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Furby - Respiratory infection

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lovelygirl

lovelygirl

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Well I can categorically say she was ok at 3 am but on getting up this morning at 8:30 Furby is very quiet and did not come for breakfast when called, very unusual! SO I turfed her out of her hiding place and she ran away and by the time i caught her she was wheezing and one nostril is definitely wet. She has also sneezed a few times, and nothing environmentally has changed. I have already got a vets appointment for 5pm this evening

1 - What is the best antibiotic for respiratory infections
2 - Should i isolate her from jive and cottonbud
3 - How long between feeds until i need to syringe feed her - had to hand feed her some parsley and pepper as ignoring food bowl

all advice accepted, many thanks in advance from a worried piggy mummy!
 
try offering mushed up pellets/CC to see if she'll have it on her own, first. Hand feed her as much as you can, some blanket therapy (literally) has worked well for me in the past too. Ensure she drinks some fluid.

I think the usual recommended antibitotic for piggies is SEPTRIN but some vets don't store it so you may have to go home with Baytril while they source SEPTRIN. Make sure you know the name of the generic molecule in Septrin (my vet had never heard of the drug). Sorry I don't know it off hand but Laura-CCC4, AP and such knowledgeable members will know. Also ask for Biolapis so Furby's gut doesn't suffer too much from treatment.

Also useful to have: vitamin C tablets, baby calpol (0.2ml up to twice a day IF in pain) and a rehydration drink (usually for people who've had V&D or athletes) whose name i have forgotten. I'll try to find out for you.

Try no to worry and give her lots of love...
 
I'm sorry Furby seems to be unwell, it sounds like you've caught her very early so hopefully it'll clear up easily enough.

1. Baytril should do the trick, the dose should be between 0.2ml and 0.4ml twice a day. Bisolvon can help if she sounds quite "chesty", not many vets prescribe this though. Do give a probiotic (Bio-Lapis, Avipro Plus, Pro-C) if possible.

2. Some people are adamant that you must isolate a sick guinea pig. I believe that in some cases it is important, but it is more to do with the condition of the poorly pig than whether the illness is contagious.
I had a sow who suffered two severe respiratory infections; the first time she was isolated until she recovered. However her condition was severe enough that she needed complete rest, her condition had to be monitored exceptionally closely, and she had to be hand-fed aggressively.
The second time she fell ill, I did not isolate her despite all the above applying. She'd been ill for months with dental trouble anyway, and she had lost her closest friend earlier that year, an event she never got over - isolating her would have been more detrimental to her health and I believed the risk to be miniscule that she would pass anything on. As it was she did not pass any illness on to the other guineas.

A small handful of particular respiratory conditions may be contagious, but the majority don't seem to be. Isolating a sick piggie can cause more unnecessary stress; a very ill guinea pig may need separating from a herd just for total rest and time to recuperate, but for milder cases the guinea generally appreciates things being kept as normal as possible.

It is entirely up to you if you choose to isolate Furby. Personally, based only on everything you have described, I wouldn't.

3. Ideally if you can syringe-feed her every 2-4 hours. I found 3 hours was just right. In terms of nights, I give a final feed at 11pm/midnight, and the first feed between 5-7am. You can always serve up some Critical Care on a plate so she can help herself. Do keep tempting her with her favourite foods too, that is important. Also ensure she is getting fluids, I found the easiest trick was to syringe some water between mouthfuls of syringe-food - making sure to give some at the very end of the feed to clean the mouth out a little bit.

Best of luck Eleanor, will keep my fingers crossed for Furby! xx
 
Following on from Audrey's post:

Septrin is much gentler on the system than Baytril, but it works better for cystitis. I believe it has something to do with working better for anaerobic conditions...may be wrong, it's been a while since I heard it. I'll check on it and clarify on that!

Septrin is also known as...

Trimethoprim Sulfa (this seems to be one of the more common types of Septrin)
TMP-SMZ
Tribrissen
Borgal
Septra
Bactrim
Sulfatrim

There are antibiotics which contain similar ingredients and are also safe, and come under the brand name of Septrin - for example co-trimoxazole, sulfamethoxazole.
 
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I think Laura & Audrey have said it all - just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you & have fingers crossed that Furby will be better soon xx
 
Well I have given her 7.5 ml of probiotic and weighed her and she is the same weight she was 4 days ago

Think i am going to leave them together as they were only bonded
 
I'm sorry but I can't offer any constructive help, just wanted to wish you and Furby all the best. Good luck at the vets and please let us know what happens x
 
I can't offer any advice, I'm glad we have many experienced people here on the forum! I hope Furby feels better very soon. Fingers and paws crossed over here!
 
It may not be an infection, it could be an allergic response or even something, eg hay, stuck in the nostril.
However, to answer your questions;
1 Baytril.
2 No.
3 At your discretion/common sense.
 
She has been nibbling at some hay, but still quiet, jive keeps trying to molest her but she has told him with no uncertaintity to leave her alone!

Well going to take all three pigs to the vet so they can all have their chests listened to just incase

Thanks for all the advice and support!
 
aww sorry to hear she's ill. Marigold has a URI at the moment, and is being very quiet.

She's on baytril, with some bisolvon to aid with her chestiness. I am keeping a close eye on her eating and giving her lots of her favourite foods.

My vet did suggest she be isolated, but I have chosen to keep her with one other pig as I believe the loneliness may upset her even more and cause her not to recover as quickly.
 
Well Furby has a slight crackle on her chest so she has been put on baytril 0.2ml twice a day (she is only a little pig at 850g) so hopefully i caught it quickly and she will have a swift recovery. Jive and Cottonbud are completely fine! although according to the vet jive is "too pretty" to be a boar! :)
 
Fingers (and paws!) crossed for a speedy recovery. Well done for catching it so early.
 
Yes here's to a fast recovery for Furby! Glad you spotted something up so quickly.
 
The vet seemed very cautious over diagnosis, but she said "I know my piggies, thus I know they are unwell before they are really poorly!" She is really falling out of love with me giving her the antibiotics and probiotics and then chris hands over the parsley and she look adoringly at him whilst giving me evil eyes! She is sneezing more this evening bless her little furry paws :))
 
There is a great change in Furby this morning and is back to being her normal feisty self, and had a fight to get her medicine in her although she is still sneezing a bit. She is eating well and I am very happy with her!
 
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