# Severe diarrhoea possibly caused by antibiotics



## Borik (Aug 13, 2017)

Hello everyone,

We have an emergency - our little girl Borik (age: 3yrs) has severe diarrhea. We think it could be caused by the antibiotic cream (Isaderm - contains an antibiotic (fusidic acid) and a steroid (betamethasone). We used this on her yesterday to treat an open wound on her back which has been diagnosed as ulcerative dermatitis. The cream and diagnosis were given to us by an 'exotic animal specialist' (vet). 
We also tried and mostly managed to clip her toenails which caused her a lot of stress. 
Since last night her poos are pretty much liquid, pale yellow colour. 
She is drinking water (we added probiotics to the water, she also has another bowl with home made electrolyte drink, and there we gave her some kitten milk replacement earlier which she seemed to like). She is eating a bit - we gave her rolled oats and some dried brown bread. Nothing seems to be helping. The poos are just as runny as they were in the morning. 
We are taking her to the vet in the morning (it is midnight here).
Has anybody dealt with a situation like this? Is there anything else we can do to help her?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi there...

I don't know the exact cause of the runs, but I can see straight off that your exotic vet is causing, or at least adding to the situation. Mice do not need their toe nails cut...EVER! Why would you be doing that? It would, as you say, cause extreme stress and mice can die in your hand from that kind of stress. Don't do it. In addition, the cream you re using is very strong steroid! It is not for something so delicate as a mouse, this is not good advice...it is used to treat skin conditions, not to heal a wound. Mice are very delicate creatures and need very mild treatments, and I expect that this cream is responsible for making the mouse ill...steroids!! On top of all this, pro biotics, in what form and what concentration, and electrolytes?? That mouse's system doesn't know what's going on!

How did the mouse get the wound and how big is it? That's important. Mice can heal really quickly and I've seen great gaping holes heal up beautifully in a week! The trick is to keep it dry. A mild tea tree cream could be beneficial, just to keep it free from infection.

Vets notoriously know zero about mice! They often cause more harm than good. Mouse experts are the best peopl for help.

My strong advice at the moment is stop all those treatments immediately and go back to basic. Basic food and water and no additives. Treat the wound as a wound not a condition, get that healed and see if you still think the mouse has a skin condition. I suspect that if you stop all the additives immediately, the diarrohea will stop. No wet food, just seeds/oats/bread. Let the wound dry, keep the mouse alone (so no other mouse is causing the wound) and see how that helps.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I'm guessing the nail clipping is to prevent the scratching.Your mouse is extremely geriatric and in my experience, very aged mice don't respond to treatment no matter how hard you try.If she were mine I would be considering putting her to sleep and until that time just providing a clean quiet environment with maybe the addition of a broad spectrum antibiotic such as Baytril to the water.Best of luck.


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## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

If clipping her nails doesn't work, you could try brushing her teeth...


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