Breathing/strange noise - lymphnode

[Teema]

Hi there.
This morning we noticed one of our girls, Poppy, sneezing/coughing twice, it seemed quite harsh. Later on, we were cleaning out their cage (don’t worry, the cage is plenty big enough and they are also free roaming) and she seemed to choke on a piece of hay this was around 2.45/3pm. By 4.15 pm, Poppy suddenly started making very strange noises, I can’t explain it, but it was constant. It was sort of rattling/chesty/chirping - I have never heard her make this noise before, or any pig for that matter. She was also digging which is an odd behaviour for her. Her breathing seemed heavy and rapid but she was eating and drinking fine. I immediately phoned the vet and we took her in. The vet has given her an anti-inflammatory injection and an anti-biotic injection and we have to take her back in tomorrow morning at 10am. The vet said she had a lymphnode on her neck bigger than a pea size but smaller than a grape so it may be infected or causing her to make this odd noise/strange breathing. The vet said that further treatment, if she still isn’t well, would be an xray/sedation and possibly removing the node. I’m so terrified that it gets to that stage. Has anybody else any experience with this or gone through anything like this? Thanks so much.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry your girl is unwell, but well done for getting her seen so quickly. At ntibiotic was she given, and what is tomorrow’s appointment for?

I’ll tag @PigglePuggle @Piggies&buns @VickiA and @Wiebke

 

[VickiA]

An enlarged lymph node can be due to infection. It’s good that you got her seen so quickly. Is she eating and drinking ok?

 

[Teema]

Hi guys! Thanks so much for the replies! I think the vet said it was incase it was infected yes! She is eating and drinking fine but normally she is zooming around our living room at top speed but not tonight, she is hiding away sleeping, I’m assuming it’s been from the stress of getting in the car, being at the vet and having injections etc etc. But she was crunching away on some carrots and romaine lettuce earlier, her timothy hay and her water. Yeah I phoned immediately - I was so worried it was a respiratory infection! The appointment tomorrow, I assume, is to give her another check over. The vet of course said if she gets worse to bring her back overnight (my vet is 24/7 thankfully). Since we got home (about two hours ago now) she has been sleepy and the noise isn’t as constant. Thanks again everyone for the kind replies

 

[Teema]

*update* she is still making the noise, and it is constant, it’s very similar to the noise they make when they’re munching on hay. Thankfully it hasn’t gotten any worse, but still seems to be the same.

 

[Wiebke]

*update* she is still making the noise, and it is constant, it’s very similar to the noise they make when they’re munching on hay. Thankfully it hasn’t gotten any worse, but still seems to be the same.

Hi!

Please be aware that any antibiotic needs time to build up and work; the fully efficiency is not reached until several days into a course. There is no instant effect - you won't see any noticeable improvement for a day or two at the best.

Please weigh daily at the same time and step in with feeding support if necessary. Keep in mind that hay makes about 80% of the daily food intake - and you cannot control that by eye. It is generally the first food group affected if your piggy is not feeling quite well. However if she she is still eating at least partially, then she is not too badly off.

Your health monitoring and support care in the degree necessary are as important as any medication to help her keep up her fighting strength. It would be good if you please read our information (and bookmarked it) so you know what to do in case things deteriorate or for future emergencies.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

 

[Teema]

Thankyou so much for your reply - it is really reassuring at a stressful time. I have owned guinea pigs most of my life but thankfully, none have ever experienced an illness so this has been quite worrying as it is a noise I have never ever heard a guinea pig make before, it’s almost like croaking/grunting and as I said it is constant - I have little experience with antibiotics (Poppy’s sister, Penny, had baytril once and it made her very unwell so we immediately stopped giving her it, thankfully she was fine). We will continue to monitor her weight, we know from experience it is something our vet does every time they are in, we do worry Poppy is quite thin, she eats just as much as her (very chunky) sister but she is just so much more active which I think leads to her being thinner. She hasn’t actually ‘lost’ weight as far as we know, she has always just been quite skinny for a pig! She had some celery, and apple as a treat as she is poorly, and has been eating her pellets and had some hay too. We tend to have a rough idea of how much hay the girls eat, we havr to fill the hay rack three times a day, so if we notice it is less we will know she hasn’t been eating it as much. Thanks so much for the links/advice, I will have a look into those. So far Poppy hasn’t gotten any worse but she hasn’t really gotten any better either. Will check again through the night and hopefully she will be okay until our vet appointment tomorrow morning. Thanks so much again x