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Getting better then relapsing

Nicjones99

Nicjones99

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi there, my 3-year-old teddy pig, Mabel, has been having breathing issues - nostrils flaring, visible deep breathing on her sides. This started last Sunday (13th July). We took her to the vet (exotic specialist) on Monday morning who prescribed her metacam, Co-Trimoxazole (antibiotic), Frusal (to clear fluid from her lungs) and a prebiotic. As well as this, we've been syringe feeding her 10ml of Critical Care every 4 hours. By Wednesday I really thought she was going to die (staring at the wall, not eating for herself at all). Then on Thursday she perked right up - showing interest in food, moving around more, even had some floor time. I was amazed! Thought we were through the worst, then sadly yesterday (Friday) she has had a relapse - it was really hot and although we kept the room cool with fans, ice, etc, I wonder if this stressed her. Fortunately today is much cooler. She is still very quiet, not eating (only slightly nibbling on her favourites: fresh grass and parsley). Could you advise if this is normal when recovering from a URI or is it a bad sign that the antibiotics haven't worked yet? Should we be feeding her more or is 10ml every 4 hours okay? Is there still hope or should I prepare for the worst? Is there anything else I should/could be doing? Thanks for your advice and support.
 
I’m sorry to hear she is unwell.

Have you been weighing her each morning? Doing so is vital and is the only way to know whether she is being syringe fed enough to keep her weight stable. You are aiming for 60-90ml of syringe feed each day.
You feed as much per sitting as she is prepared to take.

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

I would advise that you to speak to the vet as she is deteriorating. Whether it’s due to the meds not working, heat related issues or otherwise is for the vet determine.
 
Okay, thank you - I weighed her yesterday and she was only 20g less than her usual weight (1030g) but I will weigh her again now and do so every day. I will increase her syringe feeding to 15ml too. She tends to get to take about 10ml quite easily and then start resisting - should we be forcing her to take more feed? I'm not sure what else the vet can do - she said she didn't know for sure if it was her lungs or her heart without a £500 scan, and that it wouldn't make a difference to the treatment anyway.
 
No you shouldn’t force her to take more at each feed - you give as much as she will take at each sitting and then stop. Instead, you increase the amount of sittings so ie instead of feeding every four hours you feed every three hours to increase total volume over the day to keep weight stable.
You are looking to keep her weight around the same each day (there will be some normal fluctuation though). Those weight checks are what tells you whether you have the right amount over the day.

If she has suddenly deteriorated though do you need to speak to the vet - there could be a multitude of reasons for a deterioration and there may well be something the vet can do depending on the cause.
 
Okay, thanks - I understand what you mean about increasing the number of feeds rather than increasing the amount. I'll give the vet a call and see if she can offer any advice.
 
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