Pneumonia

[carlygoddard]

My male guinea pig fluffy has been acting off today.. I took him to the vet today as soon as I woke up.. he was having trouble breathing and wouldn’t eat. The vet said it was pneumonia. They gave me antibiotics and I have to give him food with a syringe.. I’m hoping he makes it, I’ll be so sad if he’s gone... I don’t know what to do.. has anyone else’s guinea pig pulled through pneumonia? And I’m needing more advice on what causes it for my other guinea pig.

 

[Swissgreys]

Welcome to the Forum.
Pneumonia or an upper respiratory infection (URI) are actually not unusual in guinea pigs, and most recover well with proper treatment.

You did a good job getting him to the vet and seen quickly.

Here is our guide to syringe feeding and caring for an ill guinea pig.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

We are all here to help so if you have any specific questions just ask.

 

[DMS260820]

All the best with your pig, I had a pneumonia survivor, it does happen

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Which antibiotic are you giving? Did the vet also prescribe a diuretic?

 

[Guinea Slave]

I had one with terrible pneumonia (in my avatar), she survived and lived a long life. But diuretics (frusol) were key to getting her through it, in conjunction with antibiotics.

 

[DMS260820]

What are diuretics?

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

What are diuretics?

Diuretics are used to treat conditions that have fluid retention, such as pneumonia, heart failure, etc. Urine output is increased to remove the excess fluid from the body.

 

[carlygoddard]

Which antibiotic are you giving? Did the vet also prescribe a diuretic?

They have me an antibiotic called Trimethoprim-Sufla! And no they didn’t! What is a diuretic used for? Also he hasn’t really been wanting to eat the powdered food with water... but he’s eating lettuce so is that a good thing?

 

[carlygoddard]

All the best with your pig, I had a pneumonia survivor, it does happen

Thankyou! I’m hoping he will recover!

Welcome to the Forum.
Pneumonia or an upper respiratory infection (URI) are actually not unusual in guinea pigs, and most recover well with proper treatment.

You did a good job getting him to the vet and seen quickly.

Here is our guide to syringe feeding and caring for an ill guinea pig.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

We are all here to help so if you have any specific questions just ask.

Thankyou so much!

 

[Wiebke]

My male guinea pig fluffy has been acting off today.. I took him to the vet today as soon as I woke up.. he was having trouble breathing and wouldn’t eat. The vet said it was pneumonia. They gave me antibiotics and I have to give him food with a syringe.. I’m hoping he makes it, I’ll be so sad if he’s gone... I don’t know what to do.. has anyone else’s guinea pig pulled through pneumonia? And I’m needing more advice on what causes it for my other guinea pig.

Hi and welcome

With a normal bacterial pneumonia your recovery chances are not bad at all, especially with prompt treatment.
But it vert depends what is causing the pneumonia; there are several bugs and some of them are rather nasty ones if thankfully more rare ones. Only a lab test can you tell you what you are dealing with.

Trimethoprim-Sufla is better known as bactrim (US) or sulfatrim/septrin for guinea pigs. It is now officially licensed for guinea pigs in the UK.

A diuretic is a medication that drains fluid build-ups from the body; it works on the fluid that congests the lungs in a case of pneumonia and helps to ease breathing more quickly. The most UK vet brand names are frusemide or frusol.

The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and thirdly the need to eat. Hence why a serious respiratory infection is always an appetite killer.

Here is our syringe feeding guide, which also contains tips for the amounts and frequency in our comprehensive syringe feeding guide. if you piggy is not interested in the powder mix, then try mushed up pellets or a mix of pellets and recovery care. You may have to cut off the tip of the syringe just below where it widens to allow the fibre pass through, though.
Please be aware that it is a struggle to feed a seriously ill piggy; please try every two hours during the day and one or twice during the night to get as much into him as you can. The closer you can come to 40 ml in 24 hours, the better; just to keep him going.
Please also offer as much water via syringe as he is willing to take.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Here is our emergency and crisis care advice collection where we have compiled all the necessary information that you need in a hurry: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

All the best! I hope that you will notice an improvement within a day or two.
Contact your vets or any out-of-hours vets asap if he takes a turn for the worse.

 

[carlygoddard]

Hi and welcome

With a normal bacterial pneumonia your recovery chances are not bad at all, especially with prompt treatment.
But it vert depends what is causing the pneumonia; there are several bugs and some of them are rather nasty ones if thankfully more rare ones. Only a lab test can you tell you what you are dealing with.

Trimethoprim-Sufla is better known as bactrim (US) or sulfatrim/septrin for guinea pigs. It is now officially licensed for guinea pigs in the UK.

A diuretic is a medication that drains fluid build-ups from the body; it works on the fluid that congests the lungs in a case of pneumonia and helps to ease breathing more quickly. The most UK vet brand names are frusemide or frusol.

The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and thirdly the need to eat. Hence why a serious respiratory infection is always an appetite killer.

Here is our syringe feeding guide, which also contains tips for the amounts and frequency in our comprehensive syringe feeding guide. Please also offer as much water via syringe as he is willing to take. Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Here is our emergency and crisis care advice collection where we have compiled all the necessary information that you need in a hurry: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

All the best! I hope that you will notice an improvement within a day or two.

Thankyou! Should I maybe call the vet to get a diuretic?

 

[Wiebke]

Thankyou! Should I maybe call the vet to get a diuretic?

You can ask the clinic whether your vet would consider it appropriate.

 

[carlygoddard]

My male guinea pig fluffy has been acting off today.. I took him to the vet today as soon as I woke up.. he was having trouble breathing and wouldn’t eat. The vet said it was pneumonia. They gave me antibiotics and I have to give him food with a syringe.. I’m hoping he makes it, I’ll be so sad if he’s gone... I don’t know what to do.. has anyone else’s guinea pig pulled through pneumonia? And I’m needing more advice on what causes it for my other guinea pig.

 

[DMS260820]

Diuretics are used to treat conditions that have fluid retention, such as pneumonia, heart failure, etc. Urine output is increased to remove the excess fluid from the body.

Thanks, always see the word, and never knew. I have the paperwork from when my boy had pneumonia years ago. Will have. A look on it soon