end up with worse health problems.

Take the other members advice, call the vets in the morning (they really won't mind) and ask for their advice (nearly always the best thing to do), since piggy has just been to see them.


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Ok i,ll ring them in the morning.thankyou guys so much for the advice


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## TheMouse (Nov 28, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> Ok i,ll ring them in the morning.thankyou guys so much for the advice


Brilliant! Really is the best thing to do. It may just be a matter of using a different antibiotic (some are worse than others at upsetting their tummies) and a slight change in diet . x


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## dancemagicdance (Sep 27, 2012)

It's important for piggies to have probiotics as well as antibiotics, they can get really ill without them so best to get them asap  I would think that's why your piggy has an upset tum, the probiotics should get the gut bacteria back to normal so that it can digest food properly again.

ETA, I think the one I normally get is called BioLapis and is for rabbits but works for piggies too, it is a powder so I mixed it with water and some piggy food(they get pellets) and the food soaked it up, they loved it


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

if you can find them blackberry leaves are a good binder for loose poo there are still some left around me in the south best to cut the spikey bits out.

The cause of the loose poos is most likely the batril, the biolapis sachets are great for this and he should have them daily while he's on the antibiotics and for a week after. 

Runny poo going near his urinary tract will only add to the infection so you want to make sure he's kept extra clean.


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## TheMouse (Nov 28, 2012)

Any update Sonia? Did you call thet vets? How is little piggy today?


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Im currently getting advice off a friend of mine who is a vetenarian assistant so she knows alot about guinea pigs his poo is a little bit better its formed to a pellet but still not joy with him eating his dry food.i,ll update you all when i find more advice thankyou fot asking


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> Im currently getting advice off a friend of mine who is a vetenarian assistant so she knows alot about guinea pigs his poo is a little bit better its formed to a pellet but still not joy with him eating his dry food.i,ll update you all when i find more advice thankyou fot asking


Please phone your vet, your friend is an assistant not a vet. As much as it is lovely that she is helping you she doesn't have the training that a vet does.


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## Lavenderb (Jan 27, 2009)

sonia123 said:


> Im currently getting advice off a friend of mine who is a vetenarian assistant so she knows alot about guinea pigs his poo is a little bit better its formed to a pellet but still not joy with him eating his dry food.i,ll update you all when i find more advice thankyou fot asking


What dry food are you giving him and how long has he been eating it?


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

He has harringtons he,s been on it since i got hin couple of month ago


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## sonia123 (Jan 5, 2011)

Just a update on my guinea pig he has been back to the vets this morning and is doing ok he,s been given another weeks course of antibiotics and he goes back to the vets next monday.his poo has firmed up and he,s now eating a bit dry food.


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## kat04kt (Sep 11, 2011)

Hello,

Probiotics are essentially - you can get some from the vet or Pets at Home.

You have to syringe feed. It's not true they will aspire unless you literally force an entire syringe full of food down them - syringe feeding needs to be done painfully slow.

Talk to your vet and have them show you how to do it, or have your guinea pig put into the vet for round the clock care and syringe feeding.

Guinea pigs have to eat, if they stop eating, it leads to serious complications. There digestive symptons are set to constantly graze.

Here's a good guide on syringe feeding:

FAQ: Administering Medications and Wrapping Piggies - The Guinea Pig Forum

Critical care is what is generally used by vets for syringe feeding, you may be able to get some from your vet as it can take time to arrive if you're ordering it online.

Mashing up pellets though and sprinkling in probiotics also works especially if you're finding it hard to get hold of critical care. Leave a handful of pellets in a bowl with warm water and then mash them up.

Here's a lady who specialise's in treating guinea pigs who are unable to eat for themselves

The Excellent Adventure Sanctuary

How long is the course of baytril and what's it for?

Baytril is horrible for guinea pigs, one of mine reacted horribly to it in the same way. Ask your vet about other antibiotics, septrim for example, has worked well for my piggies but it depends what they are taking the antibiotics for.

p.s just read to end of the thread and saw he's doing well. Phew what a relief!

Atleast you have a couple links now if you see anymore soft poo!
xx


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2012)

sonia123 said:


> Just a update on my guinea pig he has been back to the vets this morning and is doing ok he,s been given another weeks course of antibiotics and he goes back to the vets next monday.his poo has firmed up and he,s now eating a bit dry food.


Did the vet give probiotics too? If not it is essential that you get some.


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## elisabeth (Nov 26, 2012)

So it is only soft stool, not diarrhea? I would recommend to reduce green leafy and watery vegetables, and provide lots of hay. The thing about guinea pigs is that they tend to get sick really fast, so you must weigh it and keep it under constant observation - if any of the symptoms progress, take your pet to the vet immediately.


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