URI Help!

[Milo10]

Ok, So A few days a go I noticed Milo had some discharge from her nose. I took her into the vets and they said that she has a Upper Respitory Infection. They put her on Terrimycin and flavored it with some Karo Syrup so she would take it. The Vet said that the med should not make her not want to eat. I went to give her medicine this morning and noticed that she had not touched any of her food that was in her cage. So I got out the CC and started feeding it to her right away. I have to Shove the syringe in her mouth for her to eat it. Is there anyway that I can make it taste more enjoyable for her? And do you have any advice to share for a URI?? Is there anything that I can do? Any Help would be GREAT!! Thanks

 

[Chinmama]

Is she eating her hay? If you have a weight scale, start weighing her so you can tell if she is eating enough food or not. She can eat hay and no pellets and be fine. If she isn't eating either, then you need to be concerned. If you don't have a weight scale, you should buy one.

You can try different things with the critical care to get her to eat it. You should mix it as directed and then you can offer it to her at that consistency, or water it down to the point where it is more runny. She may not voluntarily eat it either way, and you may have to force feed her. Hopefully not, but be sure to keep an eye on her weight.

 

[Milo10]

Shes not eating either.. let me go weight her. At the vets she weighted .9 pounds

Looks like she weighs .8 now

so about 362 grams

 

[Laurie]

Milo you need to be careful when force feeding. You do not want to shove the syringe in the mouth and expell forcefully. If you do this the food will got into her lungs and she will actually choke on it and could die. You need to make sure she is eating, but gently put food into her mouth, let her lick, slurp and swallow the food before putting more in. You also need to make sure you are feeding enough CC for each feeding. You need to get 10ml into her each feeding--feeding 4-6 hours per day. You may have to burrito her in a towel to get her to take the CC--there are several threads on burrito'ing a chin so please review them if you aren't sure.

 

[Milo10]

I only put a little in her mouth at a time, let her chew and swallow and then put more in.

 

[Riven]

I use a tetracycline ( same as terramycin) in the water here as a preventative with no issues with chins going off food. So I doubt it's the antibiotic. I would not be giving it with corn syrup as it's basically just sugar.

She's probably off feed because she feels really bad, or did. On this level of antibiotic you can expect to see around 3 days before she seems fairly normal, do NOT stop treatment because she looks or acts okay.

Are you also giving simethicone because I usually do if I'm hand feeding. If you're hand feeding then the chin isn't getting stuff in, if it's not getting it in it's asking for gas to build up because it's not moving it out.

Sometimes with a URI the throat is sore as well from drainage from the nasal passages, and you said her nose was running. Have you tried making the CC into a play dough form and offering it to her that way?

I would be hand feeding and running a schedule about like this:

Antibiotics, handfeed ( early morning)
PRObiotic, handfeed ( noon)
Antibiotic, handfeed ( supper time)
PRObiotic, hand feed (before bed)

With simethicone given every 4-6 hours, it tastes good and usually they like it.

Follow this regimen until she begins eating on her own make sure to check the water intake as well, and watch to make sure she'd pooping good.

Remember she doesn't feel good, and like a person who's sick she needs some "bed rest", just keep her quite and comfy. Make sure she's drinking, and don't be afraid to use acidophilus or other probiotic, antibiotics kill ALL bacteria, they don't care if it's good or bad bacteria, they kill anything.

 

[tunes]

A vet loading up an antibiotic for a chin with sugar would not impress me overmuch. I also would not give it with the sugary junk in it. And, personally, I would not use anything other than Baytril for a respiratory infection. You can take the prescription to a pharmacy and they can mix in some flavoring to take away the bitter taste, but it won't be just pure sugar.

Do you have a gram scale? Saying "about 350 gm" and ".9" pounds isn't accurate. If you have a chin that is ill, then you need a gram scale so you can keep close track of an accurate weight.

You can also add some canned pure pumpkin to the critical care, just pure pumpkin not a pie mix. It makes it more pallatable and adds a few more calories.

 

[ticklechin]

I agree, I would want baytril for a URI, IMO a vet that chooses terra for a URI does not know chinchillas.

 

[Kalandra]

I cannot offer advice for feeding her, as I'm a hedgehog person, but I am concerned for poor Milo. When was the last time Milo was on antibiotics? Hasn't Milo had a few different problems in the last 3-4 months? I think I remember Milo having had an ear infection and eye infection and now a URI. Is that accurate? Are there any other recurrences or infections?

I ask because that seems like a lot of problems in a short period of time. If they are all bacterial related infections it leads me to believe that the source of the infection is not going away entirely. Perhaps the antibiotics are working well enough to kill most of the bacteria but not all of it?

If that is the case, has your doc suggested doing a culture and sensitivity test? I ask because I had a hedgehog about 11 years ago that had a recurring infection. He was on antibiotics off and on for awhile. He would get better and appear to be healed, then the infection would come back. Finally the vet suggested a C&S be performed. The C&S results came back and showed he had an antibiotic resistant strain of staph. While the antibiotic he was on worked well enough to make him appear cured, it didn't fully kill off the staph. He was put on a new drug and it finally cured him.

 

[Milo10]

The ear infection never came back, but she did get another scratched ulcer. I asked the vet to put her on the Terrimycin because last time Milo was on the Baytril for the inner ear infection she didn't want to eat anything like now.

 

[ticklechin]

The chin needs the best anitbiotic for the job, not the best one for the owners convenience. URIs kill and kill often, if handfeeding needs to be done then do it, regardless if she wants to eat or not baytril is the best for this infection. I also am concerned with the amount of problems this chin has had in a short period of time.

 

[tati121]

The chin needs the best anitbiotic for the job, not the best one for the owners convenience.

I don't think Milo's owner requested a different antibiotic in order to save time by not having to hand feed her chin.

I asked the vet to put her on the Terrimycin because last time Milo was on the Baytril for the inner ear infection she didn't want to eat anything like now.

Milo was on Baytril for another infection and her owner saw the affect it had on her appetite which is why she requested a different antibiotic. If the Baytril was a more appropriate course than the Terrimycin then the vet should have said something. The owner's request was made in order to prevent Milo from losing his appetite not out of convenience for the owner.

 

[Megan]

I have to agree. This chin needs to be on something stronger. If you are already force feeding her as she doesn't want to eat, the baytril won't make it any worse.

How much are you feeding her? Are you giving her enough of the CC to keep her weight where it is?

I also 2nd the opinion on getting a gram scale. You need to know how much you are dosing, and need to keep a careful eye on her to make sure she is gaining.

 

[Milo10]

I don't have a problem with hand feeding milo! Milo is like my baby! If anything seems not right with her I take her to the vets. I asked for the Baytril because I didn't the like the effect that it had on her. I started handfeeding her when I noticed she hadn't touched any of her food in her bowl. I've been feeding her every 4-8 hours 10ml. I did it for Milo. Not for my own convience.

I'm giving her .33 of terrimycin 3x's a day. Like the vet told me to. He does specalize in chinchillas. Hes been doing it for 30 years

 

[Megan]

I believe the rough amount you want in her is 60ml(correct me if I'm wrong) (mixed according to package directions), and then thinned out to whatever consistancy she'll take. If you stretch it out to the 10ml every 8 hours she won't be getting enough. Are you feeding her during the night as well?

 

[tunes]

Milo was on Baytril for another infection and her owner saw the affect it had on her appetite which is why she requested a different antibiotic. If the Baytril was a more appropriate course than the Terrimycin then the vet should have said something. The owner's request was made in order to prevent Milo from losing his appetite not out of convenience for the owner.

URI's can turn into a pneumonia in a heartbeat, and Terramycin is not generally as effective for treating a respiratory infection, any more than Sulfa is (though I prefer sulfa over Baytril if I can possibly use it). Milo seems to have an awful lot of health problems going on with one little chin, more than I've ever seen in any one else's. I agree with Julie. You have to wonder if there is something going on that just isn't getting cleared up. Maybe the antibiotics were not dosed correctly, not given long enough, etc., and now there is an infection going on that needs cleared up for Milo to be healthy.

I personally would not use anything other than Baytril for a chin with a URI, regardless of whether it puts them off their appetite. It's an inconvience for the owner to have to hand feed, but that is not a reason to go with a lesser antibiotic buried in sugar. If you have an already sick chin, their immune system is down, they are not eating well already, then you slam their system with a bunch of sugar 3 times a day for however long? That is not going to do anything to help their appetite or to keep their gut flora normalized.

Also, do I remember right that your mom is/was a vet tech? (Could be thinking of someone else.) You could eliminate the problem of inappetance by administering the Baytril via injection rather than orally. I personally have no problem administering it orally. I simply give a "chaser" afterwards, i.e., a rosehip, a piece of a bite sized shredded wheat, a few rolled oats, a bit of critical care - just somethign to wash the bad taste away.

ETA: If she's not eating at all, 60 mL will not even help her to maintain weight. You're going to have to go up from that, get her to level out (which you won't know what level is unless you get a gram scale and not a pound scale), and then you can keep her at that amount for maintenance until she's eating on her own.

 

[Milo10]

Laurie told me to feed her 10ml every 4-8 hours. I have my alarm on my phone set to certain times so I will get up during the night to feed her too.

 

[tunes]

Again, Milo, from someone who has much experience with hand feeding, if she is not eating, that amount is not going to help at all. 40 mL a DAY is not going to help stop weight loss, level her out, or help her to regain weight.

 

[Milo10]

I'm going to go get a gram scale today. My moms a nurse, I'm a vet assistant.

 

[ticklechin]

I don't think Milo's owner requested a different antibiotic in order to save time by not having to hand feed her chin.



Milo was on Baytril for another infection and her owner saw the affect it had on her appetite which is why she requested a different antibiotic. If the Baytril was a more appropriate course than the Terrimycin then the vet should have said something. The owner's request was made in order to prevent Milo from losing his appetite not out of convenience for the owner.

How long have you had chins and have been on forums? Vets for the most part don't know squat about chins so its no suprise this vet agreed to her request for that antibiotic even though it was not the best and she could die from the URI. You have chins, you learn to hand feed, and you do what is best for the chins and if that means you give baytril and the chin gets hard to feed so be it.