My Guinea pig that is about 1-1/2 years old has been battling sinus congestion for months. He was on antibiotics after seen at the vet, started to get better then got congestion again. We went back and had a nose swab done to find he had 2 bacteria’s (strep and I can’t remember the name…will update later) and the prior antibiotic he was on would only treat one of those. They put him on Enroflixacin for two weeks. He got better but after a week he started back with congestion. We switched hay as well in case it was an allergy. He is eating, drinking and pooping but he is loosing weight (755 grams currently). There are times he sounds very congested and hard to breathe. We have a vet apt again but not sure if anyone else has experienced this so we can help try to figure this out. We have another Guinea pig that has not gotten sick and is quite healthy. I’m at a loss for what to do and not sure if he is suffering at this point. Any advice or guidance would be much appreciated! Thank you!
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Sinus congestion or could it be more?
- Thread starter wooboo21
- Start date
piggieminder
Forum Buddy
I can't offer you any advise but sending you and piggy my very best wishes for a speedy recovery. Hopefully a health expert will be along soon.
Freela
Senior Guinea Pig
Sometimes an initial antibiotic isn't a good match and doesn't completely clear an infection. I might ask your vet if it's worth it to try a different antibiotic to see if it improves. Some years ago one of my pigs had some hooting and congestion... she was treated with an antibiotic, improved, and then relapsed once the antibiotic course ended, so we did a second course and the same thing happened... finally switched meds and that time it cleared and stayed away. Ironically the vet was hitting her with a heavier antibiotic the first time out of concern that it could be Bordatella (which can get serious fast), but it was actually a different bacteria that cleared up with plain old Baytril in the end. I would definitely ask about trying a course of a different antibiotic if it keeps recurring... your vet could also try a culture if there is any nasal discharge to swab, but cultures are less accurate after antibiotics have already been started and not every vet does this as opposed to just treating empirically with antibiotics. All the best and hope your piggie feels better soon!