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Fast breathing and weight loss

Idris

Idris

Junior Guinea Pig
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Llundain, Cymru
We’ve been to the vet again this morning as Dobby had lost more weight and is now under 1kg (he was 1.2). The vet couldn’t find any obvious reason but his heart rate was high and even now he’s breathing faster than usual so we’re worried that it’s not just vet visit stress. He’s still eating and pooping but you he’s less active and runs out of steam at veggie time. Have given him Metacam in case of some pain. Anything else that the vet might need to think about? No obvious enlarged thyroid, teeth ok, no obvious pain or evidence of URI ( breathing not noisy, no discharge). He’s 5 and a bit. Will try to get a urine sample over the weekend.
 
He’s currently breathing around 120/minute so within the range of 40-150 I’ve seen posted. It’s about double Willow’s rate but at least it seems not too extreme for now. Follow up with the vet booked for Thursday afternoon when it’s normally quieter for the vet.
 
I'm so sorry you're in this position, I've been there many times and it's rough.

What dry food is he on? Is it grain-free?
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

Has the vet checked for issues with the heart? (You mention other things but not that specifically)
Have you stepped in with support feeding to stabilise the weight loss?

I hope he is ok
 
I hope Dobby is ok and that the vet can find out what’s wrong.
 
Thank you. We’re supplementing his feed with Excel Dual Care by syringe as well as sprinkling some in his hay. As a precaution we’ve put a mesh divider from Willow to give him some peace during the day. He had an elevated heart rate as well as his fast breathing at the vets - she didn’t rule out a heart condition or a thyroid problem but there are limited treatment options. But his temperature was normal. His appetite seems to have improved and his breathing rate slowed a bit but we’re weighing him again tonight 🤞. Even if the meloxicom isn’t needed at least he enjoys it!
 
GuineaDobbin said:
I'm so sorry you're in this position, I've been there many times and it's rough.

What dry food is he on? Is it grain-free?
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Supreme Science Selective Guinea Pig - he’s been on it for over a year. He had a tough end to 2025, losing long term partner Chips in August, then JulienChewie after only 6 weeks (bladder stone) before Willow joined us at the start of November. We discovered that Willow had mites in January and both were treated for them in late Jan/early Feb. Otherwise it’s been uneventful! 🙁
 
Sorry to hear this, you've been having a time of it.😔

I hope the metacam helps and you get to the bottom of it. Glad that the breathing has settled a bit too.

It's true there are limited treatment options if it's a heart issue, but there's often meds you can use to help manage the symptoms, which I've learnt myself through our older girl Dottie, who was diagnosed with a heart condition last year after ruling out URIs etc. I hope it's not that for Dobby, but just wanted to reassure there are a few different ways to support them should that be the case.

All the best
 
I'm so sorry, losing pigs in quick succession is really rough.

Have you considered grain free pellets? Our boy Jojo was losing weight slowly but surely over a year with us (1400g down to 926g). No obvious symptoms other than weight loss. He has bounced back really well, not to his former weight but he has three wives to keep him exercised now!
 
Breathing rate was down to 90-100 yesterday. He’s lost another 14g since Thursday on top of the 81g from Sunday to Thursday. So he’s down to 972g from being reliably over 1.2kg. Dipping under 1kg was the trigger for his 3rd vet visit this year. Will up the syringe feeding, weigh daily and hope for the best. More Dual Care arrives today so we can fully swap out the normal nuggets and see if that helps.
 
That's good about the breathing rate. Hopefully the extra feed will help him while you work out what's going on. Keep us posted, he sounds like a lovely boy.
 
Breathing back to normal (60-70 per minute) and a small gain from Sunday’s weigh in of 972 to 991g with 3 syringe feeds/day and a couple of lawn sessions in the sunshine. Back to the vet tomorrow afternoon for a follow up check. Taking it a day at a time. 🤞
 
Vet visit went well. He’s added 30g on their scales, heart rate and breathing back in range. Minor sensitivity around the bladder area so I need to get the urine sample that I meant to last weekend. Continue the Metacam and syringe feeding for another fortnight (to the end of the Metacam bottle) and see how he is. 🤞Didn’t think ‘grain free’ was a likely concern.
 
Eating and pooping ok but I don’t like the look of this urine sample. In the fridge for the vets in the morning.
 

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Actually, reading Wiebke’s article on urine this is probably normal to be cloudy like this but I imagined it would be clearer. In 10+ years of piggies we haven’t had to collect a sample as the vet has done it during our visits.
 
Back from the vet with Co-trimoxazole and have just given him the first dose. “The urine sample you dropped in has loads of blood, protein and a very high pH so I have prescribed 14 days antibiotic”.

His weight yesterday was the same as the previous Sunday so stable but that’s with three rounds of syringe feeding every day.

Hoping that this will be the solution alongside the Metacam. They have asked us to drop off another urine sample in a fortnight. 🤞🤞
 
Fingers crossed the ABs help. And well done with the weight being stable, that's great work from you.
 
Four days into the antibiotics but he’d lost another 20g last night (since Sunday). Upped to 4 feeds today but he’ was quite resistant to the syringe today. Was hoping that the antibiotics might have kicked in by now and wondering if he might need something stronger. Sadly we know from poor JulenChewie that it can be difficult to shift infections. 🤞
 
I’m sorry it’s not getting any better. Hopefully the vet can advise where to go from here. ❤️
 
Another 28g down tonight 🙁 Will contact the vet in the morning. Down from 1070 to 922 in the past month.
 
Adding Gabapentin 3x a day plus a urinary capsule once a day (mixing with syringe feed). Off to the pharmacy this morning as our left over Gabapentin is out of date. Back next Monday for another appointment with the vet. 🤞 Other than the weight loss and sensitive bladder (when squished by the vet), with some sludge in his urine he seems OK but not eating much of the veggies. Dobby is the black and white one on the right.
 

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Early days but he’s crept up to 968g using the out of date gabapentin while we wait for the new prescription to arrive at the pharmacy, hopefully tomorrow morning. The boys have been enjoying grass time in the spring sunshine again today. 😻
 
Heading home from the vet. Last night he was up to 999g and was 960g on the vet’s scales. Antibiotics are finished so keeping on with the other meds and top up feeding for another fortnight and see how he does but vet positive. He is more like his old self - spent much of the morning sniffing Willow’s rear end and following him around! Hoping that this was a blip but we know not to take anything for granted 🤞
 
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