Giving critical care after antibiotic??

[attackofthebear]

One of my guinea pigs went into surgery today to get an eye removed because of a fight between the boys. I have not had much success with guinea pigs and surgery so now I am trying critcal care. I have heard that after a piggy is given an antibiotic that it should eat shortly afterwards so I am wondering if it is safe to give my piggy the antibiotic(bactrim) and then feed him the critical care afterwards? Thanks for any advice.

[pigsforlife]

I have never heard that before, although dont see anything wrong with providing critical care afterwards.

When a pig is on antibiotics he/she should be on a probiotic as well, just to help with gut flora which is often distorted when on antibiotics. Some people pound up Achidophilus (spelling is probably wrong) pills and sprinkle it over a piece of lettuce. I use prodexin which comes in a powder form. Critical Care has probiotic in it as well I believe.

[bee1101]

Critical care is the king of foods. The person who invented it should be given a nobel prize imo.
It is essential to feed it after surgery. One of our boars had a big operation to remove a bladder stone. When he came home, he couldn't even lift himself onto his feet because he was so weak. We fed him critical care and even though he could only manage about 30ml a day (because of the weakness) it worked wonders and he recovered so quickly.
We also have a sow that has had ongoing abcess/tooth problems and has been on critical care for 18 months. Luckily she is also eating again now, but still cannot eat hay.
Critical care is essential for every owner to have a tub of in reserve and you should absolutely give it to a piggy who is recovering from surgery or illness, unless the vet says otherwise.

Oh one further tip. When feeding critical care, if the guinea is strong enough, then the generally make sure the critical care is reasonably thick. Really watery will affect the amount of goodness they get, hence you'll need to feed more of it.
Be wary of gut stasis though, make sure they are still weeing and pooing and that their stomach doesn't feel tense. If that happens, see a rodentoligist of vet immediately.

[Biscuit]

One thing I've read about acidophilus in particular is that it comes with different amounts of bacteria per tablet or pill. I believe you want the kind with a lot of flora. They'll list a number of guaranteed critters in there. I know someone who only uses the kind with like...20 billion.

[attackofthebear]

I have used the critical care for around a day and a half now and he seems to be doing really well. I also gave him the antibiotic and there were no reactions between the two. I figured there wouldn't be based on the ingredients in the Critical Care but I wanted to be sure.
I also put him in a recovery cage that was set in the boys original cage to see if I could get him to start eating on his own. Putting him in there seemed to make him feel more secure because he has shown more activity and has eaten some of the food on his own.
He will also be starting the probiotic today. I didn't want to overload him with everything at once. My vet didn't prescibe a probiotic but she mention that giving him it, if we had any, would be helpful to him. My vet did give my family the Critical Care because we asked about it. I wish I had had it when my other piggy came home from surgery. It would have given her a better chance. She also had bladder stones and refused to get up and eat.
Anyway, Thanks for all the advice.

[daftscotslass]

Is the piggy actually eating? Personally I would tend to lay off the handfeeding unless the pig is either not eating or not eating enough. I've never had the need to feed all my pigs after surgery, only those that refused to eat. Bonnie ate straight away after surgery and there was no need for her to be handfed. I was told the first thing she did seconds after she woke up was to stagger over to the food bowl. She maintained her weight without issue. If the pig is eating well, drinking well and you're monitoring his weight then there should be no need to handfeed.

I would, as mentioned above, provide a probiotic an hour or two after administering the antibiotic - if you give the antibiotic and probiotic straight after, then the antibiotic kills off the "good" bacteria, rendering it useless.

Edited to add: Bactrim is usually fairly gentle on the tummy but it still doesn't hurt to give a probiotic.

[attackofthebear]

I tried to edit my post but it wouldn't let me anymore.

I was told by one of my vets that the probiotic should be given atleast two hours after the antibiotic, but preferably four.
I have noticed him eating a little but not a significant amount. I have not, however, noticed him drinking at all. I have already started cutting back on the critical care to see if he will eat more. He is passing fecal matter that is normal and there is urine on his bedding, fleece, from yesterday and today. (I change the bedding on an as needed basis, which is typically everyday)

We asked if he had eaten since the surgery and the vet replied no. He is a fairly shy pig, has been since he was around three weeks old. I think getting him started has been the best for him and also getting him around his fellow pigmates has helped. He seems more active now but I know, based on his personality, that he would've sat there and done nothing and ended up like C.C. Sundae if I hadn't gotten involved.