• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

heart disease or allergy symptoms?

Wizzy

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 19, 2018
Messages
391
Reaction score
145
Points
340
Location
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Pepper has been on antibiotics for 3 weeks, with 2 more weeks of the course left. We’ve taken her to the vet twice because her breathing didn’t really get better. Before the antibiotics, she would wheeze, cough and sound very congesting ‘hooting’ on and off for over a week before we came to the realisation that it wasn’t just hay dust. That’s gone away, but the only symptoms she still has are a slight runny nose (but she has had this throughout her life) and also she is whistling whilst breathing out. This is a symptom that has never gone away, although it gets a lot better- to the point where i think it’s gone- and then gets worse again.
- she’s still eating, drinking and moving around normally. She seems to lose a small amount of weight (40g ish) and then put it back on again. In fact, last time we went to the vet, just over a week ago, the vet mentioned she had put on quite a bit of weight and her lungs sounded clear. She has lost a bit of weight since then, however, and i’ve noticed around her neck she’s become a bit slimmer. the vet wasn’t sure it was a heart problem as my other guinea pig had a crusty eye and a slight runny nose. Rexy has recovered but as mentioned before Peppers symptoms remain. She also has a tiny round bit of dry skin on her foot, which i was scared was bumblefoot, but it doesn’t seem to effect her and hasn’t got bigger since i noticed it 2 days ago. I’m extremely scared that it’s a heart disease, and she still has 2 weeks of antibiotics left so i’m hoping the breathing does go away, but the whsitly breathing has stayed consistent for the past 3 weeks. Her sides, and sometimes all of her seem to move when breathing, which i think is laboured breathing? That does worry me as i didn’t notice it until 3 days ago. Her tongue is still very pink, and her ears did feel cold but so did rexys, but it is cold today so i’m hoping this is just because of the weather. How would i tell the difference between just a bad uri, an allergy of any sort, or a heart problem? :( i’d also like to note that her breathing seems to get better mid-morning time, but then worse again in late afternoon/ night. Sometimes i can’t hear it at all, but other times i can hear it whilst i’m trying to sleep... and the cage is several metres away from me. I’m careful not to spray anything or light any candles so i can’t see what she would be irritated by. Sorry this is so long- if anyone had any advice it would be greatly appreciated:)
 
Her sides also heave when she breathes. Again i’m not sure if this is all the time. I wasn’t sure before but after looking at a video i’m fairly certain. I really hope it’s not her heart :(
 
Please contact your vets and have her re checked s a matter of priority- send the video if needed. Diaphragmatic breathing needs to be seen by the vet as it can sometimes indicate a build up of fluid from heart troubles or pneumonia. Has she had an X-ray to see whether there is fluid in her chest or her heart is enlarged?
 
Please contact your vets and have her re checked s a matter of priority- send the video if needed. Diaphragmatic breathing needs to be seen by the vet as it can sometimes indicate a build up of fluid from heart troubles or pneumonia. Has she had an X-ray to see whether there is fluid in her chest or her heart is enlarged?
Thank you, i called the vet. He said to keep a close eye on her, and also asked if there were any other symptoms. The yellowish crust on her nose and her watery eyes seemed to have returned so the vet then told me it was unlikely to be a heart condition because of this... and rather a very harsh and tricky to remove uri. I’ve been instructed to bring her into the vets tomorrow if it still hasn’t improved, or if it gets worse.
The vet hasn’t done an x-ray but examined her heart and lungs last wednesday and said her heart sounded fine, and her lungs sounded clearer than they were the first time we took her in. She seems to have perked up today and is eating/drinking/running around normally but her breathing is still bad. I really want to help her but the vet advised to carry on with the antibiotics and again keep a close eye on her.
 
Thank you, i called the vet. He said to keep a close eye on her, and also asked if there were any other symptoms. The yellowish crust on her nose and her watery eyes seemed to have returned so the vet then told me it was unlikely to be a heart condition because of this... and rather a very harsh and tricky to remove uri. I’ve been instructed to bring her into the vets tomorrow if it still hasn’t improved, or if it gets worse.
The vet hasn’t done an x-ray but examined her heart and lungs last wednesday and said her heart sounded fine, and her lungs sounded clearer than they were the first time we took her in. She seems to have perked up today and is eating/drinking/running around normally but her breathing is still bad. I really want to help her but the vet advised to carry on with the antibiotics and again keep a close eye on her.
The laboured breathing seems to have improved significantly this evening, and she is running around the cage like mad in all directions and popcorning which does make me feel better. The whistly breathing is still there but the vet said to continue with antibiotics and see how she is at the end of the course, and if she gets worse to of course bring her to the vet. I think for now she’s just loving the extra attention. Our hay also doesn’t seem to be helping things in terms of dust, we usually get it from Pets at Home but i was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations of less dusty hay of a good quality. Thank you for all your advice everyone, it’s very helpful <3
 
The laboured breathing seems to have improved significantly this evening, and she is running around the cage like mad in all directions and popcorning which does make me feel better. The whistly breathing is still there but the vet said to continue with antibiotics and see how she is at the end of the course, and if she gets worse to of course bring her to the vet. I think for now she’s just loving the extra attention. Our hay also doesn’t seem to be helping things in terms of dust, we usually get it from Pets at Home but i was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations of less dusty hay of a good quality. Thank you for all your advice everyone, it’s very helpful <3
For less dusty hay I would go with hay box! We also found pets at home hay to be very dusty, the hay box is is so much better quality, and the pigs love it!
 
I really hope things start improving for you all. I know myself I get so worried about my piggies. They’ve made funny noises on and off since March and I’ve taken them to the vets numerous times and spend a lot of money on vet bills and consultations to give me peace of mind and nothing seems to be wrong with them. please keep us updated xx
 
Back
Top