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Quustions about ebony's ongoing noisy breathing

Two_Wheeks said:
Was it definitely pneumonia?
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Well, i have to trust my vet and he is pretty good. He described a 'localised pneumonia' in one lung.

It couldnt have been that obvious though, as she was in there half hour! (This was back when clients had to wait in the car park) i was pretty worried but the reason it took so long was because the vet's student couldnt find it and the vet gave the student time to find it himself and that took time.

Her temperature was up too. I think he was right as, the next day after that appt, ebony was very quiet and subdued and i was thanking my lucky stars we got to the vet the day before - had i not, she really would have gone downhill overnight and maybe not have pulled through at all.


But i never had to step in with syringe feeding and i have had pigs before that have totally stopped eating, got meds, and picked up.

With ebs, she never got too seriously down but she isnt seeming to be able to clear whatever it is.

I do hope you are right about her prospects! Thanks!
 
Is this a good sign - ebony has been following belle about, sticking her nose into belle's rear end and eating belle's poop!

I read that this can happen when a sick pig starts to feel better?


Any truth in that, does anyone know?
 
Vet appt tomorrow 9.45. There has actually been *some* improvement. Ebony must be feeling tip top as she is still dashing about, snatching food from belle and lively as anything.


However, her breathing still isnt silent. It is better. More snuffly and less rattly, not as constant.

I'm hoping she is improved enough for the vet to not even mention penicillin injections tomorrow - though i dont think she has improved enough to be signed off.

She's been ok on the doxycycline - it hasnt really knocked her appetite. She doesnt like it though!


She absolutely loves the bio lapis pro biotic - she actually is pulling really hard on the syringe and will take a good 15 to 20 ml in one sitting - and fast too.

But the doxy - no such enthusiasm!
 
It’s good that she seems so well in herself. Good luck at the vets and don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you want - it’s hard to do I know, esp if you feel you are challenging them, but the vets will expect it and they won’t mind. Any good vet will understand that pet owners will naturally want to understand the rationale for any treatment and be happy it’s all safe. Keep up the good work. Ebony is lucky to have such a caring owner!
 
Back from vet and no penicilin jags, thank goodness (though the vet assured me that injected penicillin is ok)

So her lungs are now completely clear with no crackle at all which is great news and her weight is good. As he said, from the outside she looks tip top! Great coat, eyes bright etc.


However, she still has this snuffle going on so got 2 more weeks of doxycycline and if she looks good at the end of that we dont need to go back.

But if she deteriorates, we do.


I forgot to ask what we do if she stays as she is now!
 
Sorry, not sure how I missed your message. What is the current situation? One of my friends had the same problem with her guinea pig and after antibiotics and Bisolven, he still had grunty breathing. She tried nebulising, she continued with the bisolven and nothing sorted the problem. She then changed the hay and the grunty breathing immediately went away. The piggy has been absolutely fine since.
 
Just seen the last post here - furryfriends and i had some pm correspondance about this.


For anyone else following this thread - current situation is looking positive.

I didnt do any nebulising at all yesterday and she seems none the worse for missing it.

Still on doxy and rheumicon (week 5 now!) And pro biotics.

Weight is bobbing about between 640g and 620g (she is almost 4 months old)


She looks great condition wise to the naked eye. Nice glossy coat, bright clear eyes. Clear nose (to look at)

Behaviour very perky. Wheeking, popcorning, running about quite the thing.


However, she still sounds snuffly.


What i am trying now - rather than have huge piles of hay all over the cage (she sneezes a lot too) i have just got it stuffed into the hay loft.

I have put the timothy hay in one of those cylinder shaped rolling hay dispensers
..

So they still have lots of hay available but there are massive areas of cage hay free. So, for example, the downstairs is 6ft x 2ft and just has the cylinder there.

And upstairs is 2ftx2ft hay clear with a foot square stuffed full.
 
tabelmabel said:
Just seen the last post here - furryfriends and i had some pm correspondance about this.


For anyone else following this thread - current situation is looking positive.

I didnt do any nebulising at all yesterday and she seems none the worse for missing it.

Still on doxy and rheumicon (week 5 now!) And pro biotics.

Weight is bobbing about between 640g and 620g (she is almost 4 months old)


She looks great condition wise to the naked eye. Nice glossy coat, bright clear eyes. Clear nose (to look at)

Behaviour very perky. Wheeking, popcorning, running about quite the thing.


However, she still sounds snuffly.


What i am trying now - rather than have huge piles of hay all over the cage (she sneezes a lot too) i have just got it stuffed into the hay loft.

I have put the timothy hay in one of those cylinder shaped rolling hay dispensers
..

So they still have lots of hay available but there are massive areas of cage hay free. So, for example, the downstairs is 6ft x 2ft and just has the cylinder there.

And upstairs is 2ftx2ft hay clear with a foot square stuffed full.
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I asked my friend which hay she now uses, that has worked well for her snuffly piggy and she uses the Pillow Wad Meadow Hay and this one too! Shop | Dust Free Hay
 
Oooh thanks so much for the info @furryfriends (TEAS) - i will get some of this hay and report back!



Right - that is the pillow wad meadow hay ordered from amazon - but i had to order TWO kg bags so hope it is ok.


The dust free hay co is where i already get my hay from - great hay but not for Ebony maybe . . .
 
Finally . . . Ebony has come to the end of her 6 week course of anti biotics!


Bit of a nerve wracking time as she still hasnt got what could be termed 'silent' breathing. Nice day here and i have had her out on the grass a couple of times whilst she was on her anti bs but I'm not chancing it today. She looks good behaviour wise so fingers crossed she can get a bit of growing done now!


@furryfriends (TEAS) - the pillow wad hay does seem much better for her, thanks. Much less sneezy with that - and it seems tasty for them too🙂



I have got a provisional vet appt booked for this coming Friday just in case she goes back downhill now. Hopefully wont need it . . .
 
tabelmabel said:
Finally . . . Ebony has come to the end of her 6 week course of anti biotics!


Bit of a nerve wracking time as she still hasnt got what could be termed 'silent' breathing. Nice day here and i have had her out on the grass a couple of times whilst she was on her anti bs but I'm not chancing it today. She looks good behaviour wise so fingers crossed she can get a bit of growing done now!


@furryfriends (TEAS) - the pillow wad hay does seem much better for her, thanks. Much less sneezy with that - and it seems tasty for them too🙂



I have got a provisional vet appt booked for this coming Friday just in case she goes back downhill now. Hopefully wont need it . . .
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Sounding positive! Glad the hay seems to be helping and that they like it! Will keep everything crossed for a continued improvement for Ebony x
 
Not good news today. Have got another vet appr today at 4.05 - unfortunately the pig savvy vet isnt available so we are seeing another vet.

Ebony has been pretty good all week but this morning she is quiet and her breathing seems slightly effortful. Also her weight has gained a good 20g overnight and I'm wondering if she is retaining fluid. I dont think that is from eating.


:no:
 
Aaaargh - this piggy is going to be the death of me i think. After being very quiet all morning, she is now bobbing about quite the thing, munching hay!

I'm still taking her to the vet as for her not to come out for veg or wheek when the fridge door opens is very out of character.

So i dont think she is 100% but she maybe isnt as ill as i had feared earlier . . .
 
Thanks @flintstones - I'm fearing it was more a case of misdiagnosis and her chest isnt actually clear.

Her breathing is very rapid and her sides are kind of sucking in and out. She's not at death's door but you know how fast they go down with these things. I have a feeling we will be back at the vet before the week is out.

On a positive note, she is still eating herself - maybe the nebuliser has just helped her feel a bit better.
 
So sorry this is all still going on! Blodwen the chlamydia pneumonia duck as I like to call her is also wheezing this week and I wonder if the hot dry weather isnt helping. Blod got the all clear after 2 rounds of doxycycline treatment for her chlamydia pneumonia about 2 months ago and we were advised just to treat symptoms with metacam/frusol/bisolvon to begin with if she started wheezing or honking again- we were warned she may have lung scarring and may also now be more sensitised to allergens as she had almost 8 months of recurring lung problems before finally getting her chlamydia diagnosis and treatment... sending hugs and healing wheeks and also wheezy piggy kisses from Blodwen!
There just arent any quick fixes really are there for these persistent wheezy honker breathing issue piggies, even once the infection goes its like having a child with asthma isnt it, always listening for the next wheeze and guessing if it needs the vet yet or what combination of things in your wheezy piggy medicine cupboard to give... but sending hugs and support from a fellow wheezy piggy parent x
 
Times like this i wish i were a vet with stethoscope to hand!

After a very subdued morning, ebony has perked right up and her breathing is pretty quiet today. I actually made her some critical care up as she was just sitting under a ramp this morning.

She took that very willingly. I put some in a bowl in the cage and, straightaway along comes "big bus" Belle and scoffs the lot.

However, ebony is definitely looking much better just now.


She is so different from any pig i have ever previously had with respiratory,

You know normally, you need to get them to the vet asap or they just go down, down, down and it becomes very serious very fast.


Well, ebony isnt like that. She never seems to get really, really ill. But she never gets fully better either.

I just find it so difficult to judge whether she needs a vet or not. . .
 
So just an update - ebony seems to be getting better again. The very next day after the monday appt, i was on the phone asking for an appt with the piggy savvy vet - 4 weeks wait!


However, they came back to me with one for next weds. As ebony wasnt looking too good tues morn, i started her up on the leftover rhemicam from her previous prescription. And nebulising lots.


And i dont know if that has helped or it's co incidence but she is looking lots better, more active and gaining weight. Now up to 705g. She is 4 months old now. 4 and a bit.


I'm going to keep the appt next weds even if she seems recovered as there is definitely something still underlying here.
 
Glad Ebony has improved a bit, hope the vet can give you some answers or suggest some further investigations but great news she's doing better :) x
 
Well, it's typical isnt it - ebony seems to have bounced back again and is looking great.

The vet phoned today to ask if i wanted to keep tomorrow's appt. And i said i did. It's sod's law if i cancel, she will go downhill again.

Trouble is, these appts are like gold dust. If i cancel, i wont be able to get another booked in any time soon.


In other news, garden woodcraft are delivering a fabulous hutch tomorrow. Been waiting months for it to get made.

And now ebony is too fragile to go in it! Not this summer anyway.

So I'm going to have a rolls royce hutch sitting empty.

Just have to get myself some more piggies for outdoors . . . .
 
tabelmabel said:
Well, it's typical isnt it - ebony seems to have bounced back again and is looking great.

The vet phoned today to ask if i wanted to keep tomorrow's appt. And i said i did. It's sod's law if i cancel, she will go downhill again.

Trouble is, these appts are like gold dust. If i cancel, i wont be able to get another booked in any time soon.


In other news, garden woodcraft are delivering a fabulous hutch tomorrow. Been waiting months for it to get made.

And now ebony is too fragile to go in it! Not this summer anyway.

So I'm going to have a rolls royce hutch sitting empty.

Just have to get myself some more piggies for outdoors . . . .
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So sorry Ebony is ill. Hopefully you get to the bottom of it too.
 
Julie M said:
Hopefully you get to the bottom of it too
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I think Belle has cursed her! It's such a pity as, personality wise, little Ebony is perfect and she is such a busy, chatty little pig. Belle still sits parked up giving her the evils, but i think she quite likes her chatty little chum.

I just wish this breathing issue would resolve, but it still goes on . . .it's not even that bad atm. But it is there.

It's just an unbelievable run of bad luck i have had over this past year. I cant quite believe i ever had 3 healthy pigs not so very long ago . . .distant memory!
 
I know this sounds daft but could she have a polyp in her nose. Like an extra flap of skin. We had one in the rescue who was prone to rattly breathing and they had an extra flap of skin in their nose. (it was a few years ago)
 
Sending hugs! Piggies have an uncanny herd ability to all get ill with different random things all at the same time... glad Ebony is doing better but yes the piggy mummy anxiety syndrome we suffer ourselves is often worse than what the piggy is going through! We also have a skinny pig with a persistent sticky eye and an old lady with arthritis amongst our piggies... and I am sure I am suffering more than any of them as I'm sure you are too! Every morning is listening for Blodwen is she wheezing today, dreading the worst if old lady Clover is still asleep not waiting for breakfast, meds meds meds, who's seeing the vet today... but they are worth it aren't they on a good day!
 
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