Tbag
Adult Guinea Pig
History:
So about a year ago we heard Ludo breathing very strangely one night (thread here: Intermittant Odd Breathing) and rushed him to the vets the next day. Heart and lungs sounded clear, though there were no other signs of a URI we got a course of Baytril which we followed up and seemed to clear things up.
Of note is that he didn't exhibit the strange breathing again at all after the first incident.
In Feb we noticed the noise a little bit again, but nowhere near as bad as the first incident so we kept an eye on it and it disappeared again. We'd hear it on and off throughout the year, never sounding as bad as the first incidence, and throughout the whole time he has been otherwise completely healthy. He has maintained a good weight (approx 1190g) and appetite, clear eyes, clear nose, good movement, scuttles around like a jolly old boy and so on. In fact the last few months he's been the most active and happy we've ever seen him, doing bronco popcorn runs up and down the rug in the front room and charging around behind the curtains wheeking his head off!
His breathing is also never affected when he is moving or active and he doesn't display any typical signs of heaving sides when he is taking a breath. He also never appears uncomfortable or bothered during the episodes.
Because of this we've been hesitant to take him back to the vets as he is an old boy now (6) and finds the experience quite stressful.
Now:
In November we heard the noise at least once every day for a week so off we decided it was time to go see the vets again for another check up.
Yet again, nothing to go on from a good listen to his heart and lungs, baytril for two weeks. This time there was no change and we still heard the noise every day.
To try rule out the possibility of allergy (even though they've been on the same hay for years) we switched hay supply and have seen no change as a result of that either. All other environmental factors have been constant since we've had him.
It's lessened off a bit now to every once in a while rather than every day but we were back at the vets again yesterday for x-rays.... which revealed absolutely nothing going on in his chest cavity, or in his skull/nasal passages etc. Heart, lungs, everything showing clear. Again, our very experienced vet had a thorough listen to his heart and lungs and couldn't detect anything abnormal going on. Temperature also fine.
The only slightly odd thing was that he was apparently quite saliva-y when he had the whiff of gas for his x-ray, which is usual for piggies and the anaesthetic that the vets use for them.... but that doesn't point to much.
We're at a bit of a loss now as vet and I are in agreement that he is otherwise very healthy and happy, and if something sinister was going on after a year it probably would have started taking its toll on him or getting much much worse. Due to his age, and the fact he's doing quite alright, we're hesitant to start doing really full on investigations and throwing the kitchen sink at him.
We're currently trailing a course of metacam, just to see if there is any response to that in the chance that maybe there is some inflammation somewhere making things difficult for him.
Another option we have is to take a swab from the back of his throat and send that off for analysis - would have done this time round but unfortunately didn't have enough £ in my account to cover it and can't use credit card at the vets! It would be a long shot if anything came up though since the course of baytril should have knocked out any infections that may have been lingering.
Symptom summary:
- whistley, sort of wheezy breathing on and off, never constant, currently occurring once every day/every other day
- seems to happen more when he is lying down or when he is eating
- never happens when he is moving/running about
Here are links to some videos I took to the vet for examples (as he rather obligingly never exhibits symptoms whilst we are there!), these are from when he has sounded his worst - he does not sound like this all the time or every time the noise occurs, its just the best and most example I could get of what happens
Video by toriirot
Video by toriirot
I've got another one of when he's eating that I'm having difficulty uploading, will try again in a separate post.
-----------------------------------------------------------
So, does anyone have any input or any similar experiences?
I believe in my original thread @Wiebke mentioned lung disease could be a potential factor, I'm just wondering how you finally diagnosed this in your pigs?
Many thanks!
So about a year ago we heard Ludo breathing very strangely one night (thread here: Intermittant Odd Breathing) and rushed him to the vets the next day. Heart and lungs sounded clear, though there were no other signs of a URI we got a course of Baytril which we followed up and seemed to clear things up.
Of note is that he didn't exhibit the strange breathing again at all after the first incident.
In Feb we noticed the noise a little bit again, but nowhere near as bad as the first incident so we kept an eye on it and it disappeared again. We'd hear it on and off throughout the year, never sounding as bad as the first incidence, and throughout the whole time he has been otherwise completely healthy. He has maintained a good weight (approx 1190g) and appetite, clear eyes, clear nose, good movement, scuttles around like a jolly old boy and so on. In fact the last few months he's been the most active and happy we've ever seen him, doing bronco popcorn runs up and down the rug in the front room and charging around behind the curtains wheeking his head off!
His breathing is also never affected when he is moving or active and he doesn't display any typical signs of heaving sides when he is taking a breath. He also never appears uncomfortable or bothered during the episodes.
Because of this we've been hesitant to take him back to the vets as he is an old boy now (6) and finds the experience quite stressful.
Now:
In November we heard the noise at least once every day for a week so off we decided it was time to go see the vets again for another check up.
Yet again, nothing to go on from a good listen to his heart and lungs, baytril for two weeks. This time there was no change and we still heard the noise every day.
To try rule out the possibility of allergy (even though they've been on the same hay for years) we switched hay supply and have seen no change as a result of that either. All other environmental factors have been constant since we've had him.
It's lessened off a bit now to every once in a while rather than every day but we were back at the vets again yesterday for x-rays.... which revealed absolutely nothing going on in his chest cavity, or in his skull/nasal passages etc. Heart, lungs, everything showing clear. Again, our very experienced vet had a thorough listen to his heart and lungs and couldn't detect anything abnormal going on. Temperature also fine.
The only slightly odd thing was that he was apparently quite saliva-y when he had the whiff of gas for his x-ray, which is usual for piggies and the anaesthetic that the vets use for them.... but that doesn't point to much.
We're at a bit of a loss now as vet and I are in agreement that he is otherwise very healthy and happy, and if something sinister was going on after a year it probably would have started taking its toll on him or getting much much worse. Due to his age, and the fact he's doing quite alright, we're hesitant to start doing really full on investigations and throwing the kitchen sink at him.
We're currently trailing a course of metacam, just to see if there is any response to that in the chance that maybe there is some inflammation somewhere making things difficult for him.
Another option we have is to take a swab from the back of his throat and send that off for analysis - would have done this time round but unfortunately didn't have enough £ in my account to cover it and can't use credit card at the vets! It would be a long shot if anything came up though since the course of baytril should have knocked out any infections that may have been lingering.
Symptom summary:
- whistley, sort of wheezy breathing on and off, never constant, currently occurring once every day/every other day
- seems to happen more when he is lying down or when he is eating
- never happens when he is moving/running about
Here are links to some videos I took to the vet for examples (as he rather obligingly never exhibits symptoms whilst we are there!), these are from when he has sounded his worst - he does not sound like this all the time or every time the noise occurs, its just the best and most example I could get of what happens
Video by toriirot
Video by toriirot
I've got another one of when he's eating that I'm having difficulty uploading, will try again in a separate post.
-----------------------------------------------------------
So, does anyone have any input or any similar experiences?
I believe in my original thread @Wiebke mentioned lung disease could be a potential factor, I'm just wondering how you finally diagnosed this in your pigs?
Many thanks!
