Lower respiratory tract infection

[Josie_lg]

Hello all. Today I had some x rays done on my piggie. She has been crackling for the last week and honking/hooting on and off for the last few months. We did conscious x rays and I was with her as I work there aha! The x rays show she most likely has a lower respiratory tract infection. I’m gutted and so scared. We have got Baytril and metacam aswell as fibreplex as a probiotic. Does anyone have any advice or tips when treating this. I’ve been told about filling a bowl with hot water and sitting with her next to it. But how long and how often should I do this for ?
Also has anyone used bisolvon is this good and how did you use it?
Any advice welcome to help ease her symptoms. Thank you xx

 

[Merab]

I can’t advise but just wanted to assure you of my support.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all. Today I had some x rays done on my piggie. She has been crackling for the last week and honking/hooting on and off for the last few months. We did conscious x rays and I was with her as I work there aha! The x rays show she most likely has a lower respiratory tract infection. I’m gutted and so scared. We have got Baytril and metacam aswell as fibreplex as a probiotic. Does anyone have any advice or tips when treating this. I’ve been told about filling a bowl with hot water and sitting with her next to it. But how long and how often should I do this for ?
Also has anyone used bisolvon is this good and how did you use it?
Any advice welcome to help ease her symptoms. Thank you xx

Hi!

Please take a deep breath. The infection is sitting in the airways and not in the lungs (that would be pneumonia). Think of it as a piggy version of a bad bronchitis or throat infection (crackling) and a somewhat congested nose (hooting/honking). Since guinea pigs have very narrow and small airways and are not really mouth breathers, every little obstruction is always very audible; sometimes rather alarmingly so.

Please give a pinch of bisolvon powder either syringed mixed with 1 ml of water or sprinkled on a bit of favourite veg twice daily. I prefer the syringe method after some of my own piggies eating everything around the powder, but no medication. Bisolvon is a mucus-thinning product, which will help to free up any congested airways and ease the breathing. Your vet is going exactly the right thing.

You can try and see whether bowl of steaming water (with or without 2-3 drops of olbas oil) next to the cage helps ease the breathing. If it does, then you can continue to change hot water regularly to keep the air around the cage moist every few hours.

Just hang on in there. Switch from the life-long once weekly health monitoring weigh-in and body check to weighing daily at the same time and step in with syringe feeding top if needed. Baytril can in some cases also impact on the gut microbiome and dampen or even kill the appetite. That is why you have got the fibreplex. Most piggies don't like the taste of it, but if you mix the daily dose in a little mushed pellets, it will go down just fine.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Syringe Training Before The Need For Medicating
Who is the boss - your guinea pig or you? ('piggy whispering' tips also work with getting down bad tasting meds like baytril. I prefer to give it in one fell swoop (the unmixed dose is less than a mouthful) and then follow up with water or a piece of cucumber to wash away the bad taste with much fussing over and plenty of praise or you can mix the baytril with the same amount of ribena and get that down in two lots. Either way works and is down to personal choice.

Here is how I control an uncooperative piggy with one hand against my upper body to leave the other hand free for the syringe.


I hope that this helps?

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Hello all. Today I had some x rays done on my piggie. She has been crackling for the last week and honking/hooting on and off for the last few months. We did conscious x rays and I was with her as I work there aha! The x rays show she most likely has a lower respiratory tract infection. I’m gutted and so scared. We have got Baytril and metacam aswell as fibreplex as a probiotic. Does anyone have any advice or tips when treating this. I’ve been told about filling a bowl with hot water and sitting with her next to it. But how long and how often should I do this for ?
Also has anyone used bisolvon is this good and how did you use it?
Any advice welcome to help ease her symptoms. Thank you xx

Hi, you say the xrays show a lower respiratory tract infection, so you are meaning a lung infection? If that is the case then that could be pneumonia or bronchitis. The best antibiotic for treating pneumonia is zithromax, not all vets are familiar with it but I would ask your vet to look into it if the baytril isn't wofking. For bronchitis my vet also prescribes corvental, which helps dilate the airways.

 

[Josie_lg]

Hi!

Please take a deep breath. The infection is sitting in the airways and not in the lungs (that would be pneumonia). Think of it as a piggy version of a bad bronchitis or throat infection (crackling) and a somewhat congested nose (hooting/honking). Since guinea pigs have very narrow and small airways and are not really mouth breathers, every little obstruction is always very audible; sometimes rather alarmingly so.

Please give a pinch of bisolvon powder either syringed mixed with 1 ml of water or sprinkled on a bit of favourite veg twice daily. I prefer the syringe method after some of my own piggies eating everything around the powder, but no medication. Bisolvon is a mucus-thinning product, which will help to free up any congested airways and ease the breathing. Your vet is going exactly the right thing.

You can try and see whether bowl of steaming water (with or without 2-3 drops of olbas oil) next to the cage helps ease the breathing. If it does, then you can continue to change hot water regularly to keep the air around the cage moist every few hours.

Just hang on in there. Switch from the life-long once weekly health monitoring weigh-in and body check to weighing daily at the same time and step in with syringe feeding top if needed. Baytril can in some cases also impact on the gut microbiome and dampen or even kill the appetite. That is why you have got the fibreplex. Most piggies don't like the taste of it, but if you mix the daily dose in a little mushed pellets, it will go down just fine.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Syringe Training Before The Need For Medicating
Who is the boss - your guinea pig or you? ('piggy whispering' tips also work with getting down bad tasting meds like baytril. I prefer to give it in one fell swoop (the unmixed dose is less than a mouthful) and then follow up with water or a piece of cucumber to wash away the bad taste with much fussing over and plenty of praise or you can mix the baytril with the same amount of ribena and get that down in two lots. Either way works and is down to personal choice.

Here is how I control an uncooperative piggy with one hand against my upper body to leave the other hand free for the syringe.
View attachment 163477

I hope that this helps?

Wow! Ok thank you so much for all your help. This is very helpful and comforting to hear. Because her breathing is so crackly she’s getting very stressed when syringe feeding the medication. And I’m so scared I’m going to aspirate her! However she has taken it on top of cucumber and has taken the full dose. She also is loving the fibreplex and is eating that out of the syringe. It is so unusual that she has had these symptoms very on and off for the last three months. Makes me wonder if the infection has been in there for all this time. :/

 

[Wiebke]

Wow! Ok thank you so much for all your help. This is very helpful and comforting to hear. Because her breathing is so crackly she’s getting very stressed when syringe feeding the medication. And I’m so scared I’m going to aspirate her! However she has taken it on top of cucumber and has taken the full dose. She also is loving the fibreplex and is eating that out of the syringe. It is so unusual that she has had these symptoms very on and off for the last three months. Makes me wonder if the infection has been in there for all this time. :/

GOOD girl! Don't worry she won't aspirate. Baytril is about the most horribly tasting medication you can come across (don't try it yourself; even a very small amount can make a human ill), so most piggies won't be having about getting it until they realise that it is making them better.

Please contact your vet again if there is no improvement within 7-14 days (antibiotics review and check-up) and anytime promptly if she is getting worse, losing her appetite and being lethargic; exhibiting clicking sounds from the chest or very noticeable heaving breathing from the sides (symptoms of pneumonia).
Please be prepared to step in with syringe feeding top up if her daily weight is going down more than 50g to help keep her fighting strength up. With your good care, she will make it through but you need to be firm - she can't do without her medication. Keeping her weight as stable as possible means that she has the necessary fighting strength to help herself. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Add to that the impact from an antibiotic and you will understand why loss of appetite is so important to monitor and to step in with piggies with respiratory issues to get them through the rough bit.
Please take the time to read the green links in my previous post. They contain all the tips and information you'll need to get your girl through this.

It is very likely that she has had the infection for a long time. An untreated or undertreated URI can be present a low levels or simply as a bacterial reservoir for a long time.

PS: It took me two years and a number of vet trips to get my elderly adoptee Ffraid with her of and on mild crackling diagnosed for upper and lower lung disease as a result of a URI earlier in life. She'd always hold her breath when being checked with a stereoscope. Thankfully, it never got worse and in view of her age, the vet recommended not to treat in order to not create antibiotic resistancy. She died around 8 years of age, being over 4 years when she arrived here never having suffered any worse but a snore in her last weeks when asleep.

 

[Josie_lg]

GOOD girl! Don't worry she won't aspirate. Baytril is about the most horribly tasting medication you can come across (don't try it yourself; even a very small amount can make a human ill), so most piggies won't be having about getting it until they realise that it is making them better.

Please contact your vet again if there is no improvement within 7-14 days (antibiotics review and check-up) and anytime promptly if she is getting worse, losing her appetite and being lethargic; exhibiting clicking sounds from the chest or very noticeable heaving breathing from the sides (symptoms of pneumonia).
Please be prepared to step in with syringe feeding top up if her daily weight is going down more than 50g to help keep her fighting strength up. With your good care, she will make it through but you need to be firm - she can't do without her medication. Keeping her weight as stable as possible means that she has the necessary fighting strength to help herself. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Add to that the impact from an antibiotic and you will understand why loss of appetite is so important to monitor and to step in with piggies with respiratory issues to get them through the rough bit.
Please take the time to read the green links in my previous post. They contain all the tips and information you'll need to get your girl through this.

It is very likely that she has had the infection for a long time. An untreated or undertreated URI can be present a low levels or simply as a bacterial reservoir for a long time.

PS: It took me two years and a number of vet trips to get my elderly adoptee Ffraid with her of and on mild crackling diagnosed for upper and lower lung disease as a result of a URI earlier in life. She'd always hold her breath when being checked with a stereoscope. Thankfully, it never got worse and in view of her age, the vet recommended not to treat in order to not create antibiotic resistancy. She died around 8 years of age, being over 4 years when she arrived here never having suffered any worse but a snore in her last weeks when asleep.

Thank you I’m going to have a good look at the links now. Oh bless her. 8 is such a good age though!
She has always been a heavier breather since the moment I picked her up as a baby this has been something I’ve been aware of. She’s just so crackly at the moment. What I’m worried about is that we don’t know what’s causing it. She has no discharge she isn’t sneezing or coughing and is eating well. Her only symptom is this awful crackly breathing. And even the x rays weren’t very clear but only picked up a very small amount of slightly cloudiness in the lungs. My main concern is of course getting her better. But my other guinea pigs too. The fact these symptoms have been on going for three months and I’ve now seen four vets about the same thing. So my guinea pigs have all been together. I’m worried that it may have spread to the others. One of my girls has always made clicky sounds from her nose since she was a baby, when she gets stressed or when we handle her. Again I’ve taken her to the vets for this in the past. I’m wondering if this could just be a stress thing or whether it could potentially be something bad. But we have had them coming up to 9 months now :/ xx

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you I’m going to have a good look at the links now. Oh bless her. 8 is such a good age though!
She has always been a heavier breather since the moment I picked her up as a baby this has been something I’ve been aware of. She’s just so crackly at the moment. What I’m worried about is that we don’t know what’s causing it. She has no discharge she isn’t sneezing or coughing and is eating well. Her only symptom is this awful crackly breathing. And even the x rays weren’t very clear but only picked up a very small amount of slightly cloudiness in the lungs. My main concern is of course getting her better. But my other guinea pigs too. The fact these symptoms have been on going for three months and I’ve now seen four vets about the same thing. So my guinea pigs have all been together. I’m worried that it may have spread to the others. One of my girls has always made clicky sounds from her nose since she was a baby, when she gets stressed or when we handle her. Again I’ve taken her to the vets for this in the past. I’m wondering if this could just be a stress thing or whether it could potentially be something bad. But we have had them coming up to 9 months now :/ xx

In our long term forum experience, bacterial respiratory illnesses are opportunists that hit whenever they see an opening. that means that unless the whole group has a lowered or not yet fully developed immune system and/or is highly stressed (as is the case in pet shop babies where URI is most rampant) or lives in long term bad conditions, any well kept and healthy companions iwth a fully working immune system are perfectly able to fend off the bacteria causing it and won't develop URI.

The clicky nose piggy may have a narrowed sinus or passage in the nose if this happens only whenever she is stressed (increased breathing rate when picked up) but there are now other signs of a URI.