Breathing Difficulties

[Matt M]

Hi everyone,
Vinnie, One of our little guineas has been struggling to breath for a few weeks. The vet assumed chest infection / bronchitis but after trying Sulfatrim and Baytrill antibiotics nothing shifted it. On Friday we took him back and they did a few xrays and it turns out he’s got a collapsed lung caused by some kind of infection. The specialist said to continue with Sulfatrim and to provide extra oxygen. So we have bought an oxygen generator/concentrator from amazon and he’s currently inside a plastic box with oxygen being pumped into it. After 24 hours he seems a bit more active and his breathing doesn’t seem as strained but he’s still eating almost nothing but hay. Anyone got any experience of this or any suggestions on how to get some food into him before he looses any more weight.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,
Vinnie, One of our little guineas has been struggling to breath for a few weeks. The vet assumed chest infection / bronchitis but after trying Sulfatrim and Baytrill antibiotics nothing shifted it. On Friday we took him back and they did a few xrays and it turns out he’s got a collapsed lung caused by some kind of infection. The specialist said to continue with Sulfatrim and to provide extra oxygen. So we have bought an oxygen generator/concentrator from amazon and he’s currently inside a plastic box with oxygen being pumped into it. After 24 hours he seems a bit more active and his breathing doesn’t seem as strained but he’s still eating almost nothing but hay. Anyone got any experience of this or any suggestions on how to get some food into him before he looses any more weight.

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry.

Antibiotics can mess with the gut fauna but thankfully hay should be over 80% of the daily food intake anyway; veg and pellets are more in the way of daily treats than the mainstay.
Please monitor the weight daily to make sure that your boy is eating enough. Any respiratory issue is doubly hard on the appetite because the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat.
Weight Monitoring and Management

If Vinnie has a healthy companion you can try to inoculate his gut with 'poo soup'. If made absolutely freshly, it is more effective than any probiotic because it transfers healthy gut biome - exactly the 'right stuff'. You collect poos that have literally just dropped (take the companion out and give him a little treat to eat; he will thank you with some freshly laid poos), soak them in a little water and then syringe the water to Vinnie straight away. But it works only when made totally fresh.
Alternatively, you can give a pinch of probiotic either one hour before (US recommendation) or 1-2 hours after the antibiotic (UK recommendation). A stronger form would be a course of fibreplex.
All these are food supplements and not medications. Here is more information: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

If Vinnie continues to lose weight, then consider topping him up with syringe feed, as much as he will take in one go. Please be extra careful to not squirt any food into his mouth and never more than a mouthful (0.3 - 0.5 ml). Wait before it has gone down before giving more to avoid things going down the wrong way and making his respiratory issues worse instead of better.
Here is our illustrated step-by-step guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

All the best!

@Jaycey

 

[Matt M]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry.

Antibiotics can mess with the gut fauna but thankfully hay should be over 80% of the daily food intake anyway; veg and pellets are more in the way of daily treats than the mainstay.
Please monitor the weight daily to make sure that your boy is eating enough. Any respiratory issue is doubly hard on the appetite because the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat.
Weight Monitoring and Management

If Vinnie has a healthy companion you can try to inoculate his gut with 'poo soup'. If made absolutely freshly, it is more effective than any probiotic because it transfers healthy gut biome - exactly the 'right stuff'. You collect poos that have literally just dropped (take the companion out and give him a little treat to eat; he will thank you with some freshly laid poos), soak them in a little water and then syringe the water to Vinnie straight away. But it works only when made totally fresh.
Alternatively, you can give a pinch of probiotic either one hour before (US recommendation) or 1-2 hours after the antibiotic (UK recommendation). A stronger form would be a course of fibreplex.
All these are food supplements and not medications. Here is more information: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

If Vinnie continues to lose weight, then consider topping him up with syringe feed, as much as he will take in one go. Please be extra careful to not squirt any food into his mouth and never more than a mouthful (0.3 - 0.5 ml). Wait before it has gone down before giving more to avoid things going down the wrong way and making his respiratory issues worse instead of better.
Here is our illustrated step-by-step guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

All the best!

@Jaycey

Thank you so much for your reply. We will definitely give these suggestions a try as we’re desperate to save Vinnie the guinea he’s going back to the vets on Thursday and I’m desperate to try and improve his condition as I’m worried they will want to put him down if he has lost more weight.

Matt,