Noisy (rattling) breathing

[Hannah Boo]

Hi,

I posted a few weeks back about my baby pig who is now 3 months old. She was sneezing a lot and had a wet nose. She went to vets and was given Baytril which I gave to her for 10 days. I also changed bedding two or three times (in case it was an allergy). Three weeks on she is still sneezing but less and is still a happy pig that is eating and popcorning.

Today I went to give them dinner and my older G pig who is 2.5 years old was making a loud noise. I can describe it as she was sounding like she had a cold (very crackly). She was absolutely fine this morning. She is still eating and drinking and seems her normal happy self. I took her to the vets straight away and she has been given baytril, and probiotics for the water bottle.

I'm worried sick, so was just looking for some reassurance that she'll be ok. Has anyone had the same experience where their guinea pig has breathing that it crackly and sounds like they have a cold. She sounds awful but the vet said it often sounds worse than it is.
Do pigs usually recover from this?
Any advice appreciated.

 

[LesaC]

My first thoughts, and things I have seen for myself and with friends pigs are URI or fluid in the respiratory system. Treatment can be very effective and includes baytril, vicks on the nose and Sudafed formulated for chests, expectorant will ease congestion, 0. 2 mls 2 times a day for maximum of 5 days.

 

[Beautifulmess]

Do pick up and treat this early, I ignored it in my last guinea pig because he'd have it one day then not the next and then a month would go by and he'd get it again. In the end I think it lead to his death, altho it was his heart, but your heart works on your lungs and well everything is connected. So do get it checked out.

 

[alcesterpigs]

The noise can be quite loud, however, if the pig is otherwise normal, it is unlikely to be associated with congestive heart failure. They can suffer from "hay-fever" at any time during the year. I prefer to let my pigs have a sniff from a bottle of Olbas oil, the aroma is more pleasant than Vick's vapour rub!

 

[Niki]

Tuesday one of my piggies, Magoo, sounded like a bowl of rice crispies with all the crackling going on. Took him to the vets & he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He's been on baytril since & today we went back; the vet was amazed at how he's improved - no crackling just a slight rasp so he's carrying on with the baytril for another 3 days & he'd gained an oz in weight since Tuesday.

He was perky in himself & still had an appetite eventho' his breathing sounded so terrible - i am obviously chuffed to bits with him

 

[Laura-CCC4]

A few of my allergy pigs have "grumbly" sounding breathing quite often; with then I know it's an allergy so I dose with 0.2ml Sudafed Expectorant and that clears them up once and for all (or until they are next affected by the allergy).

However if it does point to being a respiratory infection (or pneumonia) then a one-off dose of diuretic is often useful, particularly so with pneumonia. The vet will usually give this by injection; it may be called Lasix, Frusemide or Dimazon (all are the same drug). The diuretic will clear any fluid from the lungs, which will give the antibiotics the time they need to work. If infections are caught early and there is no sign of fluid in the lungs, then the antibiotics should kick in well on their own, but it's worth bearing in mind the usefulness of a diuretic in more severe infections.