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My guinea pig Fluffy is not breathing right and is losing weight

Hi! It sounds like you need to take Fluffy to the vet. When did the breathing issues and weight loss start? How much weight has she lost?

Most of the forum is based in the UK so you will have to wait till the morning to get a response; however they will advise you to take Fluffy to the vet too. If she is struggling, please take her to an emergency vet. I will include a link to the forum's emergency resources.

Emergency information and resources

Hoping Fluffy will be ok!
 
i agree with the above poster.i would advise you to take your guinea pig to see a vet.i would suggest you start feeding /syringe feeding your guinea pig,either critical care,or your usual pellets and add hot water and mash them down with a fork after 5 minutes of hot water been on the pellets.you will need a1ml syringe. weight your guinea pig once aday in the morning,this will give you the best calculation of feed needed.
i hope you can get Fluffy seen at the vets soon .let the forum know how you get on.use this thread to get further support from the health and illness team.whom will give some support in the morning as it is 2.30am in the uk.
 
Please see a vet.

Please urgently step in with syringe feeding a fibre rich recovery feed such as Oxbow Critical Care, or if you don’t have any, then mush your normal pellets with water to form a slurry and feed that to your piggy every two hours.

You will also need to switch from normal weekly weight checks and instead weigh your piggy daily so you can monitor that you are getting enough feed into your piggy in each 24 hour period to stop the weight loss.

The guides below detail the emergency care and syringe feeding
i hope she is ok

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Welcome to the forum. Good luck at the vets. Sending Fluffy healing vibes. 😍
 
Welcome to the forum. Please take her to see a vet as an emergency. Good luck.
 
Flufy said:
I do not know what to do about my guinea pig fluffy. She is a female 2.5 years old. SOMEONE HELP POOR FLUFFERS
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Hi

Your guinea pig needs to see a vet for an examination of what is going on (Upper respiratory infection or pneumonia; or heart problem causing a build up of fluid in the chest or lungs) and needs to get the appropriate medication (most likely an antibiotic).

Here are our home care tips re. support feeding hay based fibre. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat; that is why serious respiratory illnesses always impact on the appetite.

Please step in with syringe feeding support. Keep in mind that over three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day is hay/grass fibre. Veg and pellets only replace the supplementary role that wild forage used to have to fill the extra nutritional needs that grass fibre cannot cover.
You can used mushed up pellets in a pinch, as long as you cut off the tip of the syringe just below where it widens so the plunger is still held in but the much rougher pellet fibre can pass through. If you haven't got a syringe, try a spoon until you can get one and can order or get hold of some recovery formula.

Here are all our very practical care tips to support your guinea pig until she can be seen by a vet and until treatment kicks in enough to stabilise her weight. Please take the time to read them. We have included tips on how you can improvise in an emergency. No medication can save your guinea pig if their body is closing down from lack of feed so your feeding support is as crucial for her recovery as the life-saving medication.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Flufy said:
She is eating a lot. You could feel her ribs. And she is making k k k k k sounds
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If she is losing weight then she is not eating enough hay and you must syringe feed her a recovery feed or mushed pellet.
you cannot judge hay intake by eye so weighing her daily is very important so know she is getting enough food
 
Flufy said:
The thing is she has had this kind of breathing for all of her life
She has been eating very well and is drinking too
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You said she is losing weight. Piggies will lose weight when they are not eating enough hay. You may see her eating hay but she if she is losing weight then she is not eating enough to keep her weight stable
 
Flufy said:
so she is only eating hay sometimes?
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She needs to be eating enough hay each day that she isn’t losing weight. You must weigh her every day so you can monitor her hay intake. If she loses weight each day then she isn’t eating enough hay. You must syringe feed her a recovery feed or mushed up pellets, and you need to give her enough each day that she doesnt lose weight. All the green links which have been added in above explain how to syringe feed
 
Flufy said:
So today we have a vet app.
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Thats good, but you still need to syringe feed her if she is losing weight and continue to do so until she is well again and eats enough on her own to maintain her weight
 
The problem with our vet,is that they do not know a lot about guinea pigs. The nearest one that does is a hour away

**edited by mod - external links removed**
 
When exactly is she being seen by a vet?
Even a vet without a lot of guinea pig experience can give her a basic check up, weigh her, assess her overall condition, and treat for common illnesses like respiratory infections.

It does sound like something is going on with Fluffy, but only a vet can know for sure and offer appropriate treatment.
Hopefully she is being seen soon enough and it can be easily sorted with a course of antibiotics.

Don't forget to let us know how you get on.
 
Yes, Baytril is commonly used in guinea pigs and is safe.

What was the actual diagnosis (the reason Baytril was prescribed)?
Did she get offered any other meds (pain killers, probiotics, etc)?
How long is the Baytril for?
 
Swissgreys said:
Yes, Baytril is commonly used in guinea pigs and is safe.

What was the actual diagnosis (the reason Baytril was prescribed)?
Did she get offered any other meds (pain killers, probiotics, etc)?
How long is the Baytril for?
Click to expand...
1. for a Respiratory infecton
2. no
3. until she feels better
 
Glad she is getting better!

Do continue giving her the Baytril until she has finished the course though; same as with antibiotics for humans, stopping early risks building antibiotic resistance.
 
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