How To Care For A Guinea Pig With Pneumonia?

[KCP Piggies]

Hi, I have just returned from the vets and have been advised that our piggy has pneumonia. I have only had him a week after adopting him from a local animal shelter and in the last 24 hours noticed that he had started to cough and sneeze. I have had guinea pigs before so knew that something was up. He is still eating some pellets and hay, very much enjoys his greens but isn't drinking much water. Is it a good sign that he is still eating something? The vet has given us some antibiotics which we are to give him twice a day with the syringe. Attempt one did not go so well as he held them in his mouth and spat some back out. Is there a better way to give him his antibiotics or anything else we should be thinking about doing to ensure he recovers as quickly as possible? The vet has asked us to come back in a weeks time and if there is no improvement he will send him for a chest x-ray. Fingers crossed we don't need that . . .

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I have just returned from the vets and have been advised that our piggy has pneumonia. I have only had him a week after adopting him from a local animal shelter and in the last 24 hours noticed that he had started to cough and sneeze. I have had guinea pigs before so knew that something was up. He is still eating some pellets and hay, very much enjoys his greens but isn't drinking much water. Is it a good sign that he is still eating something? The vet has given us some antibiotics which we are to give him twice a day with the syringe. Attempt one did not go so well as he held them in his mouth and spat some back out. Is there a better way to give him his antibiotics or anything else we should be thinking about doing to ensure he recovers as quickly as possible? The vet has asked us to come back in a weeks time and if there is no improvement he will send him for a chest x-ray. Fingers crossed we don't need that . . .

Hi and welcome!

It is a good sign that your piggy is still eating. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thridly the need to eat. Please be aware that antibiotics are appetite dampeners and in some cases even killers, so your little boy is facing a double whammy in the coming days. You can reclaim any vet cost from the shop, as the infection/exposure happened there.

What you can do:
- Here are our tips for medicating. If you have somebody else either hold your boy or stick the syringe in, it will make it easier. Mask the taste of the baytril (which is truly horrible) with the same amount of ribena or fruit juice, or give some ribena immediately afterwards to wash it away.
Administering Medications
- weigh your boy daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of the normal weekly and start topping him up with syringe feed as soon as he is losing more than 30-50g from his original weight.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
- give a pinch of probiotic 1-2 hours after the antibiotic to help prop up the guts, whether that is on a bit of veg or syringed. Details on supportive home care products at the end of our step-by-step syringe feeding guide.
- place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage and renew to help ease the breathing. You can add a drop of olbas oil if you wish, but please do not use vicks. It contains ingredients that are toxic for guinea pigs.
- It is going to take 2-3 days for the antibiotic to kick in, but contact your vet if symptoms persist after a week. Ask your vet for a diuretic to drain the lungs or some bisolvon powder to help clear the airways from mucus if he continues to struggle to breathe. Guinea pigs can't breathe through the mouth, so any obstruction of the airways is very audible.
- see a vet or out-of-hours vet (contact details for that from your vet's answering machine) asap as an emergency if your boy is suddenly deteriorating, apathetic and off his food. Do not try to syringe feed or water if he is too apathetic or too weak to swallow.

I hope that all goes well and that your boy will recover quickly.

 

[Elwickcavies]

Firstly, is your piggy having any difficulty breathing (nostrils flaring, head nodding)? If so he really needs a diuretic injection from the vet to clear his lungs of fluid (this is something that is common in guinea pigs with an upper respiratory infection or URI). Is the antibiotic Baytril? It is well known to taste horrible! If you are still having trouble getting it into him, you could try mixing it with some fruit juice or ribena to make it taste a bit better. The other thing with antibiotics is that they can upset the digestion so I'd recommend giving him a probiotic (e.g. bio lapis or Pro-C) 1-2 hours after the antibiotic to help his tum. Baytril is not always the best antibiotic for a URI, so if there isn't any improvement ask your vet about Septrin, which has a good track record for this kind of infection.

It is always a good sign if a guinea pig is eating! If you are concerned about him not drinking enough, try him with some wet veg (cucumber, say) or leave plenty of water on other veg after washing.

It sounds like you have caught it quickly so he has the best chance of shaking this off.

 

[KCP Piggies]

Thanks both. Yes the antibiotic is Baytril so I might try mixing some fruit juice with it this evening to see if that will help and track down a probiotic. He's not showing any nostril flaring or head nodding as yet so fingers crossed that doesn't start and I've only heard him cough a few times this afternoon. I'm hoping we have caught it early. He's been taking his wet veg but not a chance of getting him to eat cucumber, the first guinea pig I've ever had that refuses to eat it and that was even before he turned poorly, the others would have taken your hand off for it! I have two other guinea pigs in the same room as him, all in separate cages, should I put him in a different room? I was thinking about moving him but then don't want to split them up, while their not in the same cages they do know that the others are there.

 

[Elwickcavies]

There's no reason to move him away from the others. Bacterial infections like this aren't usually airborne so it shouldn't affect the other pigs. A cucumber hater? Most unusual I agree.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks both. Yes the antibiotic is Baytril so I might try mixing some fruit juice with it this evening to see if that will help and track down a probiotic. He's not showing any nostril flaring or head nodding as yet so fingers crossed that doesn't start and I've only heard him cough a few times this afternoon. I'm hoping we have caught it early. He's been taking his wet veg but not a chance of getting him to eat cucumber, the first guinea pig I've ever had that refuses to eat it and that was even before he turned poorly, the others would have taken your hand off for it! I have two other guinea pigs in the same room as him, all in separate cages, should I put him in a different room? I was thinking about moving him but then don't want to split them up, while their not in the same cages they do know that the others are there.

Not all piggies like cucumber, especially if he's never had any where he comes from and doesn't have a mate to teach him yet.

Healthy guinea pigs can usually fend off a URI; it is an opportunistic bacterial disease that transmits through direct contact in combination with an immune system that is lowered through stress, illness or because it is still developing (young shop and breeder babies) or no longer working as fully in the very elderly.

You have caught it early and have every chance that he can make a full recovery.

 

[KCP Piggies]

Thanks so much for the positive responses, I've been so worried since this morning, hopefully we can make a full recovery. The animal shelter we rescued him from, whilst great, was more a dog shelter and he was housed in an room with barking dogs, I suspect that and the stress of the journey to ours (over an hour long) may not have helped his stress levels in the past week. We've seen a huge change since bringing him home, he now lets us pick him up without running away and sits to be petted in his cage. Out of the 3 we rescued he was also the first one to start wheeking for his veggies although he didn't do so this morning.

 

[Deleted member 114675]

Sorry to hear your guinea pig isn't well.

Are you based in the UK or US ?

Are you happy to add your location to your profile ? We have members from all over the world and it is really helpful to know whether you are based in the UK/US – or elsewhere. Having an idea of your Country + location can sometimes help us tailor our advice .



Here is a link to help you do this …



https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...cation-and-creating-an-avatar-picture.107444/

 

[KCP Piggies]

Hi, will update my profile now, I only joined the forum today so all a little new still. I'm actually based in Ireland, just outside Dublin but have family in the UK.

 

[Deleted member 114675]

Hi, will update my profile now, I only joined the forum today so all a little new still. I'm actually based in Ireland, just outside Dublin but have family in the UK.

thanks - I am thinking of you and your guinea pig .

 

[KCP Piggies]

Hi All, I'm starting to get really worried about Krispy and was wondering if you had any advice. I've struggled to get a probiotic anywhere and after speaking to vet today she has advised me I don't need to be using one just yet. None of the pet shops have any (tried everywhere) and she has said they don't need to administer one yet but that she'd check in with me again on Monday. If worried she told me to try him with a high fibre baby food. We've been giving Krispy his antibiotic now since Thursday (twice daily) and his coughing appears to have stopped and his sneezing is now minimal which is great. My only concern is that he is not pooping nearly enough, only two since last night and he is off his pellets and hay. I told the vet this and she said if that was the case come Monday she might give him a little injection. He is still eating his greens but his appetite appears to be less today, although he did still wheek tonight to get them. He's barely drinking and hasn't really for the last week. I'm really worried and at a loss as to what to do to help him. Is Monday too late?! Just been up at his cage and he doesn't appear to be too lathargic as he's playing with one of his toys. Am I an over worried mum . . .?! So hard to know as we've only had him home from the shelter a week and not had time to get know what he's even like before all this happened to know what his norm is. Any help at all would be fab!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi All, I'm starting to get really worried about Krispy and was wondering if you had any advice. I've struggled to get a probiotic anywhere and after speaking to vet today she has advised me I don't need to be using one just yet. None of the pet shops have any (tried everywhere) and she has said they don't need to administer one yet but that she'd check in with me again on Monday. If worried she told me to try him with a high fibre baby food. We've been giving Krispy his antibiotic now since Thursday (twice daily) and his coughing appears to have stopped and his sneezing is now minimal which is great. My only concern is that he is not pooping nearly enough, only two since last night and he is off his pellets and hay. I told the vet this and she said if that was the case come Monday she might give him a little injection. He is still eating his greens but his appetite appears to be less today, although he did still wheek tonight to get them. He's barely drinking and hasn't really for the last week. I'm really worried and at a loss as to what to do to help him. Is Monday too late?! Just been up at his cage and he doesn't appear to be too lathargic as he's playing with one of his toys. Am I an over worried mum . . .?! So hard to know as we've only had him home from the shelter a week and not had time to get know what he's even like before all this happened to know what his norm is. Any help at all would be fab!

Please top him up with syringe feed and/or mushed up pellets; you can find the instructions in our syringe feeding guide, also a guide as to how much/how often. Aim for the amounts in the recovery section if Krispy is willing enough to eat. The diminished amount of poos means that he is not eating much. Hay makes up to 80% of the daily food intake.
Get some cheap scales from the supermarket to weigh him daily at the same time, so you can keep on top of his food intake. Unlike just watching him, the scales don't lie
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

Don't worry too much about the probiotic. If Krispy has got a healthy companion, you can soak some fresh poos in a little bit of water and then syringe the water. This may be a bit gross, but mimics guinea pig behaviour and will give Krispy all the right stuff for his guts.

 

[KCP Piggies]

Please top him up with syringe feed and/or mushed up pellets; you can find the instructions in our syringe feeding guide, also a guide as to how much/how often. Aim for the amounts in the recovery section if Krispy is willing enough to eat. The diminished amount of poos means that he is not eating much. Hay makes up to 80% of the daily food intake.
Get some cheap scales from the supermarket to weigh him daily at the same time, so you can keep on top of his food intake. Unlike just watching him, the scales don't lie
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

Don't worry too much about the probiotic. If Krispy has got a healthy companion, you can soak some fresh poos in a little bit of water and then syringe the water. This may be a bit gross, but mimics guinea pig behaviour and will give Krispy all the right stuff for his guts.

Thanks. I'll start that first thing in the morning. I tried him with mushed up pellets this evening with the syringe but he was whining by the third syringe, he really hates it and then I feel like I'm stressing him even more by doing this. I know it's cruel to be kind . . .

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks. I'll start that first thing in the morning. I tried him with mushed up pellets this evening with the syringe but he was whining by the third syringe, he really hates it and then I feel like I'm stressing him even more by doing this. I know it's cruel to be kind . . .

I am very sorry, but you have have to be tough. If he only takes 1-5 of ml in one go, then you have to feed very often, about every 1-2 hours, round the clock to keep the guts from starting to close down. In order to get a piggy off its food through a crisis, you need to be tough.
You can assert your dominance with these tricks here: How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language