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Recurring pneumonia (formerly heart issues/disease) piggies
- Thread starter ceciliaxdee
- Start date
Bertie & Jelly
Forum Donator 2024/25
I had to stop the Metacam when he started the Prednisolone. Apparently cannot give both at same time hence why Tramadol is offered.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Custard had her 2 weeks post diagnosis and ICU vet check up yesterday and the vet was super happy and surprised. The fluid build up is her main issue so we’ve been able to keep that down and her breathing is completely normal.
Said that if she hadn’t known the diagnosis, she would have thought Custard was just another healthy piggie.
We are very hopeful given how she’s responded to meds and the vet has given us ths the months to a year mark based on how she’s progressing. It’ll be monthly check ups from now as there’s signs the vet can pick up if fluid starts to build up and we can increase meds.
I’ve started to think about how best to manage Custard and organising home euthanasia when the time comes (our vet recommended another vet who can do I’m home for Guinea pigs and suggested reaching out) which has been really hard. It’s also hard to manage commitments and being away from Custard when I feel like there’s limited time remaining.
Said that if she hadn’t known the diagnosis, she would have thought Custard was just another healthy piggie.
We are very hopeful given how she’s responded to meds and the vet has given us ths the months to a year mark based on how she’s progressing. It’ll be monthly check ups from now as there’s signs the vet can pick up if fluid starts to build up and we can increase meds.
I’ve started to think about how best to manage Custard and organising home euthanasia when the time comes (our vet recommended another vet who can do I’m home for Guinea pigs and suggested reaching out) which has been really hard. It’s also hard to manage commitments and being away from Custard when I feel like there’s limited time remaining.
That's wonderful news.
Please keep in mind that it is not the quantity of time you are spending with a beloved one but the quality that counts. You can fill a mere minute with a lifetime's worth of love if need be. Time is very elastic in that way.
Just turn Custard's life clock back to zero, bless every new morning you have with her on extra time and plan a special enrichment activity for every day you have so you create a special memory for every single day. If you can, take a picture of it and start a little Custard diary with lots of precious memories that you can warm the fingers of your soul on for the rest of your life. You will find that you will have much more tangible and lasting remainders this way than by filling the time with your fear of missing out a minute. Keep in mind that you also still need to eat, sleep and look after yourself and so does Custard... And that letting go whenever it comes won't be any easier; especially when you cling instinctively. Your own fears are the biggest killer for you if you let them take over.
What will make it easier is the positive legacy for yourself that you are creating in the remaining time and that will remind of you just how much you have done with her in a constructive way and that will be accessible to you for all times. It is going to help you with the grieving process after her death when you know that you have done your best by seeing the sheer volume of all the precious little memories that you and Custard have created together.
You can either grudge every drop of water that you miss in the half-full glass or you can cherish every drop of water that is still in the glass and make it sparkle with a little rainbow of memories so it ultimately doesn't matter so much whether it is minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or even years in the end. Get creative and make the extra time you have count with positive, memorable content as the precious gift it is instead of bemoaning every second you miss out on because however much extra time you get will never be enough when you fill it with your fears of having to let go.
Custard is one lucky piggy to have found you anyway. Concentrate on making her happy because then you are happy as well when you share it. But it doesn't have to be every second of a day if you give every day a special little sparkle that makes you laugh or go awww...
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
HUGS
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Your lovely words made me teary! Thank you. I’ve been trying and some days I’m really good and positive and other days I’m struggling. I’ll continue to create memories and just take one day at a time.That's wonderful news.
Please keep in mind that it is not the quantity of time you are spending with a beloved one but the quality that counts. You can fill a mere minute with a lifetime's worth of love if need be. Time is very elastic in that way.
Just turn Custard's life clock back to zero, bless every new morning you have with her on extra time and plan a special enrichment activity for every day you have so you create a special memory for every single day. If you can, take a picture of it and start a little Custard diary with lots of precious memories that you can warm the fingers of your soul on for the rest of your life. You will find that you will have much more tangible and lasting remainders this way than by filling the time with your fear of missing out a minute. Keep in mind that you also still need to eat, sleep and look after yourself and so does Custard... And that letting go whenever it comes won't be any easier; especially when you cling instinctively. Your own fears are the biggest killer for you if you let them take over.
What will make it easier is the positive legacy for yourself that you are creating in the remaining time and that will remind of you just how much you have done with her in a constructive way and that will be accessible to you for all times. It is going to help you with the grieving process after her death when you know that you have done your best by seeing the sheer volume of all the precious little memories that you and Custard have created together.
You can either grudge every drop of water that you miss in the half-full glass or you can cherish every drop of water that is still in the glass and make it sparkle with a little rainbow of memories so it ultimately doesn't matter so much whether it is minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or even years in the end. Get creative and make the extra time you have count with positive, memorable content as the precious gift it is instead of bemoaning every second you miss out on because however much extra time you get will never be enough when you fill it with your fears of having to let go.
Custard is one lucky piggy to have found you anyway. Concentrate on making her happy because then you are happy as well when you share it. But it doesn't have to be every second of a day if you give every day a special little sparkle that makes you laugh or go awww...
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
HUGS
Custard has started to lose weight even though she’s eating actively so I’ve had to step in with topping up with a bit of critical care feed. She was 940g on Tuesday but now hovering around 887g.
It's never easy since each piggy/pet/person and each bond is unique. It means that you can never regain what is lost but it also means that our capacity to love is infinite since each love is new and different. See your love as the water in a river that flows through your life and that touches different lives and loves along the way, some shorter and some longer. Like water, you cannot swim uphill against time but there are always new banks you flow along that add to but never take away from those banks you have shared before. And you still carry with you the drops of water in the form of memories of those you have passed by; they have shaped you during the time you have shared a bank with them and through this they are always an integral part of who you are and who you become.
It is normal to struggle since you are actively grieving underneath it all. Accept it in the assurance that this is a part of your processing that you won't have to do afterwards. You do not grieve any less with a terminal illness, especially a more drawn out one but the dynamics and the emotional challenges differ. Grieving is the other side of love; but it is in the grieving that we grow and mature emotionally and become more understanding of others and more appreciatove of the blessing that is the love in our lives. We do however not need to be superwomen or perfect.
Just try to continue to give Custard a little perk of some sort each day to make it special for the two of you so you have something to look forward and to smile about even on your darkest days and even in the pain of watching her decline. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, it is all about the sharing of a special moment of happiness in whatever form.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Apologies for the late response to your lovely words of advice. I took some time out to process everything as was feeling quite overwhelmed! I have been continuing to spend time spoiling Custard every day and taking lots of photos.It's never easy since each piggy/pet/person and each bond is unique. It means that you can never regain what is lost but it also means that our capacity to love is infinite since each love is new and different. See your love as the water in a river that flows through your life and that touches different lives and loves along the way, some shorter and some longer. Like water, you cannot swim uphill against time but there are always new banks you flow along that add to but never take away from those banks you have shared before. And you still carry with you the drops of water in the form of memories of those you have passed by; they have shaped you during the time you have shared a bank with them and through this they are always an integral part of who you are and who you become.
It is normal to struggle since you are actively grieving underneath it all. Accept it in the assurance that this is a part of your processing that you won't have to do afterwards. You do not grieve any less with a terminal illness, especially a more drawn out one but the dynamics and the emotional challenges differ. Grieving is the other side of love; but it is in the grieving that we grow and mature emotionally and become more understanding of others and more appreciatove of the blessing that is the love in our lives. We do however not need to be superwomen or perfect.
Just try to continue to give Custard a little perk of some sort each day to make it special for the two of you so you have something to look forward and to smile about even on your darkest days and even in the pain of watching her decline. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, it is all about the sharing of a special moment of happiness in whatever form.
Close to 2 months on from diagnosis, she has been doing relatively well, still bright and eating. Unfortunately she has lost another 40g over the last month and is now around 900g. She’s still eating on her own heaps but the vet thinks it could be from muscle loss from the illness, I’m going to step in with top up critical care as she willing eats this.
We tried to reduce her furosemide to twice a day since last week but at our vet check up today she sounded more off than her last month check up so it does seem to be progressing or need that extra 3rd dose that she was doing well on! So she’s back on that third daily dose.
I had received some lovely advice lately that instead of looking at it as she’s dying from lymphoma to view it as she’s living with lymphoma and that the grief I’m feeling is my way of honouring her and how much she means to me. Found that very helpful way of looking at things if anyone is also dealing with a terminally ill pet.
Interestingly my long term exotic vet shared that there’s 3 types of lymphoma Guinea pigs get.
1) the chest fluid type which is what Custard has
2) the big lymph node lumps type
3) a skin type.
Also that latest research shows that chemo unfortunately doesn’t prolong life for Guinea pig’s much as they end up dying from the side effects and that the ones they’ve seen live the longest have either done nothing or been on the meds/steroids.
The plan currently is that we manage her condition until she is on the maximum dose of furosemide (she is on 0.1ml 3x a day, the max we can go to is 0.4ml 3x a day), and if she’s on that already and deteriorates/stops eating then it’s time.
Here is a pic of Custard enjoying her extra veggies last night
Attachments
fgcb
New Born Pup
Apologies for the late response to your lovely words of advice. I took some time out to process everything as was feeling quite overwhelmed! I have been continuing to spend time spoiling Custard every day and taking lots of photos.
Close to 2 months on from diagnosis, she has been doing relatively well, still bright and eating. Unfortunately she has lost another 40g over the last month and is now around 900g. She’s still eating on her own heaps but the vet thinks it could be from muscle loss from the illness, I’m going to step in with top up critical care as she willing eats this.
We tried to reduce her furosemide to twice a day since last week but at our vet check up today she sounded more off than her last month check up so it does seem to be progressing or need that extra 3rd dose that she was doing well on! So she’s back on that third daily dose.
I had received some lovely advice lately that instead of looking at it as she’s dying from lymphoma to view it as she’s living with lymphoma and that the grief I’m feeling is my way of honouring her and how much she means to me. Found that very helpful way of looking at things if anyone is also dealing with a terminally ill pet.
Interestingly my long term exotic vet shared that there’s 3 types of lymphoma Guinea pigs get.
1) the chest fluid type which is what Custard has
2) the big lymph node lumps type
3) a skin type.
Also that latest research shows that chemo unfortunately doesn’t prolong life for Guinea pig’s much as they end up dying from the side effects and that the ones they’ve seen live the longest have either done nothing or been on the meds/steroids.
The plan currently is that we manage her condition until she is on the maximum dose of furosemide (she is on 0.1ml 3x a day, the max we can go to is 0.4ml 3x a day), and if she’s on that already and deteriorates/stops eating then it’s time.
Here is a pic of Custard enjoying her extra veggies last night
How’s Custard doing?
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Custard is still doing well - we’re still on 0.2ml of prednisolone liquid twice a day and 0.1ml of furosemide 3x a day. Since going back to the 3x a day of furosemide, her weight has stabilised at around 925-950g and she’s eating and active and bright. Her 4th birthday is next week! Trying not to think about time as much but we are 2 months from when she was diagnosed with lymphoma. Here’s a photo of the herd grazing over the weekend.
But now my other piggie Evie (tri coloured) who had an upper respiratory infection in June has come down with pneumonia I think so we will be off to the vets again at the earliest appointment. I don’t think the last around of Septrin got rid of the URI completely. Pig dad who is a human nurse can hear crackles in her lower respiratory. Luckily I have some Septrin I’ve popped her on and furosemide handy and have nebulised her also. Piggie herd can’t catch a break
Attachments
fgcb
New Born Pup
Custard is still doing well - we’re still on 0.2ml of prednisolone liquid twice a day and 0.1ml of furosemide 3x a day. Since going back to the 3x a day of furosemide, her weight has stabilised at around 925-950g and she’s eating and active and bright. Her 4th birthday is next week! Trying not to think about time as much but we are 2 months from when she was diagnosed with lymphoma. Here’s a photo of the herd grazing over the weekend.
But now my other piggie Evie (tri coloured) who had an upper respiratory infection in June has come down with pneumonia I think so we will be off to the vets again at the earliest appointment. I don’t think the last around of Septrin got rid of the URI completely. Pig dad who is a human nurse can hear crackles in her lower respiratory. Luckily I have some Septrin I’ve popped her on and furosemide handy and have nebulised her also. Piggie herd can’t catch a break
I’m sorry about the Evie but happy to hear that Custard is ok. My pig, Bellini just got diagnosed with heart problems on Thursday, that’s how I came across your post. We got some meds but I don’t see any huge improvement. He will give me a call tomorrow to discuss what we need to change.
And I completely understand the frustration of having always something going on health wise with the pigs. Belli had a URI over two months ago and got a very long treatment; his friend Beertje was ok and he was the one who suddenly died. It was really shocking. I was very scared Belli had an infection again but it seems is the heart. It makes sense to me because he has always been kind of lazy.
Anyway, hope you can get it all over control soon. When they are sick is just so sad and painful but the amount of love and fun we get from them makes it all worth it
Custard is still doing well - we’re still on 0.2ml of prednisolone liquid twice a day and 0.1ml of furosemide 3x a day. Since going back to the 3x a day of furosemide, her weight has stabilised at around 925-950g and she’s eating and active and bright. Her 4th birthday is next week! Trying not to think about time as much but we are 2 months from when she was diagnosed with lymphoma. Here’s a photo of the herd grazing over the weekend.
But now my other piggie Evie (tri coloured) who had an upper respiratory infection in June has come down with pneumonia I think so we will be off to the vets again at the earliest appointment. I don’t think the last around of Septrin got rid of the URI completely. Pig dad who is a human nurse can hear crackles in her lower respiratory. Luckily I have some Septrin I’ve popped her on and furosemide handy and have nebulised her also. Piggie herd can’t catch a break
HUGS
I am so very sorry that the saga continues but happy that Custard is still fine.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
I’m so sorry to hear that Bellini is unwell. Yes get them to look into it could be the type of heart med. Yes definitely review the meds if there’s no improvement, there’s a few different heart meds and doses I was told when they thought Custard had heart issues. Please keep me posted on how you go with Belli!I’m sorry about the Evie but happy to hear that Custard is ok. My pig, Bellini just got diagnosed with heart problems on Thursday, that’s how I came across your post. We got some meds but I don’t see any huge improvement. He will give me a call tomorrow to discuss what we need to change.
And I completely understand the frustration of having always something going on health wise with the pigs. Belli had a URI over two months ago and got a very long treatment; his friend Beertje was ok and he was the one who suddenly died. It was really shocking. I was very scared Belli had an infection again but it seems is the heart. It makes sense to me because he has always been kind of lazy.
Anyway, hope you can get it all over control soon. When they are sick is just so sad and painful but the amount of love and fun we get from them makes it all worth it
I will need to push for an X-rays/further tests/different or longer course of antibiotics for Evie I think as she has had on and off URIs all year and it seems to have come back worst this time even though I had been nebulising a few of my sniffly pigs and even Custard as they had stuffy noses (they’re all ok now except Evie
)Yes I agree, it was the same with my boy Barry last year. I had another sick piggie I was tending to and then one day he wasn’t breathing right out of nowhere (he was eating fine the night before) and I rushed him to the vet and he had lung failure and there was nothing they could do.
Piggies are definitely worth it but I am definitely learning some resilience lessons out of having a herd and having to deal with constant illness.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Thank you
I’m very happy and grateful Custard is doing well too. She’s been doing zoomies, even the odd popcorning and eating lots of hay with everyone so it’s been really nice to see her having quality of life and doing well on the meds with her diagnosis. If you looked at the herd, you definitely would have no idea she was living with such a heavy diagnosis. She really deserves to enjoy this extra time as she fought so hard for it when she was hospitalised - she’s got a very hardy personality for a little pig.
During the first month it did seem like she had one or two days were she was less active but I think this may have been adjusting to the meds. And there was some weight loss of around 50-80g which has now stabilised but I know some of it was the fluid build up.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
X-rays have confirmed a moderate pneumonia in Evie’s lungs. We are doing a 6 week course of doxycycline and continuing with bisolvon and nebulising. Vet said to take her off the furosemide as he couldn’t see any fluid.
Does anyone have advice for managing recovery from pneumonia/recurrent bacterial respiratory issues? Evie seems to have copped it bad where she’s just had recurrent URIs and now it’s in her lungs.
Does anyone have advice for managing recovery from pneumonia/recurrent bacterial respiratory issues? Evie seems to have copped it bad where she’s just had recurrent URIs and now it’s in her lungs.
I am very sorry.
You can conduct another three weeks vitamin C booster in order to help her battered immune system to get a leg up again. Also try different herbs in smaller quantities; they contain lots of different trace elements to help fill any lowered bodily reserves.
Have you discussed nebulising with your vet?
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Thank you - yes I’ve been doing a big vitamin c booster for her and will continue that over the next 3 weeks. Thanks for the tip with the herbs - any particular ones? I have been giving coriander and parsley.
Yes I have been nebulising with saline and bisolvon. Discussed with vet and will continue this. We’re thinking whatever bacteria it was in the upper respiratory tract - the last few antibiotic courses of 2-3 weeks hasn’t cleared it completely. Was debating between doxy and Septrin but given it has come back so many times with the Septrin we decided to switch to doxy, it covers the same bacteria but also effective against Bordetella. Vet did try to pull a sample from lungs but couldn’t get anything diagnostic out
Hopefully the long course doesn’t wipe out her gut. I’ve given doxy in the past to a few in the herd but it was not a long course.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Our vet reviewed Evie’s X-rays today and took some measurements and has confirmed she has some enlargement of the heart. We had added in furosemide this morning already and added Septrin with the doxy as well as she wasn’t doing well. We are to pick up pimobendan/vetmedin to give her also. We just donated our bottle to a rescue from when Custard was misdiagnosed too (worst luck!).
Crazy as Evie has seen numerous vets this year and everyone thought her heart sounded fine but she had the recurring respiratory infections. I’m so sad at another terminal illness diagnosed for the herd but awaiting a call back from the vet to discuss further.
Evie seems to have picked up a bit as the day has gone on and the meds are kicking in so I hope this continues.
Crazy as Evie has seen numerous vets this year and everyone thought her heart sounded fine but she had the recurring respiratory infections. I’m so sad at another terminal illness diagnosed for the herd but awaiting a call back from the vet to discuss further.
Evie seems to have picked up a bit as the day has gone on and the meds are kicking in so I hope this continues.
fgcb
New Born Pup
Hi,I’m so sorry to hear that Bellini is unwell. Yes get them to look into it could be the type of heart med. Yes definitely review the meds if there’s no improvement, there’s a few different heart meds and doses I was told when they thought Custard had heart issues. Please keep me posted on how you go with Belli!
I will need to push for an X-rays/further tests/different or longer course of antibiotics for Evie I think as she has had on and off URIs all year and it seems to have come back worst this time even though I had been nebulising a few of my sniffly pigs and even Custard as they had stuffy noses (they’re all ok now except Evie
Yes I agree, it was the same with my boy Barry last year. I had another sick piggie I was tending to and then one day he wasn’t breathing right out of nowhere (he was eating fine the night before) and I rushed him to the vet and he had lung failure and there was nothing they could do.
Piggies are definitely worth it but I am definitely learning some resilience lessons out of having a herd and having to deal with constant illness.
Sorry for the late response... we have been moving houses, so it's been very hectic. I called my vet when I saw no improvement, and he said Belli may have developed an infection, and he prescribed some antibiotics. Within 48 hours, he was much better, although I could hear some rattling noises while he was moving fast or eating. Fortunately, since yesterday, after five days of antibiotics, I cannot hear anything! The bad part is that his friend, Tulum, started to make hooting noises on Saturday morning. On Friday night, I noticed he was breathing much faster than usual, and my husband caught him sneezing a few times. As there were no vets on Saturday, I started giving him the same antibiotic. I know you should always consult with a vet, but the specialised one I go to doesn't work on Mondays either, so I didn't want to risk it... I know how fast they can go downhill. No Anyway, we have an appointment for tomorrow so he can check both of them
fgcb
New Born Pup
Hi,Thank you - yes I’ve been doing a big vitamin c booster for her and will continue that over the next 3 weeks. Thanks for the tip with the herbs - any particular ones? I have been giving coriander and parsley.
Yes I have been nebulising with saline and bisolvon. Discussed with vet and will continue this. We’re thinking whatever bacteria it was in the upper respiratory tract - the last few antibiotic courses of 2-3 weeks hasn’t cleared it completely. Was debating between doxy and Septrin but given it has come back so many times with the Septrin we decided to switch to doxy, it covers the same bacteria but also effective against Bordetella. Vet did try to pull a sample from lungs but couldn’t get anything diagnostic out
Hopefully the long course doesn’t wipe out her gut. I’ve given doxy in the past to a few in the herd but it was not a long course.
I'm sorry the little one is still not doing so well. In the Netherlands, they recommend wheat grass to support the gut when the pigs get antibiotics. They also seem to like the taste of it, so I will pick some powder today to see if it makes it easier for Bellini to drink his meds. Every day, it is more challenging to syringe his meds... he's fighting back! I am pleased about this because when he was super ill, he didn't even have the energy to do it, so to me, this attitude is a measure of how much energy he has now.
In the Netherlands, we had one of the leading guinea pig vets and researchers, Eva Stoffels, who unfortunately passed away a month ago. She recommended Vetmedin + Enalapril + Furosemide for heart conditions. Perhaps you can enquire about Enalapril? It may help. I will go to the vet tomorrow, and I will ask him about this because, in fact, he only prescribed Furosemide+Vetmedin for 15 days to see how Belli reacted. I learned about Enalapril later on, but I also read some vets prefer to give it when the pigs are established because it can be too much for the kidneys.
It is also interesting to read about the misdiagnosis because the last time I saw my vet, he said he was 95% sure that it was the heart. Hopefully with clearer x-Rays (without all the lung liquid showing) and a new assessment, he can decide if Belli is suffering from heart disease.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Hope you are settling in after your move! Always hectic when moving houses. So glad to hear Belli is feeling better, yes I’ve read that heart piggies are more prone to respiratory infections and now that Evie has been diagnosed with an enlarged heart, that seems to be true as she’s had on and off upper respiratory infections all year and now pneumonia.Hi,
Sorry for the late response... we have been moving houses, so it's been very hectic. I called my vet when I saw no improvement, and he said Belli may have developed an infection, and he prescribed some antibiotics. Within 48 hours, he was much better, although I could hear some rattling noises while he was moving fast or eating. Fortunately, since yesterday, after five days of antibiotics, I cannot hear anything! The bad part is that his friend, Tulum, started to make hooting noises on Saturday morning. On Friday night, I noticed he was breathing much faster than usual, and my husband caught him sneezing a few times. As there were no vets on Saturday, I started giving him the same antibiotic. I know you should always consult with a vet, but the specialised one I go to doesn't work on Mondays either, so I didn't want to risk it... I know how fast they can go downhill. No Anyway, we have an appointment for tomorrow so he can check both of them
Let us know how Tulum goes and good call re antibiotics, we did the same with Evie until we were able to get to the vets 2 days later. I always ask for some extra Septrin from my vet just in case and as he knows we would only ever give in a required situation, is happy to give us some to have on hand. My usual cavvy savvy exotic vet only works wed-fri and every second Saturday so I feel your pain!
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
I’ve been thinking of picking up some wheat grass to grow in a pot for the piggies as we also have a Labrador so don’t feed our backyard grass anymore. Have you tried to put some jam or something they like with the medicine? We had the same issue with Custard (lymphoma piggie) as she hates her furosemide, the jam didn’t work but she gets Childlife liquid vitamin c and loves it so the vet said it was okay to pull up some to mix with her furosemide and now she happily takes her meds.
Yes more piggie attitude is definitely a sign they are feeling better!
I heard about Eva Stoffels, so very sad. I wish we had a Guinea pig vet here in Australia but there are only a handful of cavvy savvy vets. I will ask thank you for sharing, Evie’s enlarged heart is only moderate and her breathing has improved heaps on Septrin and the vetmedin. However I took her off the doxy and furosemide as she went into gut stasis
luckily we got onto it quick enough and she’s on ranitidine and with regular syringe feeding food and water, she’s coming out of it. But she’s still not 100%.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Also please let us know how you go - I know when they were diagnosing Custard they were looking at either pneumonia chest infection (bacterial vs fungal) vs heart disease vs cancer from the clinical notes. Unfortunately it was lymphoma. But it was very hard to pick up on as she didn’t have the type with any lumps, just lots of chest fluid. However the vet who misdiagnosed heart problems wasn’t our usual exotic vet so may not have been cavvy savvy and it wasn’t until we rushed her back to our usual clinic because she deteriorated on vetmedin and after a few days they had a cavvy savvy exotic vet in that the lymphoma was diagnosed.
fgcb
New Born Pup
Hi Cecilia, Tulum reacted super fast to the antibiotics. I saw the vet on Tuesday, and he said I did the right thing by giving him the antibiotics. The vet also confirmed that Vetmedin is actually working. I did notice that Bellini's heart was a bit slower (it used to be super fast), but I was worried it would be too slow, and he may have been misdiagnosed. The vet explained that if you give Vetmedin to a healthy pig, the heart rate does not slow down, but it actually goes faster. Based on all the reactions, Belli seems to be on the right path. The only issue now is that he's losing a bit of weight, and Tulum is not gaining any (he's just a baby, so every week, he gains some); some of their poops are also skinny and dry. I am pretty sure it is the antibiotics; the last time Belli was taking them, he was losing weight and didn't eat as much, and his poops also looked ugly. However, at that time, I had to step in with some syringe feeding around the second week, and then he was okay. I'm keeping up with the wheat grass and I do not know if give Bene-Bac. Here in the NL they do not recommend it, but I see it's super popular in the US and I have a couple of them.
fgcb
New Born Pup
Oh, these piggies keep us on our toes. We took Belli off furosemide because the lungs were clear but the vet told me we need to keep an eye and maybe we will have to give it again at some point, but right now he seems okay with the Vetmedin. Both my piggies became picky eaters with the Doxy. Tulum is finishing his 10-day course on Monday, so I hope he's back to eating everything. Unfortunately, Belli still has some more time to go because he's gonna take it for 14 days. Have you also noticed this when giving antibiotics?I’ve been thinking of picking up some wheat grass to grow in a pot for the piggies as we also have a Labrador so don’t feed our backyard grass anymore. Have you tried to put some jam or something they like with the medicine? We had the same issue with Custard (lymphoma piggie) as she hates her furosemide, the jam didn’t work but she gets Childlife liquid vitamin c and loves it so the vet said it was okay to pull up some to mix with her furosemide and now she happily takes her meds.
Yes more piggie attitude is definitely a sign they are feeling better!
I heard about Eva Stoffels, so very sad. I wish we had a Guinea pig vet here in Australia but there are only a handful of cavvy savvy vets. I will ask thank you for sharing, Evie’s enlarged heart is only moderate and her breathing has improved heaps on Septrin and the vetmedin. However I took her off the doxy and furosemide as she went into gut stasis
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
How is Tulum going now? Evie is still on her heart meds and did a long course of Septrin (7 weeks) but unfortunately we took her off 3 days ago and she’s relapsed already so she’s had to go back on. Vet mentioned that they often have relapses due to their ability to wall off infections
he said either long course or pulse therapy is treatment but I’m going to speak to him about options now she’s relapsed again! He just saw her 3 days ago and said ok to try going off but wouldn’t be surprised if she relapsed. Sigh. Anyone who has any experience with clearing stubborn URIs/respiratory illness please share! It’s spread to 5 out of 7 of my piggies, all stable but all on Septrin (sulfa trim). We’re trying the 6 week course, and it does seem to work as in they get better but then relapse. Vet wasn’t able to get enough of a sample out of evie to culture
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Yes! Doxy hit Evie hard but I find they do really well on Septrin and it doesn’t affect their guts but I do give probiotics 2 hrs or so after antibiotics to help.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Just a Custard update also (lymphoma piggie) she’s still stable and happy and active. We’re about 4 months after diagnosis going on the 5th month in November. We did have to increase her furosemide to 0.2ml 3x a day recently as she started sounding like she had more fluid build up (noticed the slowing down slightly and then heard the fluid build up which once we increased diuretic sounds went back to normal and she became active again) but she did well on the minimum 0.1ml 3x a day for the most part of 3.5 months. She’s still on prednisolone 0.2ml liquid twice a day and will continue for the rest of her life. She also did catch the URI going around the herd so also had to go on Septrin.
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Glad that Custard is still going and able to enjoy her life.
ceciliaxdee
Junior Guinea Pig
Me too! It’s been so great and she’s had so many good moments the last few months and my vet is happy too that she’s beating the curve!
I am however having the worst year of health issues with my herd and can not kick this URI that turns into pneumonia for a few. If you have any advice I would love it. My vet is just trialling long courses (6 weeks) of Sulfa trim/Septrin (0.5ml per kg - 24mg per kg) OR pulse therapy (on and off) and we’re doing saline nebulising and bisolvon as required. It just will not go and comes back once I take piggies off antibiotics. I’m hoping they just need a longer course as they do get better while on it.
Hi
I am extremely sorry.
Apart from a lab test for which antibiotics the bug you dealing with is responsive to, there is little else you or your vet can do.
We have been seeing increasingly more resistancy cases with respiratory illnesses over the last 5 years or so, probably due to industrial overuse. It may be worth the expense in your case, though.