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Health advice needed.

Piggies&buns said:
Bonded pairs should always go to the vet together. You will find all of us on here do, I have never only taken one piggy to the vet.
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Not quite all of us! I never did in my 20+ years of guineas as an adult (not counting my childhood in the 70s and 80s in here). I may have been extremely lucky, but I never had a fall-out due to a piggy going to the vet w/o their cage mate. It wasn't talked about here back then, my last piggy died about 3 years ago. I have learnt a lot on this forum and if I had guineas again, there are things I would do differently, but probably not taking a bonded pair or trio to the vet's when just one has a problem.

I would say there can be extenuating circumstances in the owner's life. I don't have a car. I also have health problems which lead to weakness and exhaustion. For me, walking to the bus stop with 2-3 piggies in a cat carrier is very strenuous. And I quite simply have never the had the money for a taxi all the time, although I have sometimes taken a taxi with my piggy/piggies. I have also transported them (2 in this case in a cat carrier) by cargo bike, probably not what most people would recommend, though it was perfectly fine, in fact it was cooler by bike than in the bus, I chose a shady route those few times, I remember. So, it was an ongoing situation where I decided for my own health. I imagine there will be some other responsible pet owners who decide similarly for whatever their extenuating circumstances are, whether they are here on the forum or not.

Of course, the forum wants to display best practice and most members want to follow! but imagine somebody like me not keeping guineas because of not managing to take a bonded pair or bonded trio (I usually had a trio) to the vet's every time one of them had to go! Due to finances and health. I think that would be very sad. I wasn't a bad guinea owner!
JMO

Guineapiggirl managed in the end, despite extenuating circumstances and that's wonderful.
 
Is it possible for. Guinea pig to totally hide a lung proplemfrom a vet. She sounds so crackly I can’t see how she hid it at the vet if it is an infection. If it is dust or hay or pollen I would understand as the car and vets were quiet ‘clean’ compared to the general air.
 
I am feeling more stressed. We have not been doing well here. I have not weighed them for about 12 days. We just did and she has lost 40g in 12 days. She is breathing heavy. I don’t know what to do. She went to the vet today and they said her lungs were clear and to come back if it got worse. If the vet was not 45 min drive mum would take her again. I don’t know what to do
 
It is a mix of crackling sound and popping but it is not all the time. The vets open at this time of night are all half hour or more away. Mum is 72 and exhausted I don’t want to send her out unnecessarily. I am so surprised that the vet heard nothing. Maybe it is just pollen and dust?but the weight loss too. Her normal weight had been just shy of 1kg until 3 months ago when she started to put on a little weight, over 3 months put on to 1044. She has lost down to 1003. I know I should have been weighing more regularly but as I said we are struggling to survive in this house. My goodness if only I were well I could take her no matter the cost or time or energy involved.
 
I hope the vet visit brought you some reassurance and help.

I'm sorry none of the medical experts were available to answer your queries during the evening. A 40g weight loss is not of itself a cause for concern, it could just be the difference between a full and an empty bladder. If it continues to drop or drops a lot overnight, that is more likely to be a sign of some kind of problem. Guinea pigs do hide problems very well though, because they are prey animals.

Were you able to try putting a bowl of steaming water by your pig's cage? Or anything else in the hot weather guide?
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
I got so desperate that I have paid a ridiculous sum to get a taxi at midnight to take mum and pig to get antibiotics I just hope she survives.
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You clearly love and deeply care about your pig, which means to me that you doing whatever you can to save her is not ridiculous. I understand that it's expensive, but I can't imagine anybody here on the forum finding the idea strange or as if you're going overboard by sending your mum with your pig in a taxi! Needs must. Sending good thoughts to you and healing vibes to your pig.
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
I know I should have been weighing more regularly but as I said we are struggling to survive in this house. My goodness if only I were well I could take her no matter the cost or time or energy involved.
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I understand, these are your extenuating circumstances. Hugs.
Weighing regularly is also something I didn't manage for fairly long chunks at a time. On account of that I did sometimes miss a pig illness, which was then terribly difficult and sad if I couldn't save my pig. But I did become better at accepting or even forgiving myself. So, standing with you in solidarity and understanding.

I have no experience with the symptoms you describe like the crackling, so I can't answer any of your questions. I hope the late night vet trip was useful in that respect and more importantly was able to help your piggy back on the road to recovery.
 
Hope the antibiotics work quickly.
Your piggy is lucky to have such a caring owner.
Look after yourself as well.
 
Sorry I thought I had updated on here. Mum went to the vet and they didn’t think she was bad enough to have antibiotics. So she’s still wheezing she’s on metacam. I hope they’re right It is just an allergy , cause I don’t think I could bear to lose another, but I can’t force the vet to do what I believe. we did tell them that she lost 40 g but they didn’t seem very interested in that fact. I I weighed everyone today and they’ve all lost 10 g in the heat only the little one that’s lost 40. Weighed today and no change for her will keep daily weighing and listening carefully and pray that the vet is right.
 
I think the weight loss was the heat as today she has put on some weight. She is however still clicking/crackling but it is not getting any worse. And no abdominal breathing so just leaving her on the metacam for now and paying close attention. Putting my hands on her hips to feel for outward breaths.
 
How quickly should anti-inflammatories reduce guinea pig wheezing if it is a minor lung irritation she is still making the popping noises. Vet said over phone if it’s no worse to just keep going with the metacam over the weekend. I just don’t want to miss something worse and be too late.
 
Guineapiggirl34 said:
How quickly should anti-inflammatories reduce guinea pig wheezing if it is a minor lung irritation she is still making the popping noises. Vet said over phone if it’s no worse to just keep going with the metacam over the weekend. I just don’t want to miss something worse and be too late.
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Metacam works to reduce any pain and discomfort within a couple of hours but can take up to a week of consistent use to really reach full effect. How quickly it would reduce wheezing would probably be difficult to answer - it depends what is actually going on with her, what dosage she is on, how many times a day she is taking it, and then of course whether Metacam alone can actually help
 
Thank you.. Mum took her to vet this morning as I was just still very concerned. She seeemd to be a little bit more strained breathing than her sister. But they have said it is definitely not her lungs or her heart. 3 vets this week have said this, and today was four days later so if it was an infection they would have noticed by now. So I feel much calmer. In the end they have decided to give her a decongestant As well. Thankfully today she actually clicked for the vet, neither other vet heard it. Also we got a cat box so both girls went to vet today!
 
So the saga continues. The little girl was put on antibiotics which cleared up the snuffling for about a week. (So far vet bills equal £600 including last three weeks, go8ng to vet again tonight) before the antibiotics finished she started the noise again. She went to a vet again, an exotic one, she listened very hard to her. She said the noise is not from the lungs but from the throat. She gave a higher metacam dose. Said come back if worse. Little girl started making more noise that night, yesterday it was on off, so we took out the pile of hay as it seemed much worse when she was in the hay pile. It has not stopped the noise but has reduced it. She is going to the vet again tonight. They said last time maybe she needs higher dose of antibiotics - can they have a throat infection?

Or an X-ray or cat scan (650, 1000 pounds respectively) not sure if I can afford that! Would either scan show anything useful? Has anyone experienced a wheezy snufflingclicking that was not an infection? What was the cause in your case? Thanks
 
My piggy Polo is making similar noises and has been on all of the regular guinea pig antibiotics. He is taking a small dose of Metacam currently. Guinea Lynx has a section on heart issues recommending an echo cardiogram for these cases and describing cases where heart meds have helped after antibiotics have been tried without the noises stopping. We have been to a number of vets and no one has suggested heart issues, but we have not done a sedated X ray or scan yet. Polo is due for an X ray but I think I would like to wait for the heat to subside first. This would see if he has an enlarged heart. The very expensive scans are unaffordable or too far away for many pet owners. I am hoping an x ray and possibly an ultrasound will be enough. It is very worrying.
 
Truffolo said:
My piggy Polo is making similar noises and has been on all of the regular guinea pig antibiotics. He is taking a small dose of Metacam currently. Guinea Lynx has a section on heart issues recommending an echo cardiogram for these cases and describing cases where heart meds have helped after antibiotics have been tried without the noises stopping. We have been to a number of vets and no one has suggested heart issues, but we have not done a sedated X ray or scan yet. Polo is due for an X ray but I think I would like to wait for the heat to subside first. This would see if he has an enlarged heart. The very expensive scans are unaffordable or too far away for many pet owners. I am hoping an x ray and possibly an ultrasound will be enough. It is very worrying.
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The vet has listened to her heart and said it sounds fine? Can it sound fine and not be ok.
 
I have taken lots of screen shots of things you have said, plus details from Guinea pig lynx for mum to take with her to the vets today. Hopefully they have a suggestion. They think the sound is com8ng from her throat not her lungs or heart? Is that normal for heart failure?
 
Is your hay particularly dusty?
Have you tried an air purifier?

If your vet thinks it is coming from the throat, antibiotics havent helped then it may just be irritation rather than infection.
Symptoms of heart failure are lethargy, weight loss, build up in the lungs and all the other symptoms that are similar to that of a URI.
 
We have an air purifier than is on all night (about 14 hrs a day) . The hay is from hay box which we switched to after having some bad boxes from Timothy hay company. It seems fine. It is not very dusty. I did wonder if it was the hay so we removed the hay piles 24 hrs ago but she is still the same. It is so strange that she went quiet for a week with the antibiotics for the first week or so. We thought she was cured… she has not lost weight (she lost a little then gained back with antibiotics, she is maybe 20 g less than a couple of months ago but is holding steady at 1020g) she has always been petite and a heavy drinking, we call her the water baby as she is always bashing away at the bottle. hard to tell if she is lethargic as piggie do like to sleep a lot. We did remove the orchard hay for a couple of days before the noise stopped. The a few days later we reintroduced it, as I thought the antibiotics may have worked. She did start the popping noises again a day or two later. But it has now been a further week since we totally removed the orchard hay so I don’t think that is the problem. She will go quiet for a short while, half hour or so, then start up again. It is very puzzling. I want to do what is best for her but I also don’t want to waste money unnecessarily to ensure I have enough for any future medical problems… they really really think the noise is from her throat, but I don’t see how? One vet said they thought she was making it herself on purpose which made no sense to me at all.
 
So mum is back from vet. She saw a vet she had not seen before at this vets they have several exotic vets and she was one. She lives Guinea pigs, she said with Guinea pigs they are so fragile that diagnostic tests are risky. So while with humans and other animals dogs cats etc you do diagnostic first then treat. She says in Guinea pigs it is better to try a treatment and see if it works and then try another treatment without the diagnostics… I thought that was unusual. She has put my little lady on a week of frusol to remove any fluid that might be built up and wants to see her next week. If that works she will consider her well. If not she may trial her on soem heart meds to see if that works. Does this seem normal to you? I mean I am glad not to have to do diagnostic as the risk with a Guinea pig and aneasthic is massive I know, but everyone on here seems to have diagnostic tests first… but I do trust this vet, she said to mum of all the exotics she treats her favourites are Guinea pigs and chickens… we do live in Cornwall so they prob see a lot of chickens. Our old vet used to do farm calls with cows…
 
Yes rather normal. Diagnostics on piggies can be prohibitively expensive and trialing meds without diagnostics is very common

Hopefully she will feel better soon
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes rather normal. Diagnostics on piggies can be prohibitively expensive and trialing meds without diagnostics is very common

Hopefully she will feel better soon
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Thanks, yes I think the trail and error will be better. She doesnt think the little girl is going to die anytime yet. So that is good!
 
Thank you, this is very interesting! It is so great to find a vet who is so good with guinea pigs. I am very interested to see what happens. I think there may be heart sounds that are difficult to pick up, so the frusol makes enormous sense. You don't want to anaesthetise a piggy with breathing issues if can be avoided ❤️
 
I have a patch of damp in my outside wall waiting to be fixed. I have been washing it with antifungal shampoo every day at the moment. It might be affecting Polo as currently his breathing is good.
 
Truffolo said:
My piggy Polo is making similar noises and has been on all of the regular guinea pig antibiotics. He is taking a small dose of Metacam currently. Guinea Lynx has a section on heart issues recommending an echo cardiogram for these cases and describing cases where heart meds have helped after antibiotics have been tried without the noises stopping. We have been to a number of vets and no one has suggested heart issues, but we have not done a sedated X ray or scan yet. Polo is due for an X ray but I think I would like to wait for the heat to subside first. This would see if he has an enlarged heart. The very expensive scans are unaffordable or too far away for many pet owners. I am hoping an x ray and possibly an ultrasound will be enough. It is very worrying.
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So my girl saw a really good vet at her vets, and she said there could be a little bit of fluid left from the infection. So gave her some diuretic. Said if that did not work it would be trialling heart meds. The diuretic worked, she has been click free for 2 weeks. Thoight I would let you know, maybe they could try it on your polo. Xx
P.s. sorry I noticed I already said some of this in another post, but I did want you to know it worked.
 
Ok, so I have been meaning to write for about a month. The clicky snuffle started again. Saw vet who prescribed diuretic again and heart meds. She had been on them for about a month. Weight increasing slightly since stopping the diieuretic. She is on 0.1 ml twice a day of 2.5 mg cardisure in 2.5 ml water. Is that a good dose? She is just over 1000g The first lot they gave us ready diluted and they didn’t tell us it could go off so after three weeks it was very smelly. We told the vet and they said oh you need to keep making it fresh so they’ve now given us tablets that we’re making the solution ourselves with. We decided to keep it in the fridge. Is that a good idea? Obviously, their tablets meant to be put straight into a dog’s throat. I’ve been not wanting to ask this. If she’s on the right dose of heart meds how long can she live? The cardisure has given her some squishy poo so she is also having the Protexin pellets
 
I don’t know whether to make a new post… I know they do t like the same thing having multiple thre@drs but the original title doesn’t show the serious heart issue not sure anyone will think this important enough to read!
 
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