Ear infection and meds.

[meggles07]

My chinchilla has some sort of an ear infection. The vet gave me a cleaning solution, an ointment (EnteDerm), and Baytril. The EnteDerm is making under her ear look a little oily. Should I be concerned about this? Her ear has a few spots that have scabbed over but I am concerned about letting her dust. Also, the vet said the Baytril would be bitter and it is a struggle to get her to take the oral meds. Any advice to make it more enticing for her? The vet said to add maple syrup but that seems really sugary to me. Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated!

 

[tunes]

Ear infection on the inside or the outside? If it's outside, did she get bitten or hurt in any way? Did he check for fungus since it likes to show up around the head?

Baytril is a fairly harsh antibiotic. I agree that I would not use it with maple syrup. Baytril tends to send a chin off it's feed, so adding a bunch of sugary junk to that is not great. If this is an external ear infection, as in a topical issue, I would ask your vet what he thinks about TMS instead. Sulfa is a broad spectrum antibiotic that works well for topical infections. If it's an inner ear infection, Baytril is probably what you need. I've had success with giving the Baytril and then immediately giving a "chaser." I have used rose hips, cheerios, and half of a bite sized shredded wheat to wash the taste away. You will also need to carefully monitor food and fluid intake while on the Baytril as well as making sure that she's pooping normally. Baytril can really do a number on a chin's digestive tract.

 

[meggles07]

The vet thinks bumped her ear against something and it became infected. The vet took a sample swab of Scoops' ear and checked it out under a microscope and noticed a lot of bacteria and mentioned an external ear infection can become an internal which is why she put Scoops on Baytril as well as the EnteDerm ointment. Her ear is clearing up and I still have plenty of poop to clean but I will make sure to keep a closer eye on her food and water intake. Am I right to wait on the dust baths until her ear has cleared up 100%?

 

[ArmyWife]

I would hold off on the dust baths. As for the medication, you can always burrito her in a towel to give her the baytril. My husband usually would hold my female while I forced her to take her medication. I always felt bad doing it to her, but I'd feel worse if she didn't get her medication. You can also try rubbing the inside of a raisin onto the tip of the syringe to trick them. The baytril will definitely affect her eating and pooping. When my male had an abscess and was getting baytril AND smz-tmp, he's appetite diminished some but luckily he was still eating plenty of hay. On days that he was barely eating, I would hand feed him through-out the day.

 

[mishellyshel]

my vet flavors the baytril and i almost always supplement their feed with syringe feeding while they are on it to make sure they keep eating. i agree with peggy, i would also check if they vet would consider using sulfa. it is usually the first line of defense when treating a more mild infection and it often does not interfere with their eating and its pink and sweeter. as for the dust baths, i would hold off on that, you could always rub a little dust on her back if she is getting greasy.

 

[AZChins]

I am assuming that this really was an infected cut and not just a wound to the ear. There's always bacteria present on everything, so it's hard to say if it really was infected. Anyway...

For something like this I think that oral meds like Baytril is a little too much. I'm glad that you are treating it topically because the gets right to the site of the infection and helps more than an oral antibiotic. A sulfa drug would work in preventing the spread of an infection since it wasn't something more internal or a respiratory issue. Giving Baytril for a week to a healthy chin probably won't cause too much damage. I agree with everyone else, it's just not necessary in this case - a sulfa drug or something a little more suited to a mild infection (or possible infection) like chloramphenicol (works well with abscesses and skin infections.)

The dust probably wouldn't hurt the chin, but with the ointment it will be messy so it would be best to just not give the dustbaths until you stop using the ointment.

 

[meggles07]

Thanks everyone! I will give my vet a call!