SEEKING ADVICE ON DIARRHEA

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 7:55 am


My guess is the special poops are tastier -- I´ve heard people report pigs following other pigs around and eating snacks. Mix with fruit? Concentrated OJ? I guess you´ll need to experiment. Good luck.

Evangeline

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 3:51 pm


I´m not sure I´m getting this right, but the Baytril course is just 6 days? It seems very short and that might explain why the bacteria/virus is not destroyed completely before you take BB off the antibiotics. Some bugs are hard to kill. When I rescued a baby rabbit infected with staphylococcus, he was on Baytril for over a month.

So did the vet do the culture, after all? Results?

I agree with Pinta, Flagyl sounds like a good option, since the Baytril seems to be just a temporary fix. Just so you can get all those names in line, Flagyl is an antibiotic used in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, colitis and Crohn´s disease.

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Alison

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 7:38 pm


I will stop the Baytril tomorrow and will keep an eye on the condition of BB.

I will take BB to the vet on Saturday morning. If the diarrhea returns, I will ask the vet to do the culture / flotation test, etc. and take the appropriate action.

By the way, how long I should continue with the poop. It is extremely awful to me and BB.

I have attached the photo of my babies for your interest. (BB on the left and Fatty on the right.)


Image

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Jill

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 7:47 pm


BB looks just like our little Zelda who died in August. She was soooooo soft. Hope BB is feeling better soon.

Evangeline

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 7:49 pm


Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Beautiful pigs.

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Alfie

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 8:22 pm


They´re gorgeous! Are they related?

ShowMe

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 9:43 pm


Beautiful piggies! Hope BB gets well soon.

BTW, I am my pigs mom, I just LOVE the quote on your posts. I think you should have that poem framed!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 10:57 pm


What gorgeous piggies!!! I hated dolls as a kid but all I can think about is that marvelous hair!!! Wouldn´t they be fun to brush and comb? Sweet little Barbie Piggies? (they remind me of the My Little Ponies my daughter had as a kid)

If the poops thing isn´t working out too well for you, make it just a very little bit of poop from the outside (from a fresh one -- more likely to have beneficial bacteria). Something is better than nothing. It can be murder to fight with an uncooperative pig.

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Alison

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 12:47 am


Thanks everyone.

The two piggies are not related. It´s hard to get the two together for a photo.

BB is silly but Fatty is very smart. Because BB is very sick, I pay almost full attention to her recently. Fatty is very jeaous of BB.

Sweet, yes, as long as you provide them with their favourite treats. Otherwise, they will come out of the cage and scream.

I will keep posting the latest news of BB. I hope the next post is a good one.

pinta

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 2:07 am


As Evangeline said it doesn´t sound like your pig has been on Baytril for longer than a week at a time. By taking her off Baytril too soon, the bacteria may have a chance to get resistant. Before taking her off the baytril, talk to your vet and come up with a plan of action.

Has she been on the baytril for a full 2 weeks? It may even take 3 weeks. Or maybe she needs to be switched to a different drug, like Flagyl. For a proper culture to be done though, she needs to be off meds for approx. 3 days.

I think you need to discuss a plan of action with your vet. You have 3 choices that I can see:

1) Take her off all meds for 3 days so a clean culture can be done.

2) Keep her on Baytril for at least 2 weeks, maybe 3 weeks.

3) Switch meds.

The main benefit of #1 option is that you will be able to identify the bacteria present and find out exactly which drugs will be effective. The downside is that BB will be unmedicated and her diarrhea may return weakening her even further.

The downside of #2 is that she may lose appetite on Baytril - some do. The upside is that she has shown improvement on baytril so you know it is having some effect.

The downside of #3 is that you have no way of knowing without a culture if the drug you switch to will be the right one. The upside is that if it is - the problem is solved without delay.


You should continue feeding a poop a day as long as she is on meds. Choose the lighter, softer poops. Just mash the poop in about 1cc of water and syringe it down. Half a poop a day should do the trick if you can´t get a whole poop in her.

Make sure you keep her hydrated. Check with the vet to see if a hydration subcue treatment is in order.

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Alison

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 6:23 am


Thanks, Pinta.

I will take option # 1 in order to identify the bacteria present and find out exactly which drugs will be effective.

I hope everything will be Okay (I will stop the Baytril tomorrow). If Diarrhea starts again, I will bring her immediately to the vet for culture.

Good luck is what I need at the moment!

pinta

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 7:06 am


Before you stop the baytril, I think it would be wise to call your vet and discuss it with him first so he is in the loop. It is a lot easier to work "with" your vet than "against" him.

You could outline the options, and see if he agrees with your choice. If he doesn´t, he might have a valid reason why or even another option to suggest.

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