ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi all,
One of my piggies (desexed female 3 years 4 months old) started having breathing problems on Sunday night. I noticed she looked off and her nostrils were moving more than usual. We went off to the after hours emergency vet and she was able to receive four hours of oxygen and I asked them for antibiotics (they prescribed baytril and doxy) and a diuretic (frusemide). They didn’t have much knowledge on Guinea pigs so suggested follow up with an exotic vet. Luckily, she made it through the night and I was able to get her to an exotics specialist in the morning.
She received more oxygen for the day, they gave her more diuretics (frusemide) and changed her antibiotic over to trim sulpha. They suggested it is less harsh on gut and works for respiratory infections also. They could hear crackling and also did an X-ray and it showed some fluid in the lungs and unfortunately because of the fluid, they can’t see the heart clearly. They told me it’s still very treatable at this stage but depends how she progresses over then next week and then once the fluid is cleared from lungs, they can do another X-ray and check for heart disease.
She is doing so much better today already, eating and moving more and her colour is better (skin more pink than yesterday). I’m also supplementing vitamin c, echinacea and she’s receiving meloxicam also. I’ve got an air purifier running in their room. Is there anything else I can do to help her recovery and also suggest to the vet on her revisit in a week when checking for heart disease? She’s developed a fatty pea eye in the last year so not sure if that’s related?
One of my piggies (desexed female 3 years 4 months old) started having breathing problems on Sunday night. I noticed she looked off and her nostrils were moving more than usual. We went off to the after hours emergency vet and she was able to receive four hours of oxygen and I asked them for antibiotics (they prescribed baytril and doxy) and a diuretic (frusemide). They didn’t have much knowledge on Guinea pigs so suggested follow up with an exotic vet. Luckily, she made it through the night and I was able to get her to an exotics specialist in the morning.
She received more oxygen for the day, they gave her more diuretics (frusemide) and changed her antibiotic over to trim sulpha. They suggested it is less harsh on gut and works for respiratory infections also. They could hear crackling and also did an X-ray and it showed some fluid in the lungs and unfortunately because of the fluid, they can’t see the heart clearly. They told me it’s still very treatable at this stage but depends how she progresses over then next week and then once the fluid is cleared from lungs, they can do another X-ray and check for heart disease.
She is doing so much better today already, eating and moving more and her colour is better (skin more pink than yesterday). I’m also supplementing vitamin c, echinacea and she’s receiving meloxicam also. I’ve got an air purifier running in their room. Is there anything else I can do to help her recovery and also suggest to the vet on her revisit in a week when checking for heart disease? She’s developed a fatty pea eye in the last year so not sure if that’s related?
piggie Susie suffered with respiratory problems for nearly a year before she passed and we tried various antibiotics and treatments. The only thing that worked for her long term was nebulising her using f10 antiseptic solution diluted down with water but again, this was because nothing else helped. See how the treatment goes and maybe mention nebulising to your vet if there is no progress. Always consult your vet first before trying it though.
I also had an experience with another piggie who had fluid in the lungs last year, unfortunately by the time we caught it, it was too late 
