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Infection Small poops on baytril

Littlepig

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My pig was put on baytril and an anti inflammatory for a very early URI, the vet injected the first dose, and I gave him the second orally, I have also given a Probiotic an hour or two after. He's acting fine and eating, but half his poop after the second dose was very small,not soft but like a mini version of the usual.
I have read so many horror stories about pigs on baytril that I can't help but worry about every little thing now. Has anyone experienced smaller poos on baytril? And after how many doses do the pigs show intolerances etc. I guess I would like to know what to expect and when. I'm sure I won't relax until this is over, he's on it for a week, so 5 more to go :(
 

FailedFoster

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Hi Littlepig,

I'm sorry to hear your piggy's stool is smaller than usual. Can you say the type and amount of probiotic he's on? Also, any change to diet, appetite, or water intake? One more question: how much smaller are the poos than normal?

Also, good on you for catching that! :)
 

Littlepig

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He's on 0.43ml of baytril and 0.43ml of meloxidyl, once a day,and the Probiotic is avipro plus, a pinch on top of a wet piece of favourite vegetable because he's never been too interested in water. He's eating all his pellets, munching on hay whenever he's not napping. He's been on a low calcium diet, and he seems bored with some of the vegetables, but he still eats a cup or even more a day, and he still drinks water when having pellets, which is normal for him, I rinse the vegetables so he always has the extra water that way too. This is only day two of antibiotics and I'd say the poo is half the size, but also long as skinny, exactly like the normal ones, just not as long and fat. I did also see a few smaller rounder ones too. I've heard of diarrhea being an issue but not this
 

Littlepig

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Oh and his weight is 1kg60g, I plan to weigh him every day while he's being treated
 

FailedFoster

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Definitely sounds like dehydrated poos. The meds your vet prescribed look good - I'm glad you've got a cavy-savvy vet! You're right, normally the problem with antibiotics is diarrhea, but it seems like we have the opposite problem here!

Yes, weighing daily is a FANTASTIC idea! Just make sure you weigh at about the same time each day just because of the eating/ pooing schedule. I've made the mistake of weighing at different times in the day, having a heart attack, calling my poor vet in tears, and finding out they're fine; I just have to weigh at the same time each day lol.

Since it seems like dehydrated poos are the problem here, I'd like to investigate the water a little more: do you put Vitamin C drops or anything else in your water? Also, how often is the water bottle cleaned/ has the water changed?
 

Littlepig

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Yes, I learned the weighing thing the hard way too, I now weigh him first thing in the morning before the hay and everything is refreshed. I don't put anything in the water, his drinking habits haven't changed from what I can see, he's always gotten most of his water from vegetables, and he only drinks when he eats pellets, he goes between the bowl and the water bottle as he does it. I change the water and rinse the bottle every 3 days, it's quite a new bottle, maybe 2 months old, so there's no algae or anything funny.
The only thing I can think of is he's been a little slow to actually eat some of the vegetables, he goes through phases where he stops liking certain things. Since being o low calcium he hasn't been getting herbs or Carrots very often, but when he does get them, he vacuums it all up. If it was up to him he'd be eating tomatoes(which he gets only 2 times a week) blueberries, Coriander and dill every day!
Could the medication be the culprit? Surely it's not the Probiotic's fault...
 

FailedFoster

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I don't think so. Normally I would blame the meds, but in this case I don't think they're the culprit. He might be having a sour tummy from the meds and therefore not consuming as many fluids, but that's my only thought there.

You may want to try force feeding fluids to see if that helps. I'd go every 6-8 hours if you can. Here's a good article on hand-feeding (mostly talks about solids, but a lot can be transferred to fluid feeding): https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

You can use either plain water, or unflavored Pedialyte (generic is just as good as the brand name). A lot of members have had luck with Pedialyte.
 

FailedFoster

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Almost forgot! I know you rinse veggies in water, but try soaking for a few minutes as well. I'd try that before force feeding since it sounds like he's eating just fine and force feeding fluids can be a bit riskier.
 

Littlepig

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That's pretty much what I'm doing right now :) we're both having our dinner and I have a bowl of lettuce bits in water that he gets whenever he sticks his little face out of the cage, which is every few seconds. I'll keep doing this, hopefully the poo improves, I will give him the medication in the morning and phone the vet as soon as they open. Thank you so much for your replies
 

FailedFoster

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Absolutely! And yes, let's see what the vet has to say. It sounds like they're cavy-savvy, so I'm optimistic. In any case, I can tell your little fella is in good hands with you. :)
 

Littlepig

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I am absolutely crazy about this piggy, so he better get well soon :)
The vet is a very good one, who I believe was on one of those animal hospital TV programmes,people travel for hours to get there, luckily for us it's not more than an hour's drive, so I am confident they know what they're doing, but of course as most pig parents I can't help but analyse and worry.
I'm seeing a few new poops that are closer to normal size, but still quite a few skinny tiny ones :( he's currently taking one of his many short naps and cooing
 

Littlepig

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I did some more research and according to petmd and another source antibiotics can cause dehydration after all.
I'm seeing more normal poos now, possibly as a result of all the wet vegetables he's had in the last hour. My options are if the poo looks good, give the next dose in the morning along with wet vegetables, then phone the vet when they open, and see how he is when I get back from work. Or option two, not give him the medicine until I talk to the vet.
 

FailedFoster

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I would continue giving meds until you speak with the vet just to be on the safe side, esp. if wet veggies seem to be helping.
 

Littlepig

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Thanks, I've been leaning toward this option as well. Especially since I can help the dehydration, but only the antibiotic can help the infection. Definitely much better poos now, I tried to inspect the newest one, but he ate that before I could get to it.
Should I give another pinch of probiotic tonight, and then again tomorrow after the baytril? Or is that just too much of a good thing?
 

bpatters

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Always, always, ALWAYS give probiotics about 60-90 minutes after any dose of antibiotics.
 

Littlepig

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I have been and I'm planning to keep giving it, I've set my alarm to get up earlier so I could give the probiotic after the appropriate amount of time before leaving for work.
I'm just wondering if he could benefit from it twice a day, or would that be too much? The baytril is one a day in the morning, the only exception will be two days from now when it will have to be late afternoon as I will be away for a night. There will be someone home to feed him, but unfortunately not to medicate.
 

bpatters

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Twice a day is fine.
 

Littlepig

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He doesn't seems dehydrated this morning, but now instead of small skinny long ones, there are just a lot of small poos among the normal ones. They don't look dry, just the same as healthy ones, just very small oval things, maybe 1/3 of the normal size or even smaller. He just had the antibiotic, he's having more wet vegetables until it's probiotic time. He's active, the weight is fine, and he has been eating non stop since he got new hay and pellets. I'm phoning the vet as soon as I can.
 

Littlepig

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The vet thinks the anti inflammatory could be the reason for the irregular poop, and to give him the baytril on its own with probiotic twice a day. The poop was perfectly normal when I left him this morning, I'll continue keeping an eye on it.
 

bpatters

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Poop is almost always abnormal when a pig is on antibiotics. It's not really a major cause of concern unless the poop is looking like diarrhea, or is so soft as to be unformed.
 
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