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Bart Breathing Heavily

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Aimee&Chrispigs

Aimee&Chrispigs

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I noticed yesterday evening Bart was breathing very heavily and fast, took him straight to the vets and they checked him out, said his temperature was a little higher than normal but could not see anything obvious have him a painkilling and antibiotic injection and some some oral baytril. Have taken him to the vets again tonight as his breathing is still not settled and they gave him an injection to help clear any fluid on his lungs if that's what is causing the problem. Any other ideas of what could be cruising this?
Thanks
 
It sounds like either an upper respiratory infection or Pneumonia. The injection today would have been a diuretic and it is possible he will either need another injection or oral diuretics. If he has a bunged up nose the vet could also give you Bisolvon which helps clear mucous. Is he still on the Baytril orally?

Steam therapy can help too, put some Olbas oil in a bowl of steaming water next to the cage.

If the antibiotics don't help, ask your vet about a different antibiotic and a conscious xray or scan to check that the heart is not enlarged as a heart issue can also cause fluid and rapid or laboured breathing. It can be treated with medication though.
 
I don't think he is too bunged up although you can slightly hear him breathing, his breathing has calmed down a bit overnight but he is still breathing faster/heavier than normal. I have been giving him 0.2ml of baytril twice a day and have hand feed him in the mornings/evening and also given him critical care at the same time. overall he seems a little more perkier this morning but I am still worried that he is not out of the woods yet.
 
Sounds like you are doing a good job though if he is not any worse. If his breathing doesn't improve I would see if the vet can give more diuretic.
 
I have booked him in to Trinity vets in Kent this afternoon as they are small animal specialists, bit of a trek for me but after a conversation with them I feel that it is well worth it.
 
Definitely worth it, I have heard good things about them.
 
Bart Saw Trinity vets yesterday, they had a good look over him listened to his heart/chest etc and did not hear anything that overly concerned them. they have upped his baytril dosage to 1.4ml once daily and also given him Karidox 0.07ml twice daily. we have given him his meds and some critical care this morning and he seems to be getting back to his old self but his breathing is still a little bit faster than normal but hopefully the medication will start to do the trick.
 
Glad he seems to be improving. Hope new the new meds help, looks like a second antibiotic.
 
Bart has been having the medication from the vets now for a week (0.07ml of karidox twice a day and 1.4ml of baytril once a day) although his breathing is greatly improved and after initially perking up he seems to be grumpy again and I have noticed that he is not eating as much again. could this be the antibiotics giving him a bit of an upset stomach? I still have been giving him critical care but on alternate days but I am now wondering whether I should be giving it to him every day?
 
You may have already said this in the thread (I don't concentrate too well when reading so don't take all the info in) have you been giving him probiotics while he's been on antibiotics? They are given about 1 - 2 hours after the antibiotics.
 
Critical care is food that you need to feed a piggy when they're not eating enough on their own.

Probiotics are something that you give to a piggy 1.5 hours after they have a dose of antibiotics, as it helps to stop them getting an upset stomach. You can get it online, or from a vet but if you need some today you can get Pro-C (in a yellow tub) from Pets at Home.
 
I agree that it could be his tummy and that he needs probiotics, especially if he is on Baytril. Just check that his breathing isn't laboured as that may also mean that he needs a diuretic.
 
Hi breathing is almost back to normal although a little faster than before he got ill. I have just been to pets at home and got the pro-c, do I need to syringe feed him some?
 
It says to sprinkle it on their food, but I usually get a bit in the scoop, maybe a 1/3 of a scoop full. Mix a bit of water into it. Suck that up into a syringe, and then give it to him. Surprisingly all of my boys like it, and I usually have to give a little bit to the ones not on antibiotics just to keep them happy.

If you give it to him mixed with water in a syringe, you know he's definitely getting it.

If he's already had his meds for the day it will do no harm to give him some, even if the med's was over 2 hours ago. In future, it's always best to try to give it 1.5-2 hours after the medicine.
 
I will give him some this evening when I get home. I will struggle to give him it in the morning after I have given him his karidox is it mainly the baytril that upsets the stomach?
 
Yep, Baytril is usually the one that causes problems. He should be fine just having it later after his Baytril.

Hope he feels better soon x
 
I hope so, he looks so miserable at the moment and he still has another week of meds to do :(
 
He is pooing, however I noticed they were a bit smaller/softer than normal
 
That tends to mean he's not eating/drinking as much as before.

It might be worth starting to weight him on a daily basis, at the same time of day so you can see if he's losing weight. In the meantime keep offering him his normal food but supplement with Critical Care if he's not eating as much.
 
I will do, I will make sure I am weighing him every day hopefully the probiotics help him
 
When I was giving Bart his critical care & probiotics last night I noticed two small scabs on his back which I cant believe myself and two separate vets have missed, it looks like he has had a falling out with one of his cage mates. They are nearly healed and there is no sign of infection there but could this be what caused his initial breathing problems if he was fighting an infection as when I took him to the first vets they said his temperature was a little higher than normal? his eating is still not back to 100% and his poos are still a bit smaller than normal so I still am a little bit concerned about him.
 
It's hard to take the temperature of a piggy so the reading taken by the vet could easily have been incorrect.

Keep an eye on the scabs, and watch him for scratching. One of my first pigs had a scab on his back. I didn't know much about pigs then, neither did my vet and we put it down to fighting. Looking back it was probably mites or fungal.
 
he has had a run in before with our other male so have had to separate them to stop it happening again I am just wondering if he has fallen out with one of the girls. he didn't take his temperature just said he felt warmer than normal. I will keep on monitoring him and if he starts taking a turn for the worse will get him straight to the vets.
 
Have kept an eye on Bart this evening he still is not his self he seems quite miserable and lethargic i really starting to worry that the medication maybe affecting him, he was on 0.2ml twice a day of baytril for Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday of last week and then on to 1.4ml of baytril once a day and 0.07ml of karidox twice a day since last Thursday and he still has a few more days of antibiotics left. I have obviously seen that antibiotics can be toxic to guinea pigs and being he is only 10 months old and I am starting to worry that its affecting him. Does anybody have any advice at all?
 
I forgot to mention he is not really eating by his self we are having to Hand feed him veg and also giving him critical care and probiotics although his wait has maintained at around 1kg
 
Sorry, I haven't got any experience with karidox, which is intented for poultry, but seems to be based on doxycycline, which is safe to use in guinea pigs, especially with respiratory issues.
However, when I looked it up it states that karidox antibiotic should not be taken together with bactericidal antibiotics? @Abi_nurse
Guinea Lynx :: Antibiotics
 
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