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Update on my guinea pigs for anyone who’s interested

furryfriends (TEAS) said:
Have they checked her mouth? We had a piggy who started to display upper respiratory issues, with noisy breathing. Simon checked her mouth, where he found a strange growth, coming from around a tooth, that came away when he examined it. It was sent for histology and was identified as a tooth origin tumour. The reason for the noisy breathing was the tumour was growing into her nasal cavity. I’m not saying that this is what’s happening with Elizabeth but would be worth investigating!
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That’s interesting. No, her mouth hasn’t been checked but I’ll mention it when we go next week. It was a different vet we saw today so she has different ideas to the vet we saw last week which is why she wants to try her on the metacam
 
There are lots of harmless explanations as to what can cause crackly, noisy breathing from a sensitivity to pollen, hay, bedding or other irritants to more unusual 'out there' issues that can affect the nasal cavities or throat.

Putting Elizabeth on metacam will hopefully help with any potential swellings from an inflammation or infection and help free up the very narrow airways a bit more to ease any symptoms.

Unfortunately, once you are past a bacterial respiratory infection, it is a very wide field your vet has to work their way through. It doesn't necessarily mean that the cause is a 'baddie' one (it often isn't), it just means that it is a lot more difficult to find and diagnose the cause of the respiratory symptoms via a process of elimination.
 
I’ve just phoned the vet for reassurance more than anything else. The receptionist was lovely who I spoke to. Apparently the vet I saw yesterday (who was a locum) thinks the noise Elizabeth is making is coming from her throat rather than her lungs. I explained how worried I am that Elizabeth has been taken off her antibiotics and put on the metacam only. The receptionist said that she should be ok but if not, to take her in before her next appointment which is scheduled for Monday. I have a big day at the vets on Monday as the guinea pigs are having their nails cut with the nurse and then my cats are seeing the vet for their annual vaccinations and health checks and then the vet is also checking Elizabeth’s fatty lipoma, potential URI and Ella’s broken tooth. Thankfully they’re seeing the head vet who’s the small animal specialist. Just a shame he’s off this week as if I take Elizabeth again this week, it’ll be the locum she sees again as the other vet there is allergic to guinea pigs so prefers to only see them if she really has to which is perfectly understandable. I just hope Elizabeth will be ok until Monday 😞
 
Claire W said:
I’ve just phoned the vet for reassurance more than anything else. The receptionist was lovely who I spoke to. Apparently the vet I saw yesterday (who was a locum) thinks the noise Elizabeth is making is coming from her throat rather than her lungs. I explained how worried I am that Elizabeth has been taken off her antibiotics and put on the metacam only. The receptionist said that she should be ok but if not, to take her in before her next appointment which is scheduled for Monday. I have a big day at the vets on Monday as the guinea pigs are having their nails cut with the nurse and then my cats are seeing the vet for their annual vaccinations and health checks and then the vet is also checking Elizabeth’s fatty lipoma, potential URI and Ella’s broken tooth. Thankfully they’re seeing the head vet who’s the small animal specialist. Just a shame he’s off this week as if I take Elizabeth again this week, it’ll be the locum she sees again as the other vet there is allergic to guinea pigs so prefers to only see them if she really has to which is perfectly understandable. I just hope Elizabeth will be ok until Monday 😞
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As I have told you, Elizabeth is still protected by her course of baytril for a few more days. Antibiotics take 4-5 days to build up to full effiency and then they take the same time to gradually wear off over the same time. If symptoms get very bad towards the end of the week, contact your vet before the weekend. If you are lucky, you may be given an antibiotic without another consultation as she is already under treatment and will be seen on Monday.

I've had a couple of piggies with URI symptoms in the throat (and not in the nose or lungs) from sensitivity to hay dust when I switched hay but it can be also caused by other environmental factors. Maelona had an hour with a really crackly throat just last week after she must have picked up quite a bit of dust; thankfully symptoms cleared completely again all of a sudden once the problem was dislodged.
 
Wiebke said:
As I have told you, Elizabeth is still protected by her course of baytril for a few more days. Antibiotics take 4-5 days to build up to full effiency and then they take the same time to gradually wear off over the same time. If symptoms get very bad towards the end of the week, contact your vet before the weekend. If you are lucky, you may be given an antibiotic without another consultation as she is already under treatment and will be seen on Monday.

I've had a couple of piggies with URI symptoms in the throat (and not in the nose or lungs) from sensitivity to hay dust when I switched hay but it can be also caused by other environmental factors. Maelona had an hour with a really crackly throat just last week after she must have picked up quite a bit of dust; thankfully symptoms cleared completely again all of a sudden once the problem was dislodged.
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Thank you. I’m really trying not to stress. Elizabeth should have enough baytril to last her until Thursday even if that means giving her a little less so she’ll only be without for 3-4 days before seeing the vet again when hopefully her uri symptoms are gone
 
Claire W said:
Thank you. I’m really trying not to stress. Elizabeth should have enough baytril to last her until Thursday even if that means giving her a little less so she’ll only be without for 3-4 days before seeing the vet again when hopefully her uri symptoms are gone
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In that case, Elizabeth is at least still partially protected by the baytril until Monday and there is no need to worry about having to take her to be seen sooner at all. :tu:
 
Wiebke said:
In that case, Elizabeth is at least still partially protected by the baytril until Monday and there is no need to worry about having to take her to be seen sooner at all. :tu:
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Thank you. I would rather not have to take her sooner if at all possible as it will be with the locum again who was pushing for X-rays which I’d rather not put her through unless it’s absolutely necessary
 
From recommendation from my parents who have seen Elizabeth this morning, I have cancelled her vet appointment for tomorrow and will have her seen on Monday instead as we’re booked in with the head vet for the cats vaccinations. Of course, if she becomes poorly between now and then I’ll have her seen sooner but hopefully she’ll just carry on bobbin along the way she is. She isn’t crackling all the time and I still have some baytril and metacam left. The vet who she was booked in with tomorrow is the locum I saw on Monday and she was eager to X-ray her and I’d rather only have that done if it’s absolutely necessary
 
Just had the mammoth vet visit with the guinea pigs and Austin and Morris. Austin and Morris have had their annual vaccinations and health checks and are fine and healthy. The guinea pigs have had their nails done and been seen by the lovely vet and nurse. Elizabeth doesn’t have a URI, the crackiness (which she didn’t do at the vets) is coming from her nose which is dry but she could be a little run down. But her heart and lungs are healthy. The lipoma is now hard but she’s been prescribed metacam to have daily for the rest of her life to keep her comfortable. Whatever that lump is, we’ve made the decision to leave it alone as it would be a huge operation which could result in her losing her leg and we just don’t want to take the risk especially at her age. If it is cancer, removal of the lump wouldn’t cure her 😞 Ella’s tooth is growing back but he’ll see them both again in 7 weeks time when they have their nails cut again x
 
That’s all brilliant news. You can take a deep breath now that is all over.
 
I used to care for a guinea pig with 3 legs. Fastest piggie ive met to this day🤣
My girl buttercup is a lumpu pig. All her lumps came back benign/fatty lipomas. She also has a mass in her uterus. This was an incidental finding and since it’s causing her no current issues we have left them. If anything changes we know surgery is an option but the vet said it was a very risky operation and actually if the lump was any further down toward the cervix it would be inoperable.
Also my sweet poppy used to make intermittent honking/crackly noises. She’s had two heart scans multiple x rays and a CT scan and no cause found. Apart from a slight defect on one of her rib bones which the specialists said was congenital. The vets don’t know what it is but it is probably where hay irritates her nose, she made the noise after her cystotomy surgery. And made it again last week for the first time in a very long time when she was feeling poorly with her bladder. I hope you get your sweet piggies problems under control. It’s just the worst thing have poorly piggies. Sending hugs xx
 
Josie_lg said:
I used to care for a guinea pig with 3 legs. Fastest piggie ive met to this day🤣
My girl buttercup is a lumpu pig. All her lumps came back benign/fatty lipomas. She also has a mass in her uterus. This was an incidental finding and since it’s causing her no current issues we have left them. If anything changes we know surgery is an option but the vet said it was a very risky operation and actually if the lump was any further down toward the cervix it would be inoperable.
Also my sweet poppy used to make intermittent honking/crackly noises. She’s had two heart scans multiple x rays and a CT scan and no cause found. Apart from a slight defect on one of her rib bones which the specialists said was congenital. The vets don’t know what it is but it is probably where hay irritates her nose, she made the noise after her cystotomy surgery. And made it again last week for the first time in a very long time when she was feeling poorly with her bladder. I hope you get your sweet piggies problems under control. It’s just the worst thing have poorly piggies. Sending hugs xx
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Aw bless. Was it the front leg or the hind leg? Vet said he’s seen piggies cope with a missing front leg but it would be more tricky with a hind leg as she would end up dragging her belly along the floor which could cause ulceration and sores. He also said it would be a big operation in a guinea pig her age so we’ve taken his advice to just monitor her. The lump hasn’t grown much, just hardened

Thank you. It’s good to hear from someone else who’s had similar with their piggies. Elizabeth doesn’t crackle all the time either. He offered to X-ray her but was confident he wouldn’t find anything so basically told me to save my money. I’m wondering if she’s sensitive to the hay or something. He also said she could be a bit run down which could be contributing to the crackliness xx
 
Claire W said:
Aw bless. Was it the front leg or the hind leg? Vet said he’s seen piggies cope with a missing front leg but it would be more tricky with a hind leg as she would end up dragging her belly along the floor which could cause ulceration and sores. He also said it would be a big operation in a guinea pig her age so we’ve taken his advice to just monitor her.
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My boar Badger 🌈 had a hind leg amputated (due to an infected cut). He managed fine for the rest of his life, and he was quite a big chunky boy at around 1.3kg. He used to limp around which obviously looked strange, but I don't think he dragged his belly at all. So if it came to that, I don't believe that losing a hind leg would necessarily be a problem for Elizabeth once any surgery site had healed - but your concerns regarding surgery at her age are of course another matter.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
My boar Badger 🌈 had a hind leg amputated (due to an infected cut). He managed fine for the rest of his life, and he was quite a big chunky boy at around 1.3kg. He used to limp around which obviously looked strange, but I don't think he dragged his belly at all. So if it came to that, I don't believe that losing a hind leg would necessarily be a problem for Elizabeth once any surgery site had healed - but your concerns regarding surgery at her age are of course another matter.
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Thank you so much for this. I’m glad Badger managed 🙂 To be fair, my vet said that he’d never seen a guinea pig with a missing hind leg so just assumed that’s what would happen. But the risks for surgery outweigh the cons after a discussion with my vet. The lump is firmly attached to muscle rather than fat which is why surgery would be tricky but he wouldn’t know what we’re dealing with until he started the op in which case it would be to late as she’d already be under. I hope all that makes sense? x
 
The vet said that Elizabeth didn’t have an uri but she is still crackling 😞 She hasn’t had any antibiotics for over a week now. If she did have a uri, would she be showing more symptoms by now? She makes a weird wheeze sound sometimes when she breathes but has done for the 4 years I’ve had her and she’s been checked by two different vets before she came to me and was given the all clear so I’m wondering if this crackling is now part of her like the wheeze sound
 
Claire W said:
Aw bless. Was it the front leg or the hind leg? Vet said he’s seen piggies cope with a missing front leg but it would be more tricky with a hind leg as she would end up dragging her belly along the floor which could cause ulceration and sores. He also said it would be a big operation in a guinea pig her age so we’ve taken his advice to just monitor her. The lump hasn’t grown much, just hardened

Thank you. It’s good to hear from someone else who’s had similar with their piggies. Elizabeth doesn’t crackle all the time either. He offered to X-ray her but was confident he wouldn’t find anything so basically told me to save my money. I’m wondering if she’s sensitive to the hay or something. He also said she could be a bit run down which could be contributing to the crackliness xx
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Hind leg🥰he coped so well. It really helps having people to relate to doesn’t it? X
 
Claire W said:
The vet said that Elizabeth didn’t have an uri but she is still crackling 😞 She hasn’t had any antibiotics for over a week now. If she did have a uri, would she be showing more symptoms by now? She makes a weird wheeze sound sometimes when she breathes but has done for the 4 years I’ve had her and she’s been checked by two different vets before she came to me and was given the all clear so I’m wondering if this crackling is now part of her like the wheeze sound
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Has she had any x rays at all? I wonder can guinea pigs get asthma I’m not entirely sure. X
 
Josie_lg said:
Hind leg🥰he coped so well. It really helps having people to relate to doesn’t it? X
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Josie_lg said:
Has she had any x rays at all? I wonder can guinea pigs get asthma I’m not entirely sure. X
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Aw bless him. I’m glad he coped and it gives me some hope. No, I trust my vet when he says the noise is coming from her nose. He said he doubts an X-ray would show anything up as her heart and lungs are clear. I’ve no idea on if a guinea pig can suffer from asthma but I’m eager to find out x
 
Just thought I would do a quick update. The guinea pigs saw the lovely vet this morning. Ella’s mouth is looking great and Elizabeth’s fatty lipoma hasn’t changed nor does she have noisy breathing or a wet bottom anymore 🙂 Esme is fine too and they’ve all had their nails cut. I don’t want to speak too soon but I’m hoping that will be it for vet appointments until their next check up and nail trims in 8 weeks time x
 
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