Hello, i have rescued a guinea pig and have had him 8 months. He has chronic lung/respiratory problems with scarring on the lungs and a constant chrunching/rasping sound when he breathes. Over the past few months we have tried different antibiotics to treat it, enrocare & doxycycline, as well as the use of bisolvon and more recently nebulising with F10 solution. So far nothing has helped and he is not getting better. The vet has suggested using steroids, he warned it could make things worse but also hopefully it could make things better. He has had a steroid injection and will start with an inhaler in a couple of days and if there is no improvement with that he will move onto oral steroids. I've read some bad things about steroids in guinea pigs, specifically they can make respiratory problems worse & even fatal so i'm very cautious. He has got problems and i understand nothing else has helped and this is a last resort but i am still concerned. It may sound nuts given that he has such serious chest problems, but he is actually a very happy little guy and i don't want to do anything that may cause additional harm or end his life prematurely. I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience of this and can offer any advice. Thankyou.
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Use of steroids for chronic lung/respiratory problems
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
Hi
I have no personal experience, having been extremely lucky to have never had a piggy with pneumonia myself but steroids have been occasionally used in some pneumonia cases going through this forum.
Perhaps one of the members with that experience or better medications knowledge than I can tell you more.
Fingers firmly crossed for you piggy!
Hi Alison
I am eager to hear what happened with your Guinea Pig. I have just rescued a boy who has a very similar sounding upper respiratory problem. He has been on baytril for 2 weeks with no improvement and the vet suggested we may need to swab his nose under sedation to check organism and sensitivity. But I suspect the first thing will be to change Abx. I have been nebulising him with saline from the start.
I hope your Piggie improved.
Best wishes
Rachel.
Siikibam
Forum Donator 2022/23
Hi there. Sorry to hear your boy is unwell. It may be better to start your own thread so you can get individual support.
Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
Hi @RachB I don't think this poster has been back on since march but you might want to check out a couple of threads about a piggy called ebony - there's this one which is an update and that will signpost you to the earlier ones where ebony was up and down Happy update on Ebony's breathing
You could also try searching for threads about PigglePuggle's Blodwen who arrived with significant issues including a sort of honking quacky breathing noise, but they were eventually unpicked by a fine vet who diagnosed Chlamydia in the lungs if I remember right. It was quite a protracted journey but you will be able to see the sort of things that were considered and why and what treatments were tried. Apparently lung Chlamydia is more common than people suspect but seeing as I'd never heard of this in piggies that could mean anything! Good luck and you too @Alison TS if you are hovering out there - I hope your little guy is doing OK x
You could also try searching for threads about PigglePuggle's Blodwen who arrived with significant issues including a sort of honking quacky breathing noise, but they were eventually unpicked by a fine vet who diagnosed Chlamydia in the lungs if I remember right. It was quite a protracted journey but you will be able to see the sort of things that were considered and why and what treatments were tried. Apparently lung Chlamydia is more common than people suspect but seeing as I'd never heard of this in piggies that could mean anything! Good luck and you too @Alison TS if you are hovering out there - I hope your little guy is doing OK x
Hello,
Sorry to hear your guinea pig is sick.
Just a little update on mine - he has permanent damage and will never fully recover so i do my best to manage his condition, this is what i do - he has regular courses of anti biotics (at the moment baytril but there are others), nebulising on & off with F10 soloution which is an antibacterial solution that gets inhaled straight into the lungs and hopefully helps to kill off any bacteria, and sometimes i use bisolvon which is a decongestant. I give the antibiotics for a few weeks at a time (my latest stint was 10 weeks on advice from my vet) then i stop for a bit to give his body a break but this always seems to make him worse so then i start up again. So far this seems to be working for him.
Bare in mind that my guinea pigs problems are deep and severe so he needs long term intensive treatment like this, hopefully if you caught yours early enough it won't be so drawn out and with good treatment right from the start you will beable to nip it in the bud.
Although 2 weeks isn't long enough for antibiotics, from what i'm learnt RTI's can be difficult to shift and need longer courses.
Also, if you haven't done it already a nasal swab is a good idea as it will hopefully give you an idea of what bacteria he has so which antibiotic is best to treat it.
I also gave mine steroids for a few days (inhaled in his nebuliser) but it made him worse, his breathing went really tight and wheezy, so i stopped that and won't ever do it again.
If you're on facebook i can reccommend a couple of facebook pages - 'Wheekers! Guinea Pig Group Saskia Volunteers and Friends of LAGPR' and 'Saskia at the Los Angeles guinea pig rescue'. They're good places to ask questions and pick up knowledge.
Good luck and hope your piggie makes a full recovery x :o)
P.s Also lots of vitamin c, give yours a vitamin c supplement if you can and also make sure he stays warm & cozy - bodies heal better when they're warm.
