Hello,
Many times they just need a boost getting their system back to normal after medications. The prebiotics
should be helpful, has it seemed to be helping him?
What type of substrate are you using, a loose or solid substrate? Do you have a water dish in his tank?
Which medication are you or have you given him for the coccidia, or was he just given the Enroflaxin/
Baytril for a possibly respiratory infection? If he has a heavy load of coccidia then he will need an anti-
coccidial agent because the Baytril wont help in that department.
Be sure he is getting adequate oral fluids since he has had looser stools which can dehydrate him.
Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
It’s difficult for me to tell if anything has been helping him because we’re basically playing whack-a-mole with his GI issues. As soon as one thing clears up something else happens. The issues we’ve seen in/with his stool in the past 2 months have been: mucosal lining, coccidia, entirely undigested food, possible bacteria, coccidia again. I had to make a calendar to track it.
Today he is pretty unwell. He ate a bite of purée and then refused it and roaches (he LOVES roaches). I soaked him to alleviate any gas he may have and he immediately burrowed under his paper towels when I put him back in his cage.
He seems to kick up his paper towels and lay his belly on the glass where his heating mat is when his stomach is bugging him. Would that be helpful in alleviating indigestion? I thought they couldn’t detect heat underneath them.
In regards to the
coccidia: he had an O and P show 30+ coccidia on 10/14. Started 5 days of albon on 10/17. A new O and P on 10/24 was negative for all parasites. I read a fecal myself on 11/21 and saw lots of coccidia and possibly also worms. Sent out a new sample for analysis this morning (all 3 O and Ps were read by me and sent to Idexx). He has an appointment tomorrow, so I’m not sure what treatment they’ll recommend this time.
The
enro was a year ago for a possible URI. A new doctor put him on
ceftazidime (injectable) from 9/27-10/25 to treat his chronic sinusitis. It worked, but then GI issues immediately started occurring.
Both doctors suggested that his immune system was
temporarily compromised when the sinusitis cleared but are unsure what’s wrong now. Both said the ceftazidime wouldn’t have any serious impact on his GI system because it doesn’t attack the commensal bacteria in it.
His
substrate is paper towels because his old doctor recommended we elevate his tank humidity. When he has a bowel movement I clean his tank to prevent reinfection; paper towels are also easy to remove and replace.
Thankfully, he’s
not dehydrated (I don’t think I could handle that on top of everything else). I add water to his purée daily. I soak him after he has a bowel movement (daily) which has also helped
hydrate him.
I only use a
water dish if his humidity is low. He has always despised water so he doesn’t voluntarily drink it.
He hasn’t had formed stool in 2-3 weeks. His daily bowel movements range from loose to diarrhea. He releases additional fluid with his bowel movements. His urates have been smaller (this would concern me if he didn’t have blood work done 3 weeks ago with normal kidney values).