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Ongoing snotty noises

lauryn1289

lauryn1289

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi, I posted here a couple weeks ago now I think about my 5+ year old boy Ollie and his “honky” breathing. In my initial post I mentioned the snottiness isn’t exactly abnormal for him, he’s a burrower and seems to have very sensitive airways so he very often does get a little “honky” for lack of a better word but usually clears up in a couple hours.

My own vet couldn’t see him last week so I got him into a vet I neither like nor trust purely because I wanted Baytril for him which I got, 0.5ml 2x a day and he was on it about 7 days. I’ve been keeping a really close eye on his weight and he’s actually gained weight, he’s around 1.18kg up from 1.160ish so his weight is very very stable and he’s eating and drinking and popcorning as normal.

Again, I don’t exactly trust the vet he did see for many reasons but she said she heard a tiny bit of crackling in his lungs, but again she knew next to nothing about pigs which was evident. For the week he was on antibiotics the snottiness came and went but did seem to mostly go away, but now it’s back a bit again. I can only hear the noise in his nose and not his chest or neck personally.

I have considered if the batch of meadow hay I currently have is very dusty, I get it from a local farm who sells it purely for pigs and rabbits and other small animals. He has an appointment tomorrow with my cat’s general vet who’s great with pigs, she was a zoologist before she was a vet so she’s more knowledgeable and when she wasn’t 100% confident with treating something before she liaised with my nearest exotics vet which unfortunately is about 140km away and got their treatment plan. I’m just wondering *again* does anyone have any ideas I may not have considered or thought of yet?

I know at times stuff like this can be issues with the heart or lungs which I’m really hoping isn’t the case, but just wondering does anyone else have experience with this kind of thing and maybe know of things I don’t? Or things I should check or ask my vet to check?

To add, I don’t see any discharge from his nose and he’s not sneezing apart from a couple sneezes last night. His eyes get a tiny bit watery bit in my experience that’s not that abnormal with more senior piggies but maybe I’m wrong but nothing seems to be bothering him so to speak, he’s the only elderly piggy I’ve had that’s still a routine popcorner
 
Also, his cagemate has no issues with snotty breathing or anything to add and if needs be I’ll get him to the exotics’ vet, I just don’t drive and am swamped myself at the moment with my own healthcare appointments that I rely on a lift for:zzz: But of course I’ll get him up if I need to, I’m just hoping my own vet has more suggestions or might liaise with them for their opinion. Even if I had to bring him on the bus I will, I’d just hate for him to have to sit on a 2 and a half hour loud bus for his own sake but I’ll make it work regardless if he needs to see them
 
My Polo piggy has been on antibx for a strange breathing thing with whiny and honky breath and croaking. It went away completely with the antibx but now it's creeping back in a bit. His strong response to antibx seems to suggest it's a bacterial infection. He's on a three week course of antibx and nebuliser with F10. The Exotics vets he has seen said that if it goes on after the meds, there is the option to do an x ray under anaesthetic and to check his tooth roots as well as he puffs his fur out when he eats. The x ray may indicate an enlarged heart. Recognising an enlarged heart can be quite difficult unless the vet has seen a lot of GP hearts though, according to the Guinea Lynx web site, so getting a second opinion on the X ray if you do one could be good. I think diuretics are administered if the heart is enlarged as in humans. Not sure what is visible in GP lungs that means trouble or how it can be dealt with.
 
Truffolo said:
My Polo piggy has been on antibx for a strange breathing thing with whiny and honky breath and croaking. It went away completely with the antibx but now it's creeping back in a bit. His strong response to antibx seems to suggest it's a bacterial infection. He's on a three week course of antibx and nebuliser with F10. The Exotics vets he has seen said that if it goes on after the meds, there is the option to do an x ray under anaesthetic and to check his tooth roots as well as he puffs his fur out when he eats. The x ray may indicate an enlarged heart. Recognising an enlarged heart can be quite difficult unless the vet has seen a lot of GP hearts though, according to the Guinea Lynx web site, so getting a second opinion on the X ray if you do one could be good. I think diuretics are administered if the heart is enlarged as in humans. Not sure what is visible in GP lungs that means trouble or how it can be dealt with.
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I do have congestive heart issues or the heart in mind to be honest! That’s what I’m most worried about with Ollie. Ollie did seem to have a reaction to the antibiotics too although as of right now the weird breathing has stopped again, it’s very on and off. Can I ask what antibiotics your Polo is on? I actually have a nebuliser too I was going to enquire about, I know asthma and allergies are rare in piggies but worth a shot. I have an air purifier on nearly 24/7 too. I’m conscious of his age and everything in considering an x-ray especially under anesthesia. When one of my previous pigs had a bladder stone he was anesthetised for an x-ray too by his exotics vet
 
Polo is on 0.13 Doxycycline and 0.43 Metacam with a disinfectant called F10 or saline solution in the nebuliser. I put him into a plastic RUB box and put the lid in, putting the nebuliser mouth funnel under the lid so the mist goes into the box.
 
Yes, Polo's breathing issues were on and off, but lately before he went on the doxy were getting worse.
 
I’m sorry to hear this @lauryn1289, fingers crossed your own vet has some suggestions

I hope he is ok

Truffolo said:
Polo is on 0.13 Doxycycline and 0.43 Metacam with a disinfectant called F10 or saline solution in the nebuliser. I put him into a plastic RUB box and put the lid in, putting the nebuliser mouth funnel under the lid so the mist goes into the box.
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Just to clarify here for safety sake of anybody reading this thread now or in the future - it’s the antiseptic version of F10 which is used for nebulising, not the disinfectant
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear this @lauryn1289, fingers crossed your own vet has some suggestions

I hope he is ok



Just to clarify here for safety sake of anybody reading this thread now or in the future - it’s the antiseptic version of F10 which is used for nebulising, not the disinfectant
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Thank you for the information. I’m hoping it’s something or nothing 🤞🏻
 
Hi all, my own vet said his heart sounds good but she can hear a tiny tiny tiny bit of noise in his lung but she said nothing major at all. He’s back on Baytril 0.2ml as opposed to the 0.5ml the other vet gave and she’s given me some Bisolovan for him for 4 days too incase there’s any mucus in his chest. I have no experience at all with Bisolovan though. If it doesn’t clear up this time we’ll get him up to the exotics and my vet said as well as an x-ray obviously the exotics can do a little swab that can test his airways
 
Thought I’d update - I thought the Bisolvon really helped because for about 2 days the snottiness was totally gone, but it’s back intermittently again. He’s booked into the exotics specialist on Monday and he’s gonna be fuming about the 3 hour round trip lol. Hopefully it’s just him having some very sensitive airways. His weight is still completely stable, normal pooping and appetite too
 

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Just an update, he actually has one VERY tiny sinus! The exotic vet thinks that’s the cause of this, he’s losing more tone in his tiny little sinus as he’s ageing so the honkiness is just more consistent and apparent with any sort of triggers at all now. She said no signs of infection or anything as far as she’s concerned, just one funky little noisy nostril. She did however find fur mites which she said are an absolute nuisance and don’t seem to respond to Ivermectin or other similar meds, so she shaved him and he’s getting an F10 rub once a week. His friend will likely need shaving now too
 
I can imagine what he's saying, "and I came back bald..." I'm glad it's not an infection ❤️ That is amazing, like a guinea pig sleep apnoea. I hope he will be OK now 🥰
 
lauryn1289 said:
Just an update, he actually has one VERY tiny sinus! The exotic vet thinks that’s the cause of this, he’s losing more tone in his tiny little sinus as he’s ageing so the honkiness is just more consistent and apparent with any sort of triggers at all now. She said no signs of infection or anything as far as she’s concerned, just one funky little noisy nostril. She did however find fur mites which she said are an absolute nuisance and don’t seem to respond to Ivermectin or other similar meds, so she shaved him and he’s getting an F10 rub once a week. His friend will likely need shaving now too
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You need to shave the guinea pig who bites? 😮
 
lauryn1289 said:
Yup 😂 That’ll be fun
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Hello Ollie pig
I’m Freddy and I’m a skinny pig
It’s great having no fur ….no pesky mites and itching for you my friend
You will need to keep warm so your slave will need to turn the heating up and give you some blankies to snuggle into
Those snuggle safes are great too
Let me know how you go bro
Oh and lots of extra treats are needed 🥦🥬🥒
Wheeks Freddy
 
Roselina said:
Hello Ollie pig
I’m Freddy and I’m a skinny pig
It’s great having no fur ….no pesky mites and itching for you my friend
You will need to keep warm so your slave will need to turn the heating up and give you some blankies to snuggle into
Those snuggle safes are great too
Let me know how you go bro
Oh and lots of extra treats are needed 🥦🥬🥒
Wheeks Freddy
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Thanks Freddy, great advice! It’s cold and rainy in Ireland as usual so the portable radiator is on full blast and a few fleeces are waiting to be napped on and some red pepper for the long journey. Such a brave boy being out of the house from 8:30am-2:30pm and only mildly complaining about it. Also didn’t appreciate the shaved body in its full glory until I spotted the mane 🤣
 

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