• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Wombles got a respiratory infection

Kellykels

Kellykels

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
1,062
Reaction score
1,904
Points
690
Location
Wirral
We ended up taking Womble to the emergency vet tonight and we just got back because he started rasping/hooting.

He's now on 3 lots of medication.
A lot of Baytrail 0.8.
Some Metacam and some decongestant for his nose.

I will also give him the probiotic for the antibiotic.

I cannot listen to him. It upsets me. I think taking him out to the vet and administering medicine stressed him out a bit because the hooting got a little worse. :(

It won't let me upload the videos but I had some to show.

My poor boy has been through so much since Stripe died and his neuturing

I hope he gets better I worry. He's my precious boy. ❤❤❤❤❤
 
So so sorry to hear that your boy is poorly.
Hope he starts to feel better soon.
Take care of you too, as it’s difficult looking after a sick piggy. Sending lots of love to you both :hug:
 
Kellykels said:
We ended up taking Womble to the emergency vet tonight and we just got back because he started rasping/hooting.

He's now on 3 lots of medication.
A lot of Baytrail 0.8.
Some Metacam and some decongestant for his nose.

I will also give him the probiotic for the antibiotic.

I cannot listen to him. It upsets me. I think taking him out to the vet and administering medicine stressed him out a bit because the hooting got a little worse. :(

It won't let me upload the videos but I had some to show.

My poor boy has been through so much since Stripe died and his neuturing

I hope he gets better I worry. He's my precious boy. ❤❤❤❤❤
Click to expand...

I am very sorry. Please halve the dosage of baytril and give it every 12 hours instead of once daily; guinea pigs have a very fast metabolism. It is also easier to get down him; especially as baytril is about the most foul tasting medicine you can ever come across (never try it yourself, please).

Hooting means a partially blocked nose; any noises will get more pronounced whenever they are eating and swallowing since guinea pigs only have small and narrow airways. Please stick with the medication; symptoms will hopefully ease over the course of a week. if not, or if you notice a clear deterioration, please contact your clinic promptly.

Baytril in higher dosages can also impact on the gut microbiome but if you are dealing with total loss of appetite, please step in with syringe feeding support. things will get better again, I promise you!
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Wishing Wombles a good recovery and quick recovery.
 
Wiebke said:
I am very sorry. Please halve the dosage of baytril and give it every 12 hours instead of once daily; guinea pigs have a very fast metabolism. It is also easier to get down him; especially as baytril is about the most foul tasting medicine you can ever come across (never try it yourself, please).

Hooting means a partially blocked nose; any noises will get more pronounced whenever they are eating and swallowing since guinea pigs only have small and narrow airways. Please stick with the medication; symptoms will hopefully ease over the course of a week. if not, or if you notice a clear deterioration, please contact your clinic promptly.

Baytril in higher dosages can also impact on the gut microbiome but if you are dealing with total loss of appetite, please step in with syringe feeding support. things will get better again, I promise you!
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Wishing Wombles a good recovery and quick recovery.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I am going to call my vet tomorrow as that dose does seem rather big. I gave it for tonight's dose but I won't tomorrow.

I got probiotic ready to go tomorrow by the end of all the medicines tonight he was having a tantrum and it was making him hoot worse because he was already annoyed about going to the vet.

I don't know how some people can think that because guinea pigs are small rodents they don't have a personality because I get attitude off him 24/7....

I was looking through your guides wondering what could help. Thank you for the links. It helps. :)

Syringing the medicine was harder than usual tonight because he was throwing his toys out of the pram so I will definitely check out the syringe guide.

I was reading the syringe feeding guide in guinea pig magazine this month with interest. Did not want to have to utilise it this quickly. 😥

Thank you for your kind wishes and encouragement.
 
Kellykels said:
Thank you. I am going to call my vet tomorrow as that dose does seem rather big. I gave it for tonight's dose but I won't tomorrow.

I got probiotic ready to go tomorrow by the end of all the medicines tonight he was having a tantrum and it was making him hoot worse because he was already annoyed about going to the vet.

I don't know how some people can think that because guinea pigs are small rodents they don't have a personality because I get attitude off him 24/7....

I was looking through your guides wondering what could help. Thank you for the links. It helps. :)

Syringing the medicine was harder than usual tonight because he was throwing his toys out of the pram so I will definitely check out the syringe guide.

I was reading the syringe feeding guide in guinea pig magazine this month with interest. Did not want to have to utilise it this quickly. 😥

Thank you for your kind wishes and encouragement.
Click to expand...

The dose is as high as your vet can safely go; it is what vets normally prescribe for a urinary tract infection. Rest assured that your vet has considered the dosage carefully and that he is taking the infection seriously.
 
Wiebke said:
The dose is as high as your vet can safely go; it is what vets normally prescribe for a urinary tract infection. Rest assured that your vet has considered the dosage carefully and that he is taking the infection seriously.
Click to expand...
Sorry I meant I will split it up as suggested. Not that I will lessen the dose. I'm calling my vet to talk to him as I saw an emergency vet about Womble tonight. A vet I have never met.
 
It's 0.8 twice daily. 😶 Which is weird because he usually takes 0.4 or 0.5 when he had the neuturing done.
 
I wanted to give him a steam in the bathroom to clear some of the mucous in his nose but the room wasn't getting steamed enough. With a human we would usually out some hot water in a bowl but so think this poses too much of a risk as I have no coordination and I am very clumsy so I don't trust myself.
Are there any other suggestions for my boy?
 
Kellykels said:
I wanted to give him a steam in the bathroom to clear some of the mucous in his nose but the room wasn't getting steamed enough. With a human we would usually out some hot water in a bowl but so think this poses too much of a risk as I have no coordination and I am very clumsy so I don't trust myself.
Are there any other suggestions for my boy?
Click to expand...
I found steam helped my boy a lot when he had his breathing problems. I used to leave the shower running on hot for 10 minutes with the door shut, and then pop them in there for 15-20 minutes (as advised by my vet). It might be a case of leaving your showing running hot
 
I'm feeling really depressed and lethargic because I want to help my boy but I feel helpless.
I'm taking him to see his regular vet this evening to see if I can get him some type of inhalant. He is not eating the decongestant and he has went off his favourite food pepper a little. He ate some of it but not all and not with his usual gusto. He ate all the celery leaves and lettuce quite well though. I'm going to try make the pepper pieces thinner and more appetizing to eat.
 
Poor Womble.
Coping with a sick piggy is very stressful as we want to make them better immediately and meds take time to work.
Womble is in good hands with you.
Holding you in my thoughts
 
andthislittlepiggie said:
Firstly, I hope Womble is doing fine x

I think one of my little guinea pigs is going through the same thing, wooting and rasping are words well used.
I am going to stick the little man in the shower later! (not in the actual shower) - no worries about getting our bathroom steamy!
Click to expand...
a

My Womble is on Baytrail, metacam and a decongestant I have forgotten the name of off the top of my head. He's also taking a probiotic and I'm supplementing his food intake with critical care because he's not eating as much hay as I'd like and he lost a little bit of weight.

The vet suggested I buy a paediatric nebulizer and she's going to order some F10 (apparently it's a completely different thing to the pet safe disinfectant) and we're going to put him in the crate and nebulize him in there.

The wooting has stopped but I'm keeping a close eye on his weight, his breathing and his demeanour.

The vet said he had a bit of a chest infection and I know as guineas have small chest cavities that it needs to be addressed as soon as possible as it can get serious if left.

He's going back to see our vet on Friday.
This is his 3rd vet visit this week including the emergency vet and I'm glad they're keeping a close eye on him. He is my most precious boy.

I just want to see him back to his normal self. He's still giving me cheek and attitude but I want to see him bury himself in his hay and eat/sleep with contentment and only give me side glances when I don't feed him quickly enough.

I want him to be able to go in with the girls when he can. 😊
 
He's going to see the vet again tonight and we're going to start nebulizing him. Hopefully this is the only course of antibiotics we'll need for this infection as he's stopped hooting consistently. He has an on/off moment every so often and it's nowhere near as bad and he has perked up a bit so I'm cautiously optimistic.
 
All the best with the vet tonight. Hopefully he’s sounding better. Try and munch some more Womble, your make your slave so happy 🥰
 
Siikibam said:
All the best with the vet tonight. Hopefully he’s sounding better. Try and munch some more Womble, your make your slave so happy 🥰
Click to expand...
Yes I am definitely his slave. I sit/crouch offering him things for ages.
I feel like he's on a throne and I am but a humble servant offering him his noms on a silver platter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top