squeakysmallpaws
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi,
Just hoping for some help/advice/experience from anyone who has had this.
I have a 4 year old neutered boar. He was diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur when he was approx 6 months old. He's had it checked over the years but it actually started to improve and was down-graded (this was last health check - approx 12-18 months ago).
Manny presented with a hooting sound. He's always had this on and off over the years but this time he seemed lethargic, his eyes were crusty, he looked poorly, he was quiet and felt thinner, decreased appetite but still eating. I couldn't hear anything on his lungs (I have sethescope (sp?) at home) - nonetheless I took him to the vet on Tuesday evening.
Vet equally couldn't hear anything on his lung but could detect a rattle over all - it just didn't seem to be resonating from the lungs. So she said likely a Upper respiratory infection - i.e. upper airways/nose etc, infection probably hadn't spread to lungs so we weren't dealing with pneumonia. His temperature was a little on the low side. He had lost between 50-100g in weight. Weighing in at just over a kilo (usually he's around 1.1kg)
He had a baytril injection and put on 0.5mls once a day starting from Wednesday.
Wednesday evening I gave him the baytril, some metatone and some vitamin C along with a squirt of fibreplex. He was still quiet but his eyes looked brighter and he was still eating.
Today I took him out to give him some more fibreplex. He couldn't walk, it was like his front left leg kept giving out on him. He kept stumbling then laying down as if he wanted to sleep.
I took him straight back down the vets. We decided to treat for heart failure.
Vet gave:
Had him out at 9pm to give the baytrill and he seems livelier. He isn't collapsing now when walking, he even resisted the baytril (last night he just sat there, didn't even move).
So - I'm just unsure. I can't imagine that within 2 maybe 2.5 hours the heart meds have worked that quickly - is that possible?
Clear he probably did have a URI as the crusty eyes have gone, his eyes seem brighter.
I'm just not really sure what I'm dealing with. He doesn't seem in pain. When I put him back in the cage after his baytril and put hay and dried food down he was straight to the bowl.
Overall he's not right though. I've wondered all sorts, could he have had a stroke and that's what caused the weird movement stumbling and honestly, I can only describe it as narcolepsy, almost like he was struggling to walk a few steps and was falling asleep instantly - but then 2 hours later he was moving about - I just can't quite fathom that could be the heart meds working that fast?
Or could it be he had an infection - maybe even spreading to his inner ear which was causing an imbalance and the baytril has started working?
Any thoughts or ideas? I'm pleased he looks better but I'm confused at the same time. It was the struggling to walk and then the extreme lethargy that I'm really struggling to work out.
Thanks,
Katherine
Just hoping for some help/advice/experience from anyone who has had this.
I have a 4 year old neutered boar. He was diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur when he was approx 6 months old. He's had it checked over the years but it actually started to improve and was down-graded (this was last health check - approx 12-18 months ago).
Manny presented with a hooting sound. He's always had this on and off over the years but this time he seemed lethargic, his eyes were crusty, he looked poorly, he was quiet and felt thinner, decreased appetite but still eating. I couldn't hear anything on his lungs (I have sethescope (sp?) at home) - nonetheless I took him to the vet on Tuesday evening.
Vet equally couldn't hear anything on his lung but could detect a rattle over all - it just didn't seem to be resonating from the lungs. So she said likely a Upper respiratory infection - i.e. upper airways/nose etc, infection probably hadn't spread to lungs so we weren't dealing with pneumonia. His temperature was a little on the low side. He had lost between 50-100g in weight. Weighing in at just over a kilo (usually he's around 1.1kg)
He had a baytril injection and put on 0.5mls once a day starting from Wednesday.
Wednesday evening I gave him the baytril, some metatone and some vitamin C along with a squirt of fibreplex. He was still quiet but his eyes looked brighter and he was still eating.
Today I took him out to give him some more fibreplex. He couldn't walk, it was like his front left leg kept giving out on him. He kept stumbling then laying down as if he wanted to sleep.
I took him straight back down the vets. We decided to treat for heart failure.
Vet gave:
- Benazepril (Lotensin®) at 1 mg/kg orally every 12 hours.
- Furosemide (Lasix®) at 2 - 5 mg/kg orally every 12 hours (for cardiogenic or pulmonary edema).
Had him out at 9pm to give the baytrill and he seems livelier. He isn't collapsing now when walking, he even resisted the baytril (last night he just sat there, didn't even move).
So - I'm just unsure. I can't imagine that within 2 maybe 2.5 hours the heart meds have worked that quickly - is that possible?
Clear he probably did have a URI as the crusty eyes have gone, his eyes seem brighter.
I'm just not really sure what I'm dealing with. He doesn't seem in pain. When I put him back in the cage after his baytril and put hay and dried food down he was straight to the bowl.
Overall he's not right though. I've wondered all sorts, could he have had a stroke and that's what caused the weird movement stumbling and honestly, I can only describe it as narcolepsy, almost like he was struggling to walk a few steps and was falling asleep instantly - but then 2 hours later he was moving about - I just can't quite fathom that could be the heart meds working that fast?
Or could it be he had an infection - maybe even spreading to his inner ear which was causing an imbalance and the baytril has started working?
Any thoughts or ideas? I'm pleased he looks better but I'm confused at the same time. It was the struggling to walk and then the extreme lethargy that I'm really struggling to work out.
Thanks,
Katherine