Respiratory Problems?

[emiboo23]

Hi everyone - long time lurker, first time poster

I have a 4 year old piggy who has occasionally suffers with respiratory infections, usually a little while after a big change happens like when we moved house.

I recently changed their bedding from back to nature pellets to fleece and towels, and since then she has been snuffling a lot. As it was quite a big change to them I can understand that the stress might have started it off again. It was really bad at first but we took her to the vets and the antibiotics got rid of the horrible lung crackling, however a few weeks later she still doesn't seem "right", hasn't regained the little bit of weight she lost whilst on antibiotics, and occasionally still sounds a bit snotty (I'm 99% sure it's congestion and not coming from her lungs) she's a little quiet but eating and running around as normal. Could it be the fleece causing this or as this problem reoccurs does it get harder to shake off?

I am going to take her back to the vet soon, and previously they were discussing using a nebuliser (sorry if thats spelt wrong) but I wanted to do some research in the mean time so any personal experiences of this would be great.

Thanks everyone

Emily x

 

[Abi_nurse]

Nebulisers are a great idea, using F10 in them can also help too. Out of interest what antibiotic was your piggie on for the respiratory problems? I have found Baytril is becoming very rubbish and resistant to many pathogens. If your pig had this, it might be worth trying something different. Bisolven is also a fab thing to try, its called a mucolytic, this means it dries up and clears the mucous.

I doubt that the fleece will cause the snifflyness. Have you tried changing the washing powder though? And is the hay you are using very good quality. The cheaper hays tend to me more dusty, just a thought.

x.

 

[emiboo23]

Thank you for the reply

She was on a 10 day course of Marbocyl along with vitamin c tablets. She was also given a tiny amount of Bisolven over about 5 days I think.

She doesn't seem to be sounding snotty anymore, her weight has stabilised and I'm just trying to tempt her with things to get her back to her previous weight. My partner and I both work full time so it's difficult to tempt her throughout the day, I have to constantly put fresh hay and herby hay in so that she actually goes over to it, then she eats a bit, gets bored and goes back to bed!

With the fleece, I don't use any washing powder, I just add a little white vinegar to the wash and then use an extra rinse to make sure that gets out. There may be a little residue from my washing powder left in but i use eco-eggs so they aren't really that strong in the first place

With regards to hay, I use a mix of Oxbow timothy and orchard hay, with readi-grass as a special treat

She's just turned 4 so I don't know whether maybe she's just getting old now?

 

[Dusty_bugs]

Something my guineas go nuts for is the guineapig forage mix from Pets at home - comes in an orange paper bag with a string 'rip' top. It's about £3 something and lasts us about 2 weeks. It's a variety of herbs and fruit tree leaves I think. Also has dandelion in there. The girls will spend a good 5-10 minutes face down in the hay when I sprinkle it about the place so if you're looking for something 'new' to keep up the interest then it might be worth a shot! -c

p.s. its not dusty either so shouldnt aggrivate anything!

 

[Abi_nurse]

Sounds like your doing all the right things for her. Illness is not just a case of getting old though, seems to be some sort of odd myth with all pet owners. If she doesnt improve with the marbocyl maybe try a different antibiotic. Or if she does have any discharge ask your vet to take a swab, this way you may be able to find out what pathogen (if any - wont be one if an allergy) is causing the problem. And then treat with the correct antibiotic if needed.

I have a near 6 year old boar who has a constantly runny nose (only one nostral) I spent hundreds of pounds on investigating it, swabs, antibiotics, xrays, daily injections and even put a scope (camera) up his nose to have a look. But havent found a thing wrong. His weight is stable, and I'm keeping an eye on him. He's happy and eats very well so I've left him be, if he gets any problems hes be straight back to work with me for treatment.

x.