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My Poor Baby Has Pneumonia :-(

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Honey West

Honey West

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About 2-3 days ago I noticed that my piggy Cookie was not at all her usual bubbly self...she looked depressed and did not want to play with her roommate Trixie, who was bugging her to do so. 2 nights ago I heard a strange noise coming from her that I first thought was her grinding her teeth, but when I checked I noticed the noise was coming from inside her and that it was her breathing. I stayed up all that night researching what to do and by the morning she was so lethargic and and inactive. I knew it was serious. Yesterday I rushed her to a vet where she was diagnosed with pneumonia, which made my heart sink deep in my stomach. The vet gave me antibiotics to give her twice a day and I have plenty of fresh veggies on hand to boost her immune system. I seperated her from her roommate, which devastated them both, and sterilized everything. Although its only been one day since she started treatment, her breathing just sounds so bad and it breaks my heart! She is so tiny and helpless. On the upside, she is eating and drinking , and pooping and peeing normally. I just care about my girls so much and want nothing but the best for them. I am doing everything my vet recommended and keeping her very comfortable. But the worried "mommy" in me feels like I should be doing more! If anyone has any other suggestions or has been through this nightmare themselves, id greatly appreciate your feedback! My biggest concern is her heavy breathing, the only way I can describe it, is when a coffee maker is almost done filtering out the water(like a low deep gurgling) , its reallt scary!. I just want my baby to get better!
 
Am on my phone but can post properly after work. From your description though it sounds like she has fluid on her chest and so will need diuretics to remove it. Can you speak to your vet this afternoon? Also what antibiotic has she been given? Do you also have probiotics?
 
Hi, What antibiotics has she been given and what is the dose?

It will be worth talking to the vet about the use of a diuretic in this case to remove the fluid from her lungs called Furosemide Here is a link to it on Guinea Lynx http://www.guinealynx.info/cardiovascular_agents.html#lasix a fantastic US medical Website, it can be worth showing this to your vet as some vets aren't as cavy savy as others Hoping one of our Health Experts will be around soon. When our Cookie had fluid on her chest with a URI it cleared it up quite quickly.
 
She was prescribed Trimethoprim...I'm currently giving her 0.4 ml twice a day. The Vet advised me to monitor her and definitely come back in 2 weeks(we saw him yesterday) or sooner if I feel necessary. Since yesterday I have noticed an improvement. .not a big one, but she is moving around again and her appetite is really good.And her "bathroom" habits are normal as she makes it a point to pee on whoever is giving her medication..ugh! The breathing isnt quite as bad as yesterday either, yesterday it was non stop, and today its just when she moves around ..but definitely enough to scare you. Ive never had issues with any of my piggies like this before, so its definitely all new territory to me.
 
Hi and welcome!

Could you please contact your vet for a diuretic to reduce the build-up of fluids on her chest and ease the breathing. If she also has got mucus in her airways, a mucus dissolving powder like bisolvon can help (also available from the vets).

Also try to get hold of some probiotics to bolster the impact of the antibiotic on her guts. Give a pinch about 1-2 hours after the antibiotics. What ABs is she on?
Here are our recommendations: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...vitamin-c-overview-with-product-links.115404/

Please weigh her daily, ideally at the same time and if necessary top her up with hand feed. You can also help her immune system by giving additional vitamin C.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

It is a good sign that she is still eating, so please take heart! Fingers crossed that the antibiotic will kick in within a day.
 
I will def call my vet either today or Monday and inquire about the diuretic!
 
Honey West said:
She was prescribed Trimethoprim...I'm currently giving her 0.4 ml twice a day. The Vet advised me to monitor her and definitely come back in 2 weeks(we saw him yesterday) or sooner if I feel necessary. Since yesterday I have noticed an improvement. .not a big one, but she is moving around again and her appetite is really good.And her "bathroom" habits are normal as she makes it a point to pee on whoever is giving her medication..ugh! The breathing isnt quite as bad as yesterday either, yesterday it was non stop, and today its just when she moves around ..but definitely enough to scare you. Ive never had issues with any of my piggies like this before, so its definitely all new territory to me.
Click to expand...

Sounds like she is doing well, the diuretic will really help, please speak to your vet and print out the info on guinea lynx to show them also.
 
Hello. Sorry to hear your little girl is so unwell. Definitely see if you can get the diuretics sooner rather than later; it just might do the trick! I hope she makes a huge improvement very soon, and back to her bubbly self! xx
 
Hi

So sorry to here about your guinea. I have just been through the same with my little girl she is literally recovering now and was at deaths door 2 weeks ago. All the advice I got here I would say pretty much saved her life with the support of vets too.

All I can say is that you must not let the fluid build up on her lungs, if I had not rushed her to the vet as an emergency and she had not had a diuretic injection (well she had three in 36 hours) then I am sure she would not be here now. Unfortunately with these things I have discovered you need to act fast. She will now be on Frusol (liquid diuretic) permanently as she has a heart problem and it is a real life saver.

The fact she is eating and drinking is a great sign though and is what also kept my little girl going. She sounds like she has a fighting spirit and a great mum! Good luck! x
 
It does sound like she is doing well as she is eating. She is likely to be given an injection of diuretic at the vets but if you could have some oral medication to give at home too it will help. I also agree that Bisolvon would help if she has mucous.

Steam therapy is good too, you use either a bowl of boiling water next to the cage with 2 drops of Olbas oil (can you get that where you are? or similar?) or you can use a steam inhaler like this one:

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Easy-Breathing-Steam-Inhaler_1400961/

Hold over the nose in 5 second bursts.
 
I forgot to mention the steaming. This helped my girl a lot. Don't be tempted to put any vapour rub on the nose at all just use the inhaler. Unfortunately one person discovered too late that vapour rub on their noses can have catastrophic consequences.
 
Honey West said:
About 2-3 days ago I noticed that my piggy Cookie was not at all her usual bubbly self...she looked depressed and did not want to play with her roommate Trixie, who was bugging her to do so. 2 nights ago I heard a strange noise coming from her that I first thought was her grinding her teeth, but when I checked I noticed the noise was coming from inside her and that it was her breathing. I stayed up all that night researching what to do and by the morning she was so lethargic and and inactive. I knew it was serious. Yesterday I rushed her to a vet where she was diagnosed with pneumonia, which made my heart sink deep in my stomach. The vet gave me antibiotics to give her twice a day and I have plenty of fresh veggies on hand to boost her immune system. I seperated her from her roommate, which devastated them both, and sterilized everything. Although its only been one day since she started treatment, her breathing just sounds so bad and it breaks my heart! She is so tiny and helpless. On the upside, she is eating and drinking , and pooping and peeing normally. I just care about my girls so much and want nothing but the best for them. I am doing everything my vet recommended and keeping her very comfortable. But the worried "mommy" in me feels like I should be doing more! If anyone has any other suggestions or has been through this nightmare themselves, id greatly appreciate your feedback! My biggest concern is her heavy breathing, the only way I can describe it, is when a coffee maker is almost done filtering out the water(like a low deep gurgling) , its reallt scary!. I just want my baby to get better!
Click to expand...
I hope all goes well for your beloved piggy I too had a piggie with pneumonia he had intensive treatment oxygen therapy everything all to no avail he passed away. I hope you will have a happy outcome sending healing waves hugs and love from my boys and myself.x
 
helen105281 said:
It does sound like she is doing well as she is eating. She is likely to be given an injection of diuretic at the vets but if you could have some oral medication to give at home too it will help. I also agree that Bisolvon would help if she has mucous.

Steam therapy is good too, you use either a bowl of boiling water next to the cage with 2 drops of Olbas oil (can you get that where you are? or similar?) or you can use a steam inhaler like this one:

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Easy-Breathing-Steam-Inhaler_1400961/

Hold over the nose in 5 second bursts.
Click to expand...
I have a steam humidifier. ..where you just fill it with hot water and steam comes out. ..could I try that? My vets not in til tomorrow. ...so I figure the steam idea is def worth a shot tonight
 
Yes I think so, not seen one to know what you mean but it sounds ok. Would just put her near it though just in case and not over the nose. Do you have a photo of it or a link?
 
That looks perfect.

Hope the vet agrees to the diuretics tomorrow. If her breathing gets worse though she will need to see a vet as an emergency today if possible.
 
An update on cookie: I let her sit in her cage with a vapor steamer running twice throughout the afternoon...she seemed to enjoy it for a while, then get adjatated twords the end. After I gave her meds around 9 she was much more mobile and seemed less mopey...oh and super super hungry!. She rested throughout the night, breathing was still not great but seemed somewhat under control. Then around 4am I woke up to hear her breathing louder than she had this entire time she had been sick! As I got up to check her...she coughed really loud and deep and she sat in complete silence for about 20 minutes! The wheezing came back after that but nowhere near as bad as its been....it became quite mild....later this morning when I awoke around 7:30....there was once again silence! I quickly checked to make sure she was ok....gave her more meds and some kale which she is currently eating. Her breathing is still a little off but sounds 20 times better than it did. I am still going to call my vet today to let him know the situation. But I can tell she is definitely starting to feel better! Thank you to everyone who gave me advice ..I really really appreciate it and so does Cookie!
 
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