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Piggy a bit off

Blooberry

Blooberry

Junior Guinea Pig
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Our 3yr old Cinnamon was fine this morning, had breakfast as usual, hay for the rest of the day. He's now, 7pm seems a bit off and panting - flank moving in and out rapidly. Any ideas?
Worried.
 
All the best! Good that you have been able to get an appointment.
 
Thank you everyone. The vet said: respiration is very high. Guts fine, no bloating & no signs of a blockage. Lungs sound ok and no temp. Could be respiratory infection so treat straight away with baytril and use Metacam once a day, just 0.2 - is this enough do you think? I have seen the discussions on the forum regarding Metacam dosing. If not respiratory, could be cardiac she said although this usually represents as a slow decline. Cinnamon is a bit puffed up (his coat) but he has eaten some veggies (when we got home, after meds - should we have waited?) as usual and seems a bit perkier although he's always perky around veggies. Bless him - I do love him. Such a gentleman. He's the grey one in my pic. Not sure what I think, but the vet said she will call in the morning to see how he is and suggested a radiograph if not improved.
 
I did mention that his poos - I did check before we left are a bit smaller than normal. She didn't seem too concerned. Vets & guinea pigs - a difficult one. Wish Colin had been on call. Apparently he's the guinea pig expert at Bay Vets.
 
Small poops usually means he hasn’t been eating enough. Hay is the main food but you can’t gauge intake by eye - has his weight been stable until now? I would suggest weighing him daily while he is unwell. If his weight is dropping then he isn’t eating enough and will need syringe feeds.
Metacam is usually given twice a day as they process meds quickly so if only given once a day it means they are out of the system long before the next dose is due. You will need to speak with the vet about this.
I wish him a speedy recovery.

These are the guides in case you need them
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Piggies&buns said:
Small poops usually means he hasn’t been eating enough. Hay is the main food but you can’t gauge intake by eye - has his weight been stable until now? I would suggest weighing him daily while he is unwell. If his weight is dropping then he isn’t eating enough and will need syringe feeds.
Metacam is usually given twice a day as they process meds quickly so if only given once a day it means they are out of the system long before the next dose is due. You will need to speak with the vet about this.
I wish him a speedy recovery.

These are the guides in case you need them
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Click to expand...

Many thanks Piggies & buns. Will ask vet about the Metacam. They have tons of hay and I'm well versed with the 80% hay rule. It's the rapid respiration that is bothering me and there has been a bit of weight loss. I might just syringe feed anyway. Thanks for your best wishes.
































Piggies&buns said:
Small poops usually means he hasn’t been eating enough. Hay is the main food but you can’t gauge intake by eye - has his weight been stable until now? I would suggest weighing him daily while he is unwell. If his weight is dropping then he isn’t eating enough and will need syringe feeds.
Metacam is usually given twice a day as they process meds quickly so if only given once a day it means they are out of the system long before the next dose is due. You will need to speak with the vet about this.
I wish him a speedy recovery.

These are the guides in case you need them
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Click to expand...
 
Cinnamon seems a bit brighter today but flank 'breathing' still a bit rapid. He's eating nuggets, drinking & eating hay, but turning down CC. I've ordered some more from the vet. The vet is supposed to be ringing me this morning. Do we just see how he goes on the baytril....watch and wait? :-(
 
Yes you’ve got to give the Baytil time, but if you don’t see any improvement of see a worsening then obviously go back to the vet.
Keep a close daily check on his weight
 
Many thanks Piggies & Buns. I will keep an eye on his weight. I'll collect the CC care at lunchtime and feed every 2hrs.-3hrs. I need to review the guidance on syringe feeding. How long for the baytril, 2 -3days?
 
Blooberry said:
Many thanks Piggies & Buns. I will keep an eye on his weight. I'll collect the CC care at lunchtime and feed every 2hrs.-3hrs. I need to review the guidance on syringe feeding. How long for the baytril, 2 -3days?
Click to expand...

His weight will be the guide as to how much and how often to syringe feed him
Yes a few days for it to kick in.
 
poos not normal at all, respiration 32 per 15 seconds. eating and drinking, weight up 10g from yesterday. feel we should get a radiograph.
 
Just a quick update. Cinnamon seemed a bit perkier this weekend. Breathing still too rapid after a week of baytril and he’s refusing pellets. Or rather, eating the odd one or two. We had a radiograph done which showed no sign of pulmonary Edema of heart problems. We are supplementing diet with syringe feeding but he is ok with hay and veggies! Breathing is more exaggerated after eating but I guess that is normal due to the effort required. Like Weibke said in another thread, breathing has priory over food and water! Got a telephone call with the vet today. A bit baffled.
 
Blooberry said:
Just a quick update. Cinnamon seemed a bit perkier this weekend. Breathing still too rapid after a week of baytril and he’s refusing pellets. Or rather, eating the odd one or two. We had a radiograph done which showed no sign of pulmonary Edema of heart problems. We are supplementing diet with syringe feeding but he is ok with hay and veggies! Breathing is more exaggerated after eating but I guess that is normal due to the effort required. Like Weibke said in another thread, breathing has priory over food and water! Got a telephone call with the vet today. A bit baffled.
Click to expand...

Pellets is the least important part of the diet so not eating them is not a problem at all. Eating hay and maintaining weight with hay is the absolute priority, supplemented by syringe feeds If not enough hay is being eaten. I hope he feels better soon
 
The good news is that Cinnamon's weight is up! He loves Emeraid! The not so good news is that the vet has referred radiograph to their exotics in Edinburgh and it's looking like a heart problem. We are going to treat as soon as and see how he goes. He seems a lot better in himself and loved the Emeraid and Pro-c - we have stopped the baytril and Metacam now. He's only 4, so now I'm curious about how prevalent heart disease is in guinea pigs. More research. Will keep you posted regarding Cinnamon.
 
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