Diarrhoea

[Janet Courtney]

Any one any experience of gerbils who have had diarrhoea for four days?   Mr Hyde initially had a problem with his rear end  it was very swollen, and is still swollen, but he could still pass motions, seemingly without any problems.......I discovered he had eaten away part of it - obviously something annoyed him.  That was 3/4 weeks ago.  The vet gave me Fuciderm cream to put on.  With the help of that and the Cavy Trust in Cambridge, England, that problem is 90% solved.  However, a week ago my vet gave him a large does of Baytrill to help fight the infection from inside - as I had been squeezing the wound before dressing to get pus out.  Four days ago he developed diarrhoea and the vet wondered if his natural intestinal goodies had been killed - I was given a probiotic power to help restore the balance.  He is eating - obviously - but due to the initial illness, and the suffering it must have caused him, he has lost   a quarter to one third of his weight.  His friend Dr Jekyl is OK.   Mr Hyde obviously wants to survive - judging by his will to live and he still comes out to chew at the loo roll inners sometimes.    I do not want to keep Mr Hyde alive just for the sake of it, but on the other hand I want to give him a chance of life.   I do not know how old they are as they came from a rescue centre - I would hazard a guess that they were over 18 months.   Any suggestions as to how I should treat the problem?   Janet Courtney