Incorrect Diagnosis

[Sophieyorks]

Hi all, I recently adopted two Guinea pigs from my local Pets at Home. they are both Boars who had already lived together for some time. Monday evening I noticed Ernie had become very still and hadn't observed him eating or drinking. Yesterday he was exactly the same, when I did see him move he seemed to have a limp. I held him and noticed his breathing sounded loud so contacted the vet and took him straight over. They quickly responded to say it seemed he had a strain which would make it painful for him to move and led to him not eating or drinking.

They prescribed some medication and food to syringe feed. I've noticed that his breathing still seems heavy and he looks to have dried mucus around his nostrils, from research it looks as though Guinea pigs don't procure mucus so I'm concerned as to what it could be and whether it sounds more like a respiratory issue? Having only had them less than 2 weeks and not having had Guinea pigs since a teenager I feel a bit bewildered by it all and really worried for poor Ernie I'm also struggling with the syringe feeding so worried he's not getting enough food from that

Any advice greatly appreciated, thank you

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all, I recently adopted two Guinea pigs from my local Pets at Home. they are both Boars who had already lived together for some time. Monday evening I noticed Ernie had become very still and hadn't observed him eating or drinking. Yesterday he was exactly the same, when I did see him move he seemed to have a limp. I held him and noticed his breathing sounded loud so contacted the vet and took him straight over. They quickly responded to say it seemed he had a strain which would make it painful for him to move and led to him not eating or drinking.

They prescribed some medication and food to syringe feed. I've noticed that his breathing still seems heavy and he looks to have dried mucus around his nostrils, from research it looks as though Guinea pigs don't procure mucus so I'm concerned as to what it could be and whether it sounds more like a respiratory issue? Having only had them less than 2 weeks and not having had Guinea pigs since a teenager I feel a bit bewildered by it all and really worried for poor Ernie I'm also struggling with the syringe feeding so worried he's not getting enough food from that

Any advice greatly appreciated, thank you

Hi!

Please see a better vet for an advanced upper respiratory infection that may have likely descended on the lungs as well; ideally today as an emergency with suspicion of pneumonia.

Are your piggies outside or inside? In any case bring them indoors now if they aren't yet. This is not the weather or time of year to keep youngsters outside without extra protection and gradual acclimatisation.

You can find information on URI (including symptoms) and your customer rights in this link here:
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

Vet Locator
COVID-19 - Vet visits/emergencies during coronavirus/Covid-19 lockdown

 

[Freela]

What medication was he given earlier? An antibiotic? A painkiller? Your research is correct that guinea pigs do not normally get runny noses and mucus around the nostrils and labored breathing are signs of respiratory infections needing urgent treatment. Guinea pigs can get seriously ill and die of respiratory infections very quickly. I know it's hard to find things open right now, but please get him to a vet as soon as you can! Early treatment will give him the best chance at a full recovery.

 

[wiggypig]

If your little guy isn't eating hay on his own, he'll need to keep eating and may need around the clock feedings (every couple hours) until he's eating on his own again. It's a lot, but if you can do it, it can . Since they always need to have food (mostly hay/grass) moving through their system, if they aren't eating hay, timothy base pellet mush (for adult piggies) is one of the next best things. If he won't tolerate the flavour of the recovery food, you can try boiling some water and mixing it with whatever his usual pellets are. You can also grate up some of his favourite veggies as finely as possible and mix that in (be careful of sugary or gassy veg/fruit, but small amounts are fine - just watch for gas/bloat if he isn't eating enough hay). If he won't tolerate the syringe or isn't eating much from it, you could try serving it in a shallow dish (jar lid) or spoon. If you don't already give Vit. C, you can mix some into the mushy pellets. Part of a crushed chewable orange flavoured Vit C works (1/4 of a 500mg chewable is what I do). If he is being given antibiotics, 2hrs after he takes his dose, you can add probiotics into his recovery food to help recover the gut-flora killed off by the antibiotics. Do not give antibiotics and probiotics together. If he absolutely won't take antibiotics, they can be mixed into recover food only if the temperature of the recovery food matches the storage tempurature advised for the meds and only if the piggy consumes all of the dose fully. Just ask your vet before you try administering meds in a different way to be safe.

Feeding recovery food was trial and error for me for a little while. Here's what ended up working the best for my little guys: To get one of my piggies, Bruno, to eat recovery food, I ended up serving it in a tiny dish. He consumed more this way and seemed more satisfied with the independence and ability to get big bites. The consistency of the food needed to be smooth and not soupy (too much water) and not crumbly or grainy either (not enough water). The recovery food I gave him was made from a base of pellets soaked in boiled water and cooled to a safe temperature for him to eat. The little dish it gets served in is actually a lid to a reusable condiment container. He was able to eat it independently most of the time (supervised, in case he flipped the dish over). Other times, I held it up for him angled toward his face and scraped it out of the edges (using the plunger of a syringe as a tiny spatula) periodically so that he was able to eat up the last of it. Since the consistency is smooth and not soupy, he just needed to be offered sips of water in between when being assisted to eat (holding his water bottle to his lips). Feeding him around the clock allowed him to recover his strength and gain back some much needed weight until he was able to eat normal foods again. Eating every couple hours is essential if not more often.


Container lids to use as a little dish if syringe feeding isn't tolerated (or something similar):
https://www.amazon.ca/Sistema-Colle...rds=condiment+container&qid=1585888641&sr=8-8


Probiotic - open up the capsule and add 1/4 of the tablet to water to be syringed OR sprinkle into recovery food if he is expected to eat a considerable amount OR sprinkle on veggies (if he will eat it that way).
https://www.amazon.ca/Jamieson-Esse...s=vegetarian+probiotics&qid=1585891536&sr=8-5