• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Bumble Is Hooting - Nebulise?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sarah.aJones15

Sarah.aJones15

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
63
Reaction score
40
Points
205
Location
Lincoln, UK
Bumble is hooting this evening (we listened to the video) and will be going to the vet tomorrow. Would it be beneficial to nebulise him with Z10 (1g in 5g water)?

His abdomen isn't puffing, he's only lost 22g in 4 days (9g since the beginning of the month) and is doing everything else normally. We lost his brother Fergie to heart disease a couple of months ago so are very watchful of respiratory issues.

The local vet isn't cavy savvy but I'd be happy to start him on Baytril anyway. Would we do Metacam as well (for the anti-inflammatory?)

Thanks gang

Sarah
 
I don't know about Z10, but just placing a bowl of steaming water next to the cage will help ease the breathing. Hopefully it is just some bunged up airways, as most hooting turns out to be!

It is always worse when you have lost a relative to a similar issue, of course! Fingers firmly crossed. metacam won't do much, but you may want to talk about a diuretic. Unfortunately, it is anything but easy to diagnose heart disease.

@helen105281
 
Hi Wiebke - fancy seeing you here (I feel like I'm stalking you, Sarah Eatwell, Gill Thompson etc) lol!

Since Fergie was ill last year, we insured Bumble because the likelihood of a heart condition being hereditary is high so, if it is anything that needs diagnosis, we're ready to go. We use Sarah Pellett at Animates for serious stuff (I think Helen or someone else recommended her) so at least we know the process if it comes to it.

Fingers crossed it's just a temporary thing. He's not doing it now but, of course, I just think it's because he's dying. It's worse than having kids for God's sake!
 
He gave an alarming wriggle, coughed & heaved, then ate whatever he coughed up. While hubby and I stood over him with the phone in one hand and my coat half on, he yawned, stopped hooting and snuggled down for a little rest. Seriously!?

So it's nice to know that one of us might get some sleep tonight. I'll be pinned to his webcam all flipping night & having him at the vet's tomorrow.

Thanks for your prompt response, it's so comforting having your expertise and experience to help. x
 
Sarah.aJones15 said:
He gave an alarming wriggle, coughed & heaved, then ate whatever he coughed up. While hubby and I stood over him with the phone in one hand and my coat half on, he yawned, stopped hooting and snuggled down for a little rest. Seriously!?

So it's nice to know that one of us might get some sleep tonight. I'll be pinned to his webcam all flipping night & having him at the vet's tomorrow.

Thanks for your prompt response, it's so comforting having your expertise and experience to help. x
Click to expand...

It could well be that it is just something that has gone down the wrong way. But of course once you have lost a piggy, the ghosts all come back to haunt you in full strength and it can really panic you. if you are worried, I would still recommend a vet trip, even if it is only to lay your fears to rest. ;)

This my home haunt, so you are rather bound to bump into me on here... :D
 
Hopefully it was just some food stuck in an awkward place!.


However - if you suspect a heart condition and that the breathing issues are due to this (ie fluid accumulation) then nebulising may not afford any relief and may in fact exacerbate his difficulties. Nebulising with F10 ( I think that's what you mean) is intended to help deal with snotty mucus caused by infection. I don;t know what preparation you have but I use F10SC disinfectant and it is diluted 1/250 in sterile saline (my vet has given me a bag of saline for this purpose and I draw out the required amount with a sterile needle/syringe)

I (and this forum) would not advise anyone in the UK to give any prescription meds such as baytril or metacam to their piggie without first ringing the out of hours vets and getting their agreement to do so (as otherwise the slave will be acting in contravention of the Veterinary Surgeons Act)

I realise its tempting in these situations if (like me) you have acquired a small pharmacy of piggy prescription meds and know that a few hours can make all the difference. However, I have worked hard to establish a relationship of trust with my vets such that they are now happy to authorise out-of-hours treatment over the phone pending a vet visit the following day/days (and also now help me keep my pharmacy stocked up with abx, pain relief (3 kinds), gut meds (again 3 kinds). and various other topical ear/eye/skin!)

If it is a repiratory infection with asociated snotty nose, then bisolvon (in addition to an antibiotic) works wonders (and is overlooked as a med for URI piggies by many vets)

Hopefully it was just a temporary blip from his food!

x
 
It was me recommended Sarah, she's my vet :) If he hasn't been diagnosed with a heart problem, has he got any food bowls that he buries his nose into or do you wash his food & put it in a bowl or plate? I ask because one of mine is a terrible monkey for burying her nose in her food, she often inhales a little bit of hay dust or particle of dust from her dry food & then has a slight hoot for a few hours, but it is in her nose & she does not have heart or chest problems, so now I am careful to scatter the food so she doesn't inhale water from the washed veggies. Just a thought :)
 
Hello lovely gang.

You're absolutely right about being tempted to medicate, Pebble, so we purposely gave all of Fergie's leftover meds back to the vet to pass on to a rescue place when he died. The only thing I kept is F10 (dunno where I got Z10 from) and some fibreplex. What I should have said, is that I'd have a chat with the vet about trying those things if they were agreeable.

What I've found, is that my local vet have a shockingly perfunctory knowledge of gps although I cannot praise them high enough for the level of service. I rang first thing and they just said to bring him now; I was seeing the vet 15 min later who said there were no sounds at all of any concern. And then only charged £4.20! isn't that amazing? Do I trust the vet? Hmmm... not very much, but do believe he can hear the difference between something and nothing.

Bumble ate hay in the car, has had dinner, drank some water and is currently having a bit of floor time while popcorning because I gave him some grass. To be honest, I just wanted to see how lively he was. No hooting, no snuffle, nothing.

Poppy's mum - I was getting ready to drive over to see Sarah. We could have had a cuppa at the pub/McD's or Tesco!

So, Bumble's honorary god-parents, it looks like he did just sniff/breathe in a piece of food. Phew!

NB
Just to let you know that you are going to be god-parents again. This time to Bumble's new little friend (if Sue at the Lincoln RSPCA gets a baby boy from the pregnant rescue she has who's due tomorrow) if, of course, Bumble will bond with him. Yeay!
 
That is great news! I hope that Bumble will be happy with a little friend!

A general vet who is preapred to see you asap in an emergency and willing to contact a specialist or try recommendations is nothing to sniff about.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top