Specialist Guinea pig loud breathing and coughing

[Guineaapig]

Our guinea pig has been having difficulty breathing and also now has a cough. He has been to a vet who’s said his lungs we’re fine and that it could be allergies. His nose and lips do get quite pale and he really struggles to breathe. Baytril didn’t help him. His breathing is very loud and sounds congested but his nose is clear and not running and his eyes aren’t fine. He’s eating and drinking fine too

 

[Wiebke]

Our guinea pig has been having difficulty breathing and also now has a cough. He has been to a vet who’s said his lungs we’re fine and that it could be allergies. His nose and lips do get quite pale and he really struggles to breathe. Baytril didn’t help him. His breathing is very loud and sounds congested but his nose is clear and not running and his eyes aren’t fine. He’s eating and drinking fine too

Hi and welcome!

Has your vet checked the heart for problems and the chest cavity for a potential fluid build up? It sounds like needs a diuretic as soon as you can get to a vet.

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[DM030819]

@Guineaapig If his nose and lips are going pale then it's very possible that he had a build up of fluid. One of my boys has had it happen to him twice recently and now he is on a daily dose of diuretic, in his case it's Frusol.

I'd definitely recommend seeing the vet again asap as the strain of breathing can cause strain on his heart. We very nearly lost my boy the first time it happened, he needed to go into an oxygen tank for a while to get him oxygenated again.

 

[Freela]

I would definitely see the vet again (and make sure it's a vet with experience in small animals.) Working hard to breathe is potentially serious. I would worry about heart failure or about a lung infection that isn't susceptible to Baytril. How old is your piggie? Heart problems are more common in older animals, but can occur in younger ones too.

 

[helen105281]

I agree that the vet needs to give a diuretic and check his heart. A conscious xray would be a good idea but if there is a lot if fluid it may not be possible to see the heart on the xray to check if it is enlarged.