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really worried about harry...

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Andi

Andi

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a couple of weeks ago harry came down with a uri, he was given a 10 day course of baytril and improved really well until he was eating drinking running about and had put weight back on....

the a few days after he finishe his course of baytril he started to deteriorate again and wasnt eating as much or coming out of his bed to play and his breathing was becoming faster and faster again.. :(

i took him back to the vets straight away and they gave him an antibiotic injection a prebiotic injection and gave me 20 days worth of baytril and some critical care...

now I'm struggling to get him to take the baytril and the critical care as he hates both...

so far ive tried mixing the baytril with a drop of ribena which seems to improve the taste for him but he still hates the syringe being anywhere near his mouth and i hate stressing him out as the last thing he needs now is to be stressed. :(

ive also tried putting small amounts on a hollowed out strawberry (his favourite snack) but he seems to eat a bit and then lose interest in it.

seriously worried now...and although my vets are fantastic theyre not guinea pig specialists although he is seeing the one closest to being an exotics specialist as he deals with rats and lizards.

they have mentioned that as his lungs arent letting much oxygen in they want to see if they can give him anything to clear them like a decongestant...does anyone know of anything that can be safely given to try to help him out?

v v v v v v stressed and worried right now :( off back to the vets in about an hour for his check.
 
It may well be worthwhile discussing the use of a duirectic to take the pressure off his lungs if there's congestion - frusemide. Also a gut stimulant to help with his appetite - metaclopromide

HTH

Suzy x
 
Oh no, poor little Harry.
These antibitoics really can knock them around as I discovered but would do as Suzygpr suggested and ask about diuretics.
Let us know how he gets on at the vets and sending healing vibes to the little fella x>>
 
I'm sorry to hear Harry is so poorly and it does sound like your vet may need to take some immediate action to help him get better.

If the lungs are congested it sounds like this has now become a lower respiratory tract infection (ie pneumonia) rather than just a URI.

As Suzy has said - a diuretic such as frusemide will help clear the fluid out of the lungs and give the antibiotics a chance to get at the bugs. You will need a hefty does to "kick-start" the process.....up to 10mg/kg delivered via injection at the vets. You can then give tablets (I found these to be more effective than the liquid frussol) giving a dose of 2-4mg/kg twice daily. (The tablets are normally 20mg which you can grind up in 2ml of water...if you let us know the weight of your piggie we can work out the dose for you.)

If the baytril isn;t working it may be worth switching to septrin or azithromax as these are better for stubborn infections.

Again, as Suzy has siad, a gut stimulant helps keep the gut moving if the food intake has been reduced..but obviously you need to syringe feed the piggie to keep food oving through the gut.

I note you were going back to the vet earlier today so am hoping Harry has been given some meds to help him

fingers and paws crossed he makes a full recovery
x
 
Thanks for the info, yes the vet has said its pneumonia (but I'm a bit wary of posting specifics on here sometimes in case I'm wrong or percieved to be wrong as my medical knowledge of guineas isnt great as ive never really had any major problems to deal with)

anyway the poor little thing was given an injection of an unlicensed antibiotic yesterday its a bit of a controversial one as it hasnt been widely tested on small animals but is the only one that my vet has used on other guinea pigs with success at treating pneumonia and hasnt seen any side effects and a shot of steroid aswell.....he was very quiet last night but seems a bit brighter this morning and his breathing is looking a bit better. i brought him indoors last night to keep more of an eye on him...

ive been told i can still give him baytril as theres no harm in mixing different types of antibiotic....

There has been no mention of the drugs that have been mentioned above so perhaps my vet doesnt know about them with not being specialist so thanks for that i appreciate it :)

he also said that the damage could now be irrepairable and he may always have some problems with recurring infections? but that we will have to wait and see.

i think i will have to take him to a specialist as i want to give him the best chance i can of recovering my vets have mentioned theres one in CHESHIRE but i havent found out where yet...it could be quite a way from me though.

i shall ring to tell my vet about the ones you have recommended when they open this morning and find out where this piggy specialist is too.

poor little man id do anything to make him better... :(

oh and he currently weighs 960g which is better than he was two weeks ago as he was only just 800g then and was looking much more unwell then.
 
Thanks for the info, yes the vet has said its pneumonia (but I'm a bit wary of posting specifics on here sometimes in case I'm wrong or percieved to be wrong as my medical knowledge of guineas isnt great as ive never really had any major problems to deal with)

anyway the poor little thing was given an injection of an unlicensed antibiotic yesterday its a bit of a controversial one as it hasnt been widely tested on small animals but is the only one that my vet has used on other guinea pigs with success at treating pneumonia and hasnt seen any side effects and a shot of steroid aswell.....he was very quiet last night but seems a bit brighter this morning and his breathing is looking a bit better. i brought him indoors last night to keep more of an eye on him...

ive been told i can still give him baytril as theres no harm in mixing different types of antibiotic....

There has been no mention of the drugs that have been mentioned above so perhaps my vet doesnt know about them with not being specialist so thanks for that i appreciate it :)

he also said that the damage could now be irrepairable and he may always have some problems with recurring infections? but that we will have to wait and see.

i think i will have to take him to a specialist as i want to give him the best chance i can of recovering my vets have mentioned theres one in CHESHIRE but i havent found out where yet...it could be quite a way from me though.

i shall ring to tell my vet about the ones you have recommended when they open this morning and find out where this piggy specialist is too.

poor little man id do anything to make him better... :(

oh and he currently weighs 960g which is better than he was two weeks ago as he was only just 800g then and was looking much more unwell then.
 
Aw poor little guy :(:(

Ive never heard of a GP getting pneumonia, I hope he gets better soon

Sending a big healing hug your way x
 
Harry is now perking up a bit but I'm still having to force feed him baytril which is stressful for him and for me but he seems to be eating more is drinking pooing and weeing and is coming out to play.

i have been reading up on heart problems though and think perhaps he has an underlying problem with his heart as all the symptoms appear to match up. :(
 
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