WHEEZING! Another respiratory infection?

[Merry2018]

Hi everyone,

My Guinea pig is 5 years old and has been struggling with respiratory infections the past 6 months. Only one was diagnosed and required antibiotics but I highly suspect he has had mini ones that have caused wheezing and wet coughs. I’ve noticed these mostly when the weather changes, but I try to regulate the room to a constant temp year round.

I’m going to take him to the vet soon because I’m noticing eye leakage and recurrence of wheezing and wet coughs.

Besides going to the vet, What do I do to help promote better immune Health for him in his old age? He had one very bad respiratory infection as a baby but since then hasn’t struggled until entering geriatric age.

Any recommendations for supplements or care to reduce his infection risk or rate would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,

My Guinea pig is 5 years old and has been struggling with respiratory infections the past 6 months. Only one was diagnosed and required antibiotics but I highly suspect he has had mini ones that have caused wheezing and wet coughs. I’ve noticed these mostly when the weather changes, but I try to regulate the room to a constant temp year round.

I’m going to take him to the vet soon because I’m noticing eye leakage and recurrence of wheezing and wet coughs.

Besides going to the vet, What do I do to help promote better immune Health for him in his old age? He had one very bad respiratory infection as a baby but since then hasn’t struggled until entering geriatric age.

Any recommendations for supplements or care to reduce his infection risk or rate would be greatly appreciated!

Hi

With permission of your vet, you could conduct a 2-3 weeks vitamin C booster in addition to any antibiotics needed. Probiotics may also help to strengthen the gut microbiome - general health starts in the gut and is always recommended in connection with an antibiotic.
We do not recommend longer term vitamin C supplementing because the body will simply adapt to the higher levels and can - rather ironically - react with scurvy symptoms if those levels suddenly drop for some reason even though the actual vitamin C levels are still above normal. Short term boosters will avoid that trap.
Please wait with responding until I have uploaded all the pictures, which will take a while and severa posts.

You may also want to check whether a bowl of steaming water can help ease the symptoms or it is making them worse - humidity levels in the room can also play a role with symptoms; especially as you notice the symptoms with weather changes. I cannot judge whether that is causal or just coincidence since we have had a very changeable summer this year in the UK. But the bowl trick is an easy way to check on this angle since nebulising on spec can in some cases make things worse. Again, this is best discussed with your vet; especially if the bowl of steaming water right next to where your boy is sitting has helped to ease symptoms somewhat.

If the bacteria has not fully cleared out initially, then a low level reservoir can revive in old age when the immune system is not longer flexible and strong enough to keep it in check. I had a similar problem with my old lady Ffraid a decade ago; she arrived here with the warning from her previous owner that she had had a URI in her younger years. Because her symptoms were so low level (off and on crackly/raspy breathing), it took me two years and several vet trips, during which she usually held her breath, to get a diagnosis after I had excluded a sensitivity to pollen, hay and house dust.

 

[MartiDavi]

Hello, sorry to hear you piggy is still unwell.

We went through a similar experience with our Rudi when he had pneumonia. The persistence of the pneumonia and the presence of fluid in his lungs were concerning, and initially, there was suspicion of heart disease, which was later ruled out after successfully eliminating the fluid buildup. One approach that seemed to make a significant difference was incorporating a nebuliser into Rudi's routine. We bought one from Boots, I believe it was fro the OMRON brand and it was meant for human babies. We dedicated 20 minutes twice a day to use it with F10 Antiseptic ready-to-use solution, and occasionally a normal saline solution as advised by our vet. Additionally, an extra antibiotic was introduced alongside the ongoing Baytril treatment. Given the severity and duration of Rudi's lung issues, the vet recommended this intensive approach.

I believe the supplementary antibiotic was azithromycin, but I can double-check if you'd like confirmation. I also agree with Wiebke's suggestion—increasing vitamin C intake could be beneficial, and creating a steamy environment with water can be helpful if using a nebulizer isn't feasible. I hope this information proves helpful and wish your piggy a fast recovery!

Martina