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Please please help! My poor baby cleo is really ill

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maceycleo

maceycleo

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Hi everyone

I'm looking for a bit of advice about my poorly baby cleo. She is only 4/5 months old, and I'm really worried about her.

She is suffering from quite heavy, laboured breathing. She isn't as bright as she was before this began, however she is still eating and running about when she comes out her pen. This has been happenning for around three weeks now, and her weight is fluctuating up and down.

The vet I have seen isn't sure whether she has an infection or has lung damage caused by an infection she had at only a few weeks old. Cleo has so far been prescribed baytril 0.2ml twice a day, but this didn't seem to be working, so the vet changed this to 0.1ml of trimacare, which has only made a small amount of improvement. The vet has said that these are the only 2 types of antibiotic to use, however after looking at previous posts people seem to be talking about other medications.

I was just wondering if anybody had any advice or previous experience with this? And has anyone been prescribed some medication that worked really well? Could anyone also reccommend another vet to me in the south yorkshire area? I have looked on the sticky thread but some of these are very old posts!

I would also be grateful if people didn't reply just to tell me their piggie had died from this, I know its not looking good and I'm really really upset about this so trying to stay positive.

Thank you!

E
 
hi e,

i'm sorry i can't offer any help, but i wanted to say i do hope cleo gets better soon, hopefully someone with a lot more experience will be able to offer you some advice x
 
Oh dear... Poor poor cleo....!
Your vet is wrong in the sense of only those anti biotics...
I use septrin alot on my piggies when they have URI's etc...
Unless the name of the second antibiotic is another name for septrin I wasn't aware of...
You said she was eating, drinking, peeing and pooing normally...?
Heavy laboured breathing tends to set alarm bells off for me in the sense of either a lung or heart problem...
I would probably think about going to another vet... Sorry but I don't know of any vets in your area...
Scarring on the lungs from an untreated infection or an infection when there were small tends to show in the way of crackly breathing...
Hopefully some one else will be able to point you in the direction of a good vet...
All the advice I can give is get her seen at a cavy savy vet...
Good luck and I hope she gets better soon...!
x
 
I am so sorry for your problems; can you find a piggy savvy (exotics) vet within your reach? Guinea pigs have a faster metabolism than than other pets and need much higher doses than general vets would expect in ratio to their weight. How old/heavy is your piggy? If it is normal sized, the dose of baytril would have probably been too low to clear the infection permanently and it would have come back worse than ever!

While baytril is still the only licensed antibiotic for guinea pigs, many vets now use a range of others with good results. You may have to sign a form that states that the vet is prescribing unlisensed medication on your behalf and won't take any responsibility.

In cases of really bad URI (respiratory tract infection), I have been prescribed a very strong (human) antibiotic called zithromax (azithromycin) by a guinea pig specialist who has researched its use in guinea pigs. It has also saved the life of another of my guinea pigs. You may also enquire about using the diuretic frusemide to clear any water off the lungs if they are congested.
Here are the contact details for Simon Maddock; please ask your vet to contact him for advice on medication and dosages. Simon Maddock is one of the best guinea pig vets in the country. I got access to zithromax by asking my vet to contact him: http://www.inorthamptonshire.co.uk/profile/457491/Northampton/Cat-and-Rabbit-Care-Clinic/
The advice for using frusemide in case of URI is from the BAR (British Association of Rodentologists): http://www.guineapighelpline.com/WarningRespiratoryDifficulties.pdf
 
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Thank you both for your quick replies

Yes shes is peeing and pooing ok, she is also eating but seems to be a bit fussy...she's into broccoli stalks and carrot today! I think I'm definately going to try and find another vet, hopefully someone has some suggestions soon.

I'm so attached to the little thing, its going to break my heart if she doesn't get better!
 
Thank you wiebke. is there anyway of finding a specialist vet in my area? Google isn't proving helpful! I will take cleo back to my vets first thing and ask about zithromax and a diuretic first thing in the morning.

In answer to your question, she around 4/5 months and is fluctuating between 680 grams and 740 grams

Thank you again
 
Hi

I'm from South Yorkshire and I have tried many vets, believe me its really hard work to find a competent vet in the area.

Our rescue uses a vet called Carmen she works for the Abbey Vet group and is based in Hoyland, nr Barnsley.
She treats all the rescue rabbits and Guinea Pigs http://www.abbeyvetgroupbarnsley.co...?b=124&clientId=20109#page=page-MAPDIRECTIONS

However she couldnt work on the teeth of on a recent piggy we had into rescue, so he went to Northampton and is seeing Simon as in Wiebke post. http://www.inorthamptonshire.co.uk/profile/457491/Northampton/Cat-and-Rabbit-Care-Clinic/
He is the best vet in the counry for piggies.

Carmen has spoken to Simon before and she is always open to suggestions to work with you.

Good luck to you and Cleo and I wish her many get well vibes
 
Hi E,

Welcome to the Forum but sorry it's due to such a worrying problem. I really hope you can get to a decent Vet very soon.

I just wanted to reiterate Wiebke's point about asking for a diuretic (in addition to an antibiotic) if the need is there. I've heard many cases of piggies' lives being saved with a diuretic however not all Vets would think to (or want to) suggest this. This is another reason to ensure that your Vet is either very experienced/knowledgeable with piggies or at least open to suggestion and willing to liaise with another Vet who is.

Fingers crossed for little Cleo. Please keep us updated x
 
i have no advice sorry love, i just wanted to wish cleo well.

I understand you not wanting and sad stories, it is heartbreaking to see you babies suffering.

Good luck and i will be watching for hopefully positive updates

Karina x>>
 
I agree with Wiebke, vets quite often under dose gp's on antibiotics and your piggies dose does sound low even for a young piggy. I'm not saying to up the dose yourself but ask your vet if you can give a higher dose and with their permission the antibiotic will hopefully start to help.

Has your piggy had any xrays of the chest area, this could show up any problems with the heart or lungs?

Good luck,

Jenny xx
 
I did ask my vet to up the doses, but she said cleo was already on the max dose so increasing it wouldn't make any difference. She also said there was no point doing an xray of her chest because this wouldn't change the kind of treatment she would recieve. Hmmmmmm. I'm going to contact the vet suggested by 'salt n peppers mum' first thing. Thank you to everybody for your advice and replies, I am really grateful!
 
Hi everyone. I took cleo to see carmen, she prescribed an oral diuretic and zithromax at 0.18 twice a day. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but cleo's breathing does seem a lot less heavy, it seems to be just under her belly rather than around her whole body.

Thank you to everyone for advice given, also thanks to salt n peppers mum for reccommending carmen, I'm so glad I was able to take cleo to see her.
 
I am sooo happy to hear that!

She is on the best possible medication and in very capable hands now, so she has every chance to make a good recovery! Great that you have been able to find a local piggy savvy vet!

Zithromax is a new (unlicensed) antibiotic to use on guinea pigs; but it has proved to be a lifesaver for several forum piggies with major bacterial infections, amongst them my boar Hywel.
 
maceycleo said:
Hi everyone. I took cleo to see carmen, she prescribed an oral diuretic and zithromax at 0.18 twice a day. I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but cleo's breathing does seem a lot less heavy, it seems to be just under her belly rather than around her whole body.

Thank you to everyone for advice given, also thanks to salt n peppers mum for reccommending carmen, I'm so glad I was able to take cleo to see her.
Click to expand...

So glad to read this.

Hope Cleo is continuing to do well?
 
Cleo seems to be improving every day, her breathing is significantly better, and she has begun to sing n wheek again, which is lovely to hear. Cough has disappeared too!. Only thing is that she is still a little skinny, but I think weight gain will increase when she comes off her antibiotic? Back to see Carmen on Wednesday, so hopefully she can listen to her chest so we can get a better idea of how shes doing. xx
 
If you can get to Manchester there's apparently a guinea pig specialist in Whalley Range, my vet refered me there when I was looking for one. South Yorkshire would be about an hour away. PM me if you want to try this and will get the details for you.

Cheers
K xx

****Sorry I wrote this before reading all the way to the end - glad she's getting better :)
 
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So glad you were able to find a better vet and that Cleo is now improving, fingers crossed she makes a speedy recovery.
 
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