Input please.

[Kayluh]

I noticed my boy Snowball hadn't been eating much of his pellets or eating all of his hay like usual or drinking much and started to drool a little so I took him into the vet. The vet gassed him a little and checked out his teeth said back ones seemed fine but clipped the front ones a tiny and thinks he has a hairball. So he told us to give him a tiny bit of pineapple juice twice a day for a few days to see how it goes. Because the acid will help if its a hairball and gave me a few syringes of Baytril to give orally twice daily. He said the reason why he could not be eating is because his front tooth was a little longer so it was making it difficult or maybe its the hairball ....erm idk. What do you all think? He said the Baytril wouldn't hurt anything. Was told if he doesn't get better to bring him back in and we'll possibly do x-rays. Would like some input.

 

[tunes]

If you are concerned about his teeth, do x-rays now. There is no proof that chins get hairballs, so giving you hairball medication is useless.

I can't see giving him antibiotics either for no specific reason. Baytril often times causes loss of appetite and I would think with him already not eating and drinking as normally, this would not be a great course of action without knowing the cause.

The vet "checked out his teeth a little" in what way? He just looked? You can't see if the roots are growing down into the jaw bone or up into the sinuses just by taking a little peek at the inside of the mouth. You need to have a set of x-rays run to determine that. Did he thoroughly check the gums to see if any hay was stuck in them? Did he give you anything for pain for the teeth that were clipped. (Next time, suggest he grind them instead with a dremel tool. If he isn't really experienced with it, he could end up having a tooth crack and split.)

I hope your little guy feels better soon.

 

[Tillygizmo]

Yes, I agree. Demand x-rays. Sometimes they wont do them for you. Baytril is also the strongest antibiotic you can give a chin, so it is a little odd to start off with that one

 

[feistychins]

If the vet thinks he has a hairball and suggested he stopped eating because his front teeth were long, then why give him Baytril? That makes no sense. I agree that pineapple juice (it has to be fresh or frozen not canned) is the best thing for a hairball or blockage, but if he is drooling then his teeth should be checked better.

If anything the Baytril will upset his stomach even more.

 

[Dolyphinm]

Read the article on malo that's posted in the article section. It said that drooling is caused when the mouth can't close from the back teeth. My vet looked with this cone thing as she referred to it. It was a tube that had a light and slight magnifying power too, but she still said x-rays should be done. She said it didn't look too bad at a glance but the x-rays would say for sure. The teeth were a lot worse. Bria started out not eating much hay anymore and then slowed down on the pellets. It also turned out she had some root growth too. Go get the x-rays. A hairball isn't a bacteria so I have no idea why the baytril.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

I would try to find a vet who treats chinchillas regularly to be honest, it doesn't sound like this vet is very knowledgeable. If he is your only choice then I would definitely get full dental x-rays. My worry is this vet won't know how to read them properly...

 

[jmdebb]

I agree with everyone here, you need x-rays to check the routes.

Jean

 

[Kayluh]

Thanks all of you for responding. I asked if x-rays could be done but he said try this out and if no better then we'll do that..and for the baytril I really don't want to give it to him because I don't see how that will help without knowing whats going on. I know that drooling is a sign of malo so thats why I wanted x-rays to see whats going on. For the checking of the mouth they took him into another room and gassed him and he said he opened up his mouth and looked around to see if anything was stuck in his mouth and said he looked and felt the back teeth. =/

 

[Stackie]

No matter how much he looks in the mouth, he will never be able to detect root overgrowth without x-rays. Sometimes you have to be firm with the vet concerning what you want. I had to take one of my chins to a non-regular vet because it was after hours, and had to pretty much demand what I wanted to be done. If the vet won't follow your requests, I suggest you find a different one. My regular vet asks me for my opinions and what I think should be done, and if I agree with her and what she thinks.

 

[Sasha]

I agree with Stacie, find a vet who will perform the xray.

Also, is the baytril oral or injectable? Just a heads up if it is oral, and you use it, be prepared to start hand feeding Critical Care as it is known to cause anorexia in chinchillas.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Baytril affects the appetite because it tastes bad. Just follow it with a Cheerio to get rid of the taste and he should be fine.

 

[Anne-Lise]

Well if there is no point giving baytril don't give it. It's always a big mess to give that antibiotic. After ahving experienced it, the treat stuff works for a couple days and that's it. It's also really strong, so we don't want to mess up with their system if we can avoid it.

 

[Sasha]

Baytril affects the appetite because it tastes bad. Just follow it with a Cheerio to get rid of the taste and he should be fine.

Thank you for clearing that up. I hadn't heard of that :thumbsup:

 

[feistychins]

No, I don't agree that Baytril affects the appetite because it tastes bad. Baytril affects the appetite because it is a strong antibiotics and it makes chins nauseous. It also kills the good bacteria along with the bad so the gut flora is put out of balance. Baytril does not taste good, but that is not the reason chins stop eating. A good vet will flavor it with strawberry or something similar to make it more palatable.

I hate it when vets give Baytril so casually. It can cause more harm than good, especially when it is not even needed.

 

[Riven]

Baytril affects the appetite because it tastes bad. Just follow it with a Cheerio to get rid of the taste and he should be fine.

This is bad information. I don't know who told you this. Giving any kind of orally med, no matter the taste will NOT make a chin stop eating their regular food. And also why would Baytril also affect appetite when given as an injectable? Can the taste that?

Baytril literally destroys all bacteria in the body, including the good kind, which causes more stress on the digestive system. It should be used for very strong infections that can justify the the repercussions of using it ( possible needing to hand feed, etc ) not just "because". In this case I see no point for giving an antibiotic. Antibiotics are for fighting infection, this chin doesn't seem to have any infection, so it's not "fixing" anything.

 

[tunes]

This is bad information. I don't know who told you this. Giving any kind of orally med, no matter the taste will NOT make a chin stop eating their regular food. And also why would Baytril also affect appetite when given as an injectable? Can the taste that?

The information about giving a "chaser" came from Angie (Chinvet), Nicole and I have found it to be completely true. I don't do injections unless I absolutely have to. With Baytril, as long as I give something after, even a bite of critical care, there is no appetite loss, no going off of feed.

If Baytril was such a horrid antibiotic, why is it that my rats eat it like candy? They have never, ever gone off their feed when on Baytril and that is the first line of defense against mycoplasma in rats, Baytril and Doxycycline. Feisty chins, if you're going to throw a blanket statement out there about nausea and knocking the gut flora out of balance, then it should do that with all animals, shouldn't it? It doesn't bother my dogs. It doesn't bother my rats. And, as long as I do what was suggested with a bit of a chaser, it doesn't seem to phase the chins either.

I used to think of Baytril the same way as both of you do, but after doing more checking, and consulting with several vets, I honestly just don't believe that anymore. It's a broad spectrum antibiotic, yes, but I don't think it's going to rip their guts to shreds, and I don't think it does any more damage than any other antibiotic if you use it correctly.

 

[Claire D]

Actually, you're both right.

Oral Baytril does effect appetite because it tastes bad (anyone who has gotten some on their finger and ended up tasting it knows that - it's bleugh!) but it can also effect appetite by destroying the beneficial bacterial flora in the gut - it effectively upsets the gut (a bit like us not wanting to eat when we have an upset stomach) - that's why it is essential to use probiotics with oral Baytril. I've seen chins dribble it out of their mouths because it tastes so foul.

Two sides of the same coin: Oral Baytril.


As for it effecting chins differently to other animals - I have to say that I think it does - chins quite often react badly to it and it is a case of weighing up the pros and cons before giving it orally - injectable is often the preferred method of administration in chinchillas (and is certainly the method I choose if I have to give it).

 

[feistychins]

I think Baytril does affect different species of animals in different ways. I have given it to my bunnies with no loss of appetite. I think comparing dogs to ocelots is like apple and oranges. You can give some meds to dogs and cats that would you would never give to a chin, so that is a difficult comparison.

Chins do have a sensitve digestive tract which has been hashed over for years and why probiotics are always suggested. Because the gut flora can be thrown out of wack is the reason for the appetite loss. I have seen some chins not bothered by the Baytril and others who have stopped eating and become very withdrawn within a couple of days of starting it. That is not because it tastes bad. For some, it upsets their stomach to the point where they are nauseous and do not want to eat.

If offering your chin a little something right after giving Baytril will prevent them from loss of appetite, then I think that is wonderful. It is the simple miracle we have all been looking for.

My vet flavors Bayril with a strawberry syrup so it does not taste bad and I have no problem with the chins taking it. Some chins are fine and continue to eat and others cut back on eating to the point where I have to do some hand feeding. So in my experience, taste does not seem to make a difference. Some chins are just more sensitive than others )

 

[Rickman]

Would a small dose of LifeLine, both before and after administering Baytril, negate the intended effects?
I thought Dawnna's page on LifeLine said it was specifically intended for the effects of antibiotics.

 

[tunes]

Feisty, after talking with Claire, I can definitely see both sides of this and where you and Nicole would come from with your belief in the use of Baytril. I will state, personally, that I have had no issue at all with chins not eating when I give them just a quick shot of CC before and after they take the Baytril, but I do understand the reasoning behind the probiotics. Once upon a time, I used them religiously with Baytril as well.

I look at it like Motrin. I give the CC first, then the Baytril, then the CC after. You aren't supposed to take a lot of drugs on an empty stomach, so I give a "buffer" so to speak and it seems to have worked well. Once upon a time when I used it, it was a nightmare, but now it works much better for me.

<tunes is squeamish about needles Claire, let's not talk about then unless we HAVE to, k?>