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Baby guinea pig with lung issues

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Nikkib90

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Hi all

I got baby guinea pigs from pets at home around 3 months ago, both have had issues from I got them, we just finished an 8 week long course of ringworm treatment & thankfully that’s cleared up. Both have had anti biotics a few times since I had them for dry mucus etc.

The problem is the smallest one has always been breathing hard & fast, she had precautionary anti biotics etc and as she got bigger it got worse, she had an x ray and it shows that her right lung only takes in half the air it’s supposed to (likely caused by illness not being treated in time but we can’t prove it). I had them to the vets as soon as I noticed any symptoms within the first few days of buying them. The vet has her on a small dose of steroids for a while and it really helped (I know steroids aren’t good and I hate the fact she’s needed them but it’s a small dose and short term) anyway she’s being weaned off it & last night and today she’s been breathing really hard and heavy, pretty bad. Took her to the vet again there & it wasn’t our usual vet, the guy we seen advised us to try an inhalor and give the steroid again daily for 3 days then we will see our usual vet. I’m not sure if this getting worse has been because of lack of steroids & the inflammation has increased again or because it’s been really hot and humid

I’m wondering if anyone on here has experienced this with guinea pigs before & can give me any tips on how to care for a guinea pig that basically only has a lung and a half working.

I’m using fleece bedding, they have a C&C cage so it’s well ventilated. They aren’t near a radiator or too close to a window. I’m thinking of buying an air cooler or fan for this hot weather but not having it blow directly towards their cage because I don’t want them getting drafts.

I’ve had guinea pigs before but never had this issue so it’s quite new & any help would be greatly appreciated. She’s only about 5 months old max and I just want the best for her & to do everything I can do help.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this.

I’ve no personal experience of what sounds to be quite bad lung damage.
Is your vet an exotic specialist?
If not, I would think seeing a specialist would be the best thing here.
Perhaps she needs to be admitted to the vet for more intensive treatment - oxygen etc?

Steroids can make respiratory issues in guinea pigs worse so would only ever be used as a last resort unfortunately.

The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.

Is she eating and maintaining her weight each time you weigh her?

Do make sure you are keeping the room as cool as possible
Heatwave warning for the UK - How to combine lots of little measures to save lives.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

I’m going to tag in @Wiebke to see if she can offer advice here
 
Hi

I am very sorry but I can't offer any further advice or experiences. @Piggies&buns has pretty much covered the bases. It's not something we have seen in this form. However, if the steroids have worked, then see whether they do make a difference again. Your first vet would not have used them lightly. We certainly cannot know what their findings and their thought process were.

What did the second vet mean exactly with an inhaler? Nebulising? Please try first with a bowl of steaming water near her whether it helps to ease her breathing a little or whether it makes it worse.
 
Thank you, the vet we are seeing at the moment is Vets4pets. Pets at home have been covering the costs because all of this started instantly. The vet we usually see is great with them, the guy we seen today however I wasn’t a fan of, he seemed to think the heat doesn’t bother guinea pigs when in fact they are very sensitive to temperature changes. My usual vet has suggested we may need inhalors or a nebuliser but she wanted to see if the short dose of steroids (which she only gave because the breathing was so bad at one point that it put her off her food so we needed the inflammation to come down) but the vet was hoping that with her growing and responding well that when she’s fully grown she would be able to cope well with the lung capacity until she’s old at least but I’m not sure she will without intervention. I’ve already told them I don’t want steroids long term because I know the risks & they have already said it’s not safe to give long term anyway.

Yes she’s doing great weight wise, she’s been at the vet regularly for 9 weeks now and she’s gaining weight wonderfully, she’s up to over 600g now, her sister is 700g but she is considerably smaller, I can’t help but feel like she’s the runt, she runs about popcorning & zooming and loves all of her food. She just really scared me last night, but it was really overwhelmingly warm in the room despite trying to cool it down. The problem was that she didn’t really want her hay then, she ate most of her veg though. I’m going out today to buy an air cooler to have in the room to help.

After the vet today we gave some inhalor and I gave a bit of critical care feed which she took willingly & now she’s just went over & started eating her hay which is a massive relief, she even squeaked when I opened the fridge so fingers crossed the bad patch last night is improving. I just really want to do everything I can for her. The other baby is perfectly fine thankfully. I feel so sorry for them & so annoyed at pets at home for not looking after those babies properly in the beginning.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

I am very sorry but I can't offer any further advice or experiences. @Piggies&buns has pretty much covered the bases. It's not something we have seen in this form. However, if the steroids have worked, then see whether they do make a difference again. Your first vet would not have used them lighted. We certainly cannot know what their findings and their thought process were.

What did the second vet mean exactly with an inhaler? Nebulising? Please try first with a bowl of steaming water near her whether it helps to ease her breathing a little or whether it makes it worse.
Click to expand...
I will try this thank you. I have a little aerokat chamber that my last elderly guinea pig used for an inhalor issued by an exotic vet for fibrosis, so he told me to use it & try her with an inhalor to open the lungs up a bit. I’ll feel happier when I see our usual vet on Tuesday. I will definitely try steaming water and see how that helps.
 
Nikkib90 said:
I will try this thank you. I have a little aerokat chamber that my last elderly guinea pig used for an inhalor issued by an exotic vet for fibrosis, so he told me to use it & try her with an inhalor to open the lungs up a bit. I’ll feel happier when I see our usual vet on Tuesday. I will definitely try steaming water and see how that helps.
Click to expand...
Nebulising can in some cases make things worse rather than better, which is why I recommend to have a little 'try out' with steaming water nearby first.

Fingers very firmly crossed!
 
Wiebke said:
Nebulising can in some cases make things worse rather than better, which is why I recommend to have a little 'try out' with steaming water nearby first.

Fingers very firmly crossed!
Click to expand...
Thank you I appreciate it. If I find it makes it worse I will definitely stop it. It’s such a relief to see her at her hay eating right now.
 
Nikkib90 said:
Thank you I appreciate it. If I find it makes it worse I will definitely stop it. It’s such a relief to see her at her hay eating right now.
Click to expand...

Good - that means that the need to breathe is not so great that it knocks out both the need to eat and drink. Fingers crossed for Tuesday.
 
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