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Another day, another visit to the vet

Sadly Dora has deteriorated and now has noisy breathing. We have a vet appointment at 3.20. My poor girl really isn't doing well at all. I have also had to remove Belle to a temporary cage as she had started to bully Dora.

Dora hasn't given up though and ate all her veggies this morning. It is awful to hear her struggling with her breathing.
 
YvonneBlue said:
Sadly Dora has deteriorated and now has noisy breathing. We have a vet appointment at 3.20. My poor girl really isn't doing well at all. I have also had to remove Belle to a temporary cage as she had started to bully Dora.

Dora hasn't given up though and ate all her veggies this morning. It is awful to hear her struggling with her breathing.
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I’m so sorry Yvonne. It’s so hard to see them poorly and then see their friends turn on them. Good to hear that Dora still has her appetite, though. Hope all goes well this afternoon.
 
I wish I had anything useful to add, but I don't. Thinking of you all this afternoon :(
 
My piggies seem to be in a stampede for the rainbow bridge this year. This is the reality of getting a group of piggies at the same time. They all get old together and it's tough to watch them become frail.

Aris, one of the exotics vets at Ashleigh, was trying to console me with the fact that we must care for them well as they have all reached old age. I know deep down this is probably true but it doesn't make me feel any better at the moment.
 
I’m so sorry Yvonne, I hope the vet can give Dora something for her breathing today, I’m thinking of you all and hope it goes well x
 
So the good news is that Dora doesn't have a chest infection but she does have some sort of infection in her nose which is causing the noisy breathing. The bad news is that we have another 14 days of ABs (a different one again) and that means at least another 14 days of syringe feeding. She is eating veggies for herself but not a lot of hay so i'm syringe feeding her 3 times a day about 15ml at a time. Her weight is low but i can't feed her a lot the things that would help her as she is on a low calcium diet.

I don't know what to do about Belle as i don't really want to put her back in with Dora at the moment and i feel sorry for both of them being on their own. I also don't have a spare cage, so Belle is in temporary accommodation in the living room. Why does all this happen when i only have 3 weeks before i go on holiday.

Sorry for grumbling but i need to vent and at least you all understand.
 
Aw bless you Yvonne. You’re having such a rubbish time and it’s bound to take its toll.

Elizabeth has on / off snuffly breathing from her nose which we think is environmental and that it’s dry air that sets her off. If it helps, she developed an infection that we feared was lymphoma as all her lymph nodes became swollen just as we were going on holiday a few weeks ago and she was going to Wiebke’s for two weeks. Thankfully the antibiotics cleared it up and her lymph nodes went back to normal but it was such a worry and I felt awful handing her over to Wiebke expecting her to medicate her twice a day. Same thing with Edward last summer when he was really unwell and had to be pts just as Wiebke was poorly with Covid. Sadly, these things always happen at the worst time 😞

But it’s great news that Dora doesn’t have a chest infection. I hope these new antibiotics will do the trick.

I’m not sure what to suggest about Belle as you don’t want to risk breaking their bond forever x
 
So sorry Yvonne, timing is always awful when piggies are poorly. You’ve had that situation worst than most and been so unlucky 😞 Hopefully she is better before you go away 🤞
 
I hear you. The timing is just typical. But good news that the infection isn’t on the chest and hopefully the antibiotics will soon knock it into touch. The continuing syringe top up feeding is so draining for you but you’re doing an amazing job. Huge hugs x
 
Just to thank you all for your kind words and a little update on Dora. By this morning Dora had stopped having noisy breathing (this is before any dose of the new antibiotics) and is much brighter. So for the time being i am holding off giving them to see if this is a long term improvement. I am wondering if she may have had some dust or even a bit of syringe feed up her nose. She did have her nose in the dish of syringe feed a few times! The vet did say he wasn't sure if it was an infection but was giving the ABs as a precaution as she was already quite weak. They did come with a warning that they may upset her stomach, so i don't want to risk this if she is on the road to recovery without them. I will keep a close eye on her for the next few days and if the noisy breathing returns i will start her on the meds.

I am hoping if the improvement continues i may be able to try rebonding her with Belle next week. Belle is not very happy on her own and is constantly chewing at the bars of the run. I have put two of my other piggies in the run next to her so that she has some company nearby.
 
She looks so much like Bann there, with a black nose and ginger-y feet :wub: hopefully she'll settle a bit.
 
Dora is still very unwell. Emergency vet visit on Tuesday as she had stopped pooing. Dora was going into GI stasis and had low body temperature. Taken off the ABs and given Cisapride and came home on Wednesday. She seemed to be doing ok with top up syringe feeding Thursday. Eating, pooping and showing interest in her piggy neighbours. However, by Friday afternoon she was showing signs of bloat and felt cool to the touch again.

Managed to get a triage with one of the vet nurses at our practice. Dora was admitted to the vet hospital again. I spoke to the vet this morning. Dora is eating and pooping but still a little bloated. The main worry is her inability to maintain her body temperature. As soon as they removed her from the heated incubator her temperature dropped. We have agreed to blood tests today, although there is a risk from the sedation. They are also doing a culture from her urine to see if the infection is still present. She hasn't given up, so neither have we but I'm not sure what else we can do. 😢
 
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