Helping a pig who has pneumonia

[Cait_lin]

My little boar, Pumpkin (11-12 months old), was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday morning. The vet has prescribed him a two week course of Baytril, cat Loxicom and has given me some Bisolvon to dissolve in boiling water 2-3 times a day. I'm already noticing a little improvement in his breathing (he had started almost constantly making this weird noise from his nose but now he's having longer periods of quiet breathing). His symptoms are fast breathing, wheezing, and a clicking/crackling sound in his lungs and nose. Possibly less energy. He's still eating and drinking well, maintaining his weight, and generally appears happy even though I know he must be in pain and discomfort when his breathing's bad.

I've been putting a SnuggleSafe heat pad in the cage in case Pumpkin feels like lying on it. I'm always checking on him, and he's either resting or eating hay. I'm regularly listening to his chest to make sure nothing's getting worse -- I'm letting him have plenty of rest and quiet too, and he always gets a pea flake or two for letting me give him his antibiotics.
Anyone here who's had a guinea pig, or guinea pigs, recover from pneumonia, do you have any advice or suggestions of things that could help Pumpkin? Other than his medication of course. He's going to get the full two week's worth of Baytril, even if his symptoms go away before that, because we don't mess around when it comes to antibiotics. He's actually very good at taking his Baytril, when he's not trying to push the syringe away with his paw, turning his head away, or clambering up me like a little cat to avoid the medicine. And he loves his Loxicom!

 

[piggieminder]

Bless him he sounds a real cutie.
In 2022 5 of my guinea pigs had respiratory infections, 3 developed into pneumonia. They had Baytril for varying lengths of time from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the severity of the infection.
If the Baytril does affect his digestion you may need to syringe feed, Brillo needed top up syringe feeding for the full 2 months.
We had Bisolven powder but didn't dissolve it in water, my vet advised a pinch on cucumber.
We also nebulised with F10 for some of the boys under vet guidance, it maybe worth asking your vet about this.
It's worth booking a vet appointment for a few days before the Baytril runs out to check Pumpkin is clear so that if he needs more Baytril he can carry on without a break.
It was the older boys who suffered the most, the youngsters shook it off quite quickly. Red and Brillo who were the sickest are both still with us, now 6.5 and 6 years of age.

 

[Cait_lin]

Bless him he sounds a real cutie.
In 2022 5 of my guinea pigs had respiratory infections, 3 developed into pneumonia. They had Baytril for varying lengths of time from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the severity of the infection.
If the Baytril does affect his digestion you may need to syringe feed, Brillo needed top up syringe feeding for the full 2 months.
We had Bisolven powder but didn't dissolve it in water, my vet advised a pinch on cucumber.
We also nebulised with F10 for some of the boys under vet guidance, it maybe worth asking your vet about this.
It's worth booking a vet appointment for a few days before the Baytril runs out to check Pumpkin is clear so that if he needs more Baytril he can carry on without a break.
It was the older boys who suffered the most, the youngsters shook it off quite quickly. Red and Brillo who were the sickest are both still with us, now 6.5 and 6 years of age.

Thank you, he is
That must have been so scary oh my goodness, I'm so glad that your guinea pigs managed to recover and that's wonderful that Red and Brillo are still with you!
Thank you very much! I will look into giving some Bisolvon on food as well, and make sure he gets a check-up before the 2 weeks are over.
Wishing the best to you and all your guinea pigs!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Poor little man, hope Pumpkin is on the mend soon

 

[Cait_lin]

Poor little man, hope Pumpkin is on the mend soon

Thank you very much I hope so too

 

[fluffysal]

My boys send healing rumbles

 

[sport_billy]

If it gets worse speak to your vet about a diuretic possibly. They are sometimes used at vets discretion.
Hopefully the baytril and Bisolvon will help.

A quote from @Wiebke on another thread - A diuretic is a medication that drains fluid build-ups from the body; it works on the fluid that congests the lungs in a case of pneumonia and helps to ease breathing more quickly. The most UK vet brand names are frusemide or frusol.

Sending healing vibes x

 

[piggieminder]

I would check with your vet about the Bisolven on food first in case you have something different to ours, yours may not be suitable. Putting the powder we had on cucumber just made it one less syringe! I used to put it on the cucumber and wait a few minutes before I gave it to Brillo so that it melted in and wouldn't run off.

 

[Cait_lin]

My boys send healing rumbles

Thank you, Pumpkin and I appreciate it

 

[Cait_lin]

If it gets worse speak to your vet about a diuretic possibly. They are sometimes used at vets discretion.
Hopefully the baytril and Bisolvon will help.

A quote from @Wiebke on another thread - A diuretic is a medication that drains fluid build-ups from the body; it works on the fluid that congests the lungs in a case of pneumonia and helps to ease breathing more quickly. The most UK vet brand names are frusemide or frusol.

Sending healing vibes x

Thank you, I will definitely do that if he gets worse, or if he stops improving
Thank you very much

 

[Cait_lin]

I would check with your vet about the Bisolven on food first in case you have something different to ours, yours may not be suitable. Putting the powder we had on cucumber just made it one less syringe! I used to put it on the cucumber and wait a few minutes before I gave it to Brillo so that it melted in and wouldn't run off.

I did give him just a pinch of it earlier on a pea flake and kept an eye on him afterwards. But I will definitely check with the vet, the stuff they've given us is Bisolvon Oral Powder and as much as I've searched, I haven't found any information about how effective it is when inhaled rather than consumed. Aw that was a good idea!

 

[piggieminder]

I found cutting a thin slice of cucumber in half helped because he held it up off the floor and ate it in one go so he didn't wipe it on the floor and lose the Bisolven.

 

[Cait_lin]

I just have a couple of questions.
Did anyone else find that their guinea pig's chest would sound a bit clearer sometimes and then go back to being clicky or wheezy the next time you listened? Could it mean the treatment is helping a little or does the breathing always fluctuate with pneumonia?
And has anyone else had to deal with leaving a sick guinea pig at home while you go to work? I start a new job next week and I'm not sure what the shift patterns will be like. My younger sibling (17) says they can help out the days they're not at college, but I'm just so worried about not being here if something happens.
Otherwise, Pumpkin's still eating well and acting like himself other than his wheeziness. He still stands on his hind legs with his paws on the bars of the cage when he hears the peaflake bag He's still cooperating with me when I give him the Baytril, though quite a bit dribbles onto his chin so I have to dry him, which he hates. I should give him a makeshift bib.
Mandatory Pumpkin pic (not recent):

 

[piggieminder]

Pumpkin is gorgeous.
Yes I did find they sounded better some days than others. Saying that those kinds of sounds aren't always infection anyway. Piggy airways are very narrow and the slightest bit of dust in the airway can sound very dramatic. Try not to stress too much, Pumpkin doesn't need watching all the time, if you are anxious he will pick up on that. Adjust medicine times to your routine so that his meds can be given at roughly the right intervals (there's no problem with giving them ahead or behind by an hour or two if you have to). You have to go out, Pumpkin doesn't need watching. As long as he is getting his meds and follow up vet visits when he needs them you are doing all you can and you are doing very well. Be guided by your vet.

 

[Cait_lin]

Pumpkin is gorgeous.
Yes I did find they sounded better some days than others. Saying that those kinds of sounds aren't always infection anyway. Piggy airways are very narrow and the slightest bit of dust in the airway can sound very dramatic. Try not to stress too much, Pumpkin doesn't need watching all the time, if you are anxious he will pick up on that. Adjust medicine times to your routine so that his meds can be given at roughly the right intervals (there's no problem with giving them ahead or behind by an hour or two if you have to). You have to go out, Pumpkin doesn't need watching. As long as he is getting his meds and follow up vet visits when he needs them you are doing all you can and you are doing very well. Be guided by your vet.

Aw thank you
Thank you so much, this is really reassuring to hear I need to remind myself that he's happy, eating and drinking, and hopefully the Loxicom is helping with any discomfort. Thank you again for your kind words and all your help