Lower respiratory infection and rapid weight loss

[Lazw]

Hi all,
So bramble my lovely 10 month old sow was bereaved approx 4 weeks ago- (other piggy passed through the night, suddenly and had a long history of health conditions). I took bramble straight to our cavy savvy vet for a full check up as I wanted to check she was OK given the sudden passing of my old piggy, and the vet said she seemed fine, good weight, clear chest etc and overall very happy with her.
After I had had her checked, I got her a new 5 week old baby sow as new company the day after and they have lived together ever since. I did not quarantine the new piggy given her young age and brambles obvious loneliness since her buddy passed. She was only on her own for 2 days in between.

About 2 weeks after the arrival of our new piggy, Holly, bramble started to do much smaller poops than usual however was otherwise her usual self. She did however, start to steadily drop in weight too from 842g just before Christmas, to 730 grams today. She has been to the vets again today who has diagnosed a lower respiratory infection, and swollen lymph glands throughout her body which the vet said is probably caused by the infection. The vet also noticed her significant weight loss and has given me critical care which we have started on today. The vet thinks that the smaller poops are almost definitely linked to the respiratory infection too, as this affects the digestive system when they are poorly? Other than being small they are normally formed.

Bramble has also been prescribed metacam 0.4ml 2x a day and karidox 0.02ml 2x a day for the bacterial infection. She has been such a good piggy this evening and I'm gutted that she is so poorly .

My question is, could my new piggy have been an asymptomatic carrier of some bacterial infection which bram has caught from her? They have no contact with any other animals, however the home my new piggy came from had a lot of rabbits and I'm aware they can carry bacteria which is dangerous for piggies, even though they were housed separately from the piggies. I'm at a loss as to how she has become so unwell with a lower respiratory infection, which the vet said is more concerning than a URI and quite unusual in a young apparently healthy pig. Is it likely to be something more sinister? Vet said her heart sounded absolutely fine. She lives indoors, has lovely haybox subscription hay with no dust, I keep her on carefresh and fleece again to avoid dust so I can't think of any other cause for this other than the new piggy, and in that case does she need treating too even though the vet has checked her today and said she's all clear?

Sorry for all the info, I just wanted to make sure I didnt miss anything. I just want to do the best I can for them

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

So sorry to hear about your poorly girl, and your previous loss.
I’m sure more experienced people will be along to help.
Sending love and healing vibes from my guys

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Sorry for your earlier loss, and your poorly sow.
Often, URIs can be triggered by stress, so perhaps it is similar here - the upset of bereavement could have lowered her companion's immune system.
I've not heard of lower respiratory infections though. Hopefully a health expert will be able to help soon.

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

By lower respiratory infection do they mean a pneumonia? If there’s fluid, I found Frusol to be very effective. Might be worth chatting to your vet about?

 

[Lazw]

By lower respiratory infection do they mean a pneumonia? If there’s fluid, I found Frusol to be very effective. Might be worth chatting to your vet about?

I'm not sure, she just said lower respiratory infection but she could tell I was really worried so perhaps didn't want to say pneumonia..... Is fruso furosemide based? I did wonder whether a diuretic might help her but I'm not sure how much fluid is on her lungs. She just sounds a little hoarse when she squeaks, there's no rattling when she breathes. Thanks for your reply

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Can I just check the karidox dose? Do you mean 0.02 or 0.2ml? 0.02ml seems a very small dose.

 

[Lazw]

Can I just check the karidox dose? Do you mean 0.02 or 0.2ml? 0.02ml seems a very small dose.

Sorry its 0.04ml she's on, which is still a tiny amount but the vet did say it was a really small amount because its doxycycline. Poor piggy is only weighing in at 730grams at the moment too

 

[Lazw]

I've just done some online delving and it appears that karidox is more commonly used in chickens than guineas, but their dosage is also really tiny at 0.1ml per kilo bodyweight and that's at the same strength (100mg/ml). So I guess the Guinea dose is about 0.07ml per kilo? Has anyone had any experience of karidox before?

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

I'm not sure, she just said lower respiratory infection but she could tell I was really worried so perhaps didn't want to say pneumonia..... Is fruso furosemide based? I did wonder whether a diuretic might help her but I'm not sure how much fluid is on her lungs. She just sounds a little hoarse when she squeaks, there's no rattling when she breathes. Thanks for your reply

The vet would need to listen for fluid on the lungs. My boy had pneumonia (lower resp infection), and our vets strongly recommended Zithromax and frusol. Though his wasn’t actually anything bacterial in the end, but Azithromycin would cover bacterial pneumonia.
might be worth another chat with your vet if you’re still worried

 

[Lazw]

The vet would need to listen for fluid on the lungs. My boy had pneumonia (lower resp infection), and our vets strongly recommended Zithromax and frusol. Though his wasn’t actually anything bacterial in the end, but Azithromycin would cover bacterial pneumonia.
might be worth another chat with your vet if you’re still worried

Thanks for your response. The vet did listen to her chest yesterday, and prescribed doxycycline because she said it has better penetration to lower lung tissue than other antibiotics, I really hope she gets better soon and it's not an underlying condition . She's got a follow up with the same vet next Thursday to see how the antibiotics are going and to do xrays and bloods if still no improvement. Xx

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Thanks for your response. The vet did listen to her chest yesterday, and prescribed doxycycline because she said it has better penetration to lower lung tissue than other antibiotics, I really hope she gets better soon and it's not an underlying condition . She's got a follow up with the same vet next Thursday to see how the antibiotics are going and to do xrays and bloods if still no improvement. Xx

She seems young for it to be heart related (not saying it can’t be though). Hope the antibiotics help. If not, discuss azithromycin as I’ve found it to be by far the best (and on recommendation of others) for resp infections. whenever I’ve used docycline in the past, I find it to be a massive appetite killer. So really make sure you’re getting enough syringe food in and way at the same time daily. Maybe add some extra vitamin C in too, to boost her immune system.
Let us know how she’s getting on Sending hugs from my guys!

 

[Lazw]

She seems young for it to be heart related (not saying it can’t be though). Hope the antibiotics help. If not, discuss azithromycin as I’ve found it to be by far the best (and on recommendation of others) for resp infections. whenever I’ve used docycline in the past, I find it to be a massive appetite killer. So really make sure you’re getting enough syringe food in and way at the same time daily. Maybe add some extra vitamin C in too, to boost her immune system.
Let us know how she’s getting on Sending hugs from my guys!

Thanks for this, I really appreciate it . I really hope it doesnt affect her appetite, she's only had 2 doses so far and is still eating like a horse so I really hope this continues! She's taking critical care off the end of the syringe too so it's not been too much of an ordeal and I've just started her on pro-c probiotics today too to try and counteract the bad effects of the antibiotic on her gut. It says it has vit c added to it so will that be adequate? Just given her a little bit of parsley mushed up with the remainder of this syringe of critical care and some probiotics and she's eaten the lot! Very grumpy with our other piggy though who she won't tolerate having anywhere near her at the moment so she's clearly feeling a little poorly even if she is eating at the moment. I will ask the vet about the other antibiotic if this doesn't do the trick, thank you. It's a little strange really, she's not coughing or sneezing, no discharge from her eyes or nose, just a slight croak when she talks and grumpy with it!

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Thanks for this, I really appreciate it ❤. I really hope it doesnt affect her appetite, she's only had 2 doses so far and is still eating like a horse so I really hope this continues! She's taking critical care off the end of the syringe too so it's not been too much of an ordeal and I've just started her on pro-c probiotics today too to try and counteract the bad effects of the antibiotic on her gut. It says it has vit c added to it so will that be adequate? Just given her a little bit of parsley mushed up with the remainder of this syringe of critical care and some probiotics and she's eaten the lot! Very grumpy with our other piggy though who she won't tolerate having anywhere near her at the moment so she's clearly feeling a little poorly even if she is eating at the moment. I will ask the vet about the other antibiotic if this doesn't do the trick, thank you. It's a little strange really, she's not coughing or sneezing, no discharge from her eyes or nose, just a slight croak when she talks and grumpy with it!

Quite often you don’t get any sneezing or nasal discharge with respiratory infections, unlike in humans and some other species.
Glad she’s eating lots! Try weigh at the same time daily as that will give you an indication as to whether she’s eating enough. Weight can fluctuate 50g or so, but anything more than that or consistent losses is a concern. I think you’re doing well with the syringe feeding and t vitamin C in the probiotic is really useful. As long as she’s getting unlimited hay, could you try adding some vitamin C rich veggies in (but low in calcium) such as peppers?

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Oh and you’re most welcome

 

[Lazw]

Quite often you don’t get any sneezing or nasal discharge with respiratory infections, unlike in humans and some other species.
Glad she’s eating lots! Try weigh at the same time daily as that will give you an indication as to whether she’s eating enough. Weight can fluctuate 50g or so, but anything more than that or consistent losses is a concern. I think you’re doing well with the syringe feeding and t vitamin C in the probiotic is really useful. As long as she’s getting unlimited hay, could you try adding some vitamin C rich veggies in (but low in calcium) such as peppers?

Thanks for this . Yes she's had pepper parsley and a little bit of lettuce this evening and I've just been to check on her and she's hoovering the floor looking for any bits they missed the first time around! I got her a new grass house today because I felt sorry for her and she's shredding that already, I'm just worried she's losing weight when to me it looks like she's eating more than ever. I really hope this isn't something more sinister. I've lost 2 piggies in the last 7 months and one was horrendous- She became so frail and thin so quickly and I'm terrified we're going the same way here. She started out with mysterious weight loss too and was only 2 years old, she had cancer and I didn't know til it was too late and had to have her pts . I can't go through that again x