Diarrhea Bene-Bac (how much?)

CavyMama · Sep 14, 2009

Okay, well Gus has diarrhea. The vet gave me this bene-bac gel to give to him but she didnt tell me what the dosage was or how often to give it.

I called today and she said, "Put about 1/2 inch on your finger and give it orally". I've never been told to give meds in units of length. Nor have I been directed to give oral meds on my finger. I'm supposed to do what with it? Stick my finger in his mouth??? Does this seem unusual to anyone?

Anyone know the proper (by weight or by volume) dosage for Bene-Bac gel?

She also suggested using yogurt because it has live cultures but I hesitated and said, "Well guinea pigs are lactose intolerant so is there another option?"

She had also suggested yogurt when Peppy stopped eating. This is supposed to be a cavy saavy vet so am I wrong to question her suggestion?

Peggysu · Sep 14, 2009

CavyMama said:
Okay, well Gus has diarrhea. The vet gave me this bene-bac gel to give to him but she didnt tell me what the dosage was or how often to give it.

I called today and she said, "Put about 1/2 inch on your finger and give it orally". I've never been told to give meds in units of length. Nor have I been directed to give oral meds on my finger. I'm supposed to do what with it? Stick my finger in his mouth??? Does this seem unusual to anyone?

Anyone know the proper (by weight or by volume) dosage for Bene-Bac gel?

She also suggested using yogurt because it has live cultures but I hesitated and said, "Well guinea pigs are lactose intolerant so is there another option?"

She had also suggested yogurt when Peppy stopped eating. This is supposed to be a cavy saavy vet so am I wrong to question her suggestion?

I can't answer your question abou the Bene-Bac but you have every right to question your vet, especially about the yogurt. Yogurt is not appropriate to give guinea pigs. I had a similar situation with a vet and I will not go back to her again.

Toadies · Sep 14, 2009

I've never used BeneBac, but the GP Probiocin dose is the newborn (puppies, kittens) dose of 1 gram, which is about 10 million bacillus. If you have a syringe, use that to administer the BeneBac. If the BeneBac tastes good, your little guy may eat it off of the back of a spoon. Dairy is a definate No-No and you're wise to question anyone that gives you advice that doesn't ring true. I'm sure that you are already doing so, but fruits and gassy foods should be withheld until his stools firm up. Hope he gets better quickly.

CavyMama · Sep 14, 2009

Yup, he hasn't had much of anything except pellets and hay. I feel bad because I'm feeding the others right in front of him and he looks at me like, "What about me?" ::breaks my heart::

The vet said that the Bene-Bac tastes bad which is another reason she suggested the yogurt. I think I would rather give the real meds than risk any complication because of lactose in the yogurt.

The meds came in a syringe type tube - with a plunger and tapered tip so it seems like it should be dosage-ready. The dose measure is something I've never seen before. It's this beveled ring that you turn and move back to the correct dose. It's sitting at 1 gm now so I'm thinking this is how to dose.

SFailed186 · Sep 14, 2009

For a guinea pig, they get one small bead of bene-bac per day (once every 24 hours). I would compare it to the size of a piece of corn or pea. Bene-Bac is a yogurt, in a way. It is Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, and Lactobacillus casei. (Lacto being "milk", more or less, and bacillius being a rod-shaped bacterium.)These live bacteria cultures are good for the digestive system. Our girl Freya was also given Bene-Bac (along with SMZ fluid) to help during her infection. The bene-bac, our vet said, would help get her digestive system to start working properly and give her extra calories (she had severe diarrhea and weight loss).

Here was our med schedule for Freya:
9AM - SMZ
3PM - Bene-Bac
9PM - SMZ

We did this for just over a week, but our vet said that it is fine to sometimes give Freya a dose of bene-bac due to her recurring digestive issues.

akstrohm · Sep 14, 2009

Bene-bac is not yogurt.

According to Guinea Lynx, 0.10cc once a day is an appropriate dose.

SFailed186 · Sep 14, 2009

akstrohm said:
Bene-bac is not yogurt.

According to Guinea Lynx, 0.10cc once a day is an appropriate dose.

No, it is not technically a yogurt, but it is still lactose.
I am sorry that I was not clear enough in my original post.
I would like to edit it, but I think I am past the limit.

akstrohm · Sep 14, 2009

No, it's not lactose. Lactose is a sugar. Bene-bac is a probiotic. It contains bacteria that naturally occur in the gut and produce lactic acid. It is only like yogurt in the sense that yogurt also contains some naturally occurring bacteria. But it is not lactose.

CavyMama · Sep 14, 2009

I could be wrong but I believe lactose is dairy, sucrose is sugar. The syringe it came in isnt measured in cc's though. It's measured in grams.

SFailed186 · Sep 14, 2009

Lactose is a sugar, hence the "ose" like sucrose. It is, in simple terms, milk sugar.

CavyMama · Sep 14, 2009

LOL would that make sucrose..."sugar sugar"? LOL Im teasing. Thanks for the info. I want to make sure I get the right size dose though.

SFailed186 · Sep 14, 2009

Haha. : )
The tube (if you have the same as me) confused me.
So, our vet told me that the size of a pea is the correct dose.

akstrohm · Sep 14, 2009

Lactose and sucrose are both sugars, along with dextrose, maltose, glucose, etc. The lacto- bacteria are named in this way because they consume lactose and convert it to lactic acid.

Ly&Pigs · Sep 14, 2009

It's not lactose, it's Lactobacillus. Lactobacilli are a healthy bacteria that live in the intestinal tract and produce lactic acid. The only thing it has in common with yogurt is that in some brands the bacteria lactobacillus acidophilus (along with others) is added to milk to make yogurt.

Bene-bac is just a probiotic gel with several types of live bacteria to restore gut flora. Yogurt is a milk product food with live bacteria. There is a difference.

What I've found by doing a bit of research is that 1 gram per 10 lbs. of weight. So if you have a 2 lb. pig then you'd want 1/5th of a gram.

Here is some reading on lactobacillus and lactobacillus acidophilus.
(broken link removed)
Lactobacillus - MicrobeWiki
(broken link removed)

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Diarrhea Bene-Bac (how much?)

CavyMama

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CavyMama

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SFailed186

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akstrohm

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