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Rodders Dealt Another Blow

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Tinman

Tinman

Junior Guinea Pig
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Well looks like my little Rodney now has a uri :-( He's suddenly devloped very crackling breathing today, poor little fella has been through so much and looked like we were finally starting to get him stronger again but seems fate has dealt a cruel blow. He is booked in on fri anyway for his teeth so will see what the cat & rabbit clinic say but doesnt look good :-(
 
Oh no, what an awful time you are having :( URI's can be treated successfully if caught early. If is breathing is bad I would recommend seeing a vet ASAP to get some Antibiotics started as well as taking him to the experts on Friday. Love to Rodney
 
Oh no what a shame ..Maybe you could get him seen to sooner ? Its sad when there ill x
 
I agree with the others that the sooner the antibiotics start the better, and diuretics too if he has any fluid on his chest. Bisolvon would also help to clear any mucous.
 
Please have him seen asap as an emergency by your closest out-of-hours vet; you can get the number off your local vet's answering machine. URI is very much an illness that hits when the immune system is already compromised. If that is the case, it needs immediate action as it is likely to hit harder. Please don't wait!

Please also ask for a diuretic like furosemide (1/10 of a tablet) or frusol to help ease the breathing and the build-up of fluids on the chest. Aslo ask for mucus dissolving bisolvon powder and - if you haven't got any at home - probiotics. You are likely to get only baytril, so ring up the Cat&Rabbit tomorrow for an emergency appointment. But it will hopefully tidy you over. You can also place a steaming bowl with olbas oil next to the cage to help ease the breathing. Vitamin C will help to prop up the immune system.
 
Well he still had the crackly breathing at 5.45am, fed the pigs and went to work. By 8.30 it had gone and I havent heard since being home from 6pm. There were no free appointments till tomorrow anyway (whether the wife stated emergency I dont know) so have booked that at 11. I cant go but the wife will take him in, feel a bit put out really as I always take him! Have written a note stating everything that has happened, hoping maybe it was something caught in his airways which has now dislodged as dont know why it would come and go so suddenly. Guess will find out tomorrow, he is having his dodgy tooth ground down too which is going to shock the mrs when she gets the bill and finds out how much he is costing me every month!
 
It could even be related to the weather as the humidity can make them have crackly breathing.
 
Never nice when you have poorly piggies. :( Wishing all the best for a speedy recovery.
 
Aww hope hes ok tomorrow and hes going to the best place to be treated :) my guinea pig is going to see simon on friday .
 
Well nothing could be found wrong with Rodders regarding his breathing on weds, unfortunately his teeth were a different story. Kim has filed his teeth down more than usual but now he just wont eat. Since wed he hasnt touched his food and his weight has dropped right down again from 970 to 840 in that time. They can only fit him in on mon morning which my wife cant do and other days kim and simon are away I think so next opporunity is friday.. I'm currently syringe feeding him athough no one seems to know how much to give him. I am giving 4ml 3 times a day which I wont be able to sustain whilst at work obviously and the wife wont have time.
Should I give him more? Just a bit helpless at the moment :-(
 
Well just had a little breakthrough. He has been showing interest in food, picking up it up, taking it back to his house but then not eating it. Anyway, was syringe feeding him criical care a min ago and the wife tried him with some cucumber. Again he tried to eat it but we noticed was the problem was he couldnt cut through. I think maybe his teeth are now too short which is why he isnt eating as he cant cut the food.
Chopped some pepper up into tiny pieces and he went mad for it bless him and demolished it so have now chopped up everything into small pieces to see if that helps. Will carry on syringe feeding to help with weight gain though as he is now so low.
 
Gizmo was the same with his food and he clearly wanted it but just could not eat it due to a few problems with his teeth ..He lost lots of weight too but since seeing simon a couple of times and due to debbies hard work hes managed to bit some of it back on ..He is with good vets so thats a bonus ...Our vet in edinburgh managed to do his bottom teeth and his front ones for him but totally missed the problem with his top teeth altogether but we did not know that untill we decided to bring him down from edinburgh to see simon for a second opinion ..Hopefully he will eat the chopped up stuff and start gaining some weight back now x
 
Yeah Rodders is good with vets too, Kim often remarks on his good behaviour, I think maybe he is just petrified stiff as he nibbles me all the time! He seems to just be sticking with eating the pepper and not the other veg at present but its better than nothing.
 
Yeah its heartbreaking when they wont eat ..Gizmo used to go mad when put his veggies in and would try to eat it but couldnt then he would get all worked up and scatter his food around the cage i think he was frustrated not being able to do it though x
 
That's great. I think you can feed hay into their mouths too when their teeth are really short so they can chew it with the back teeth even though they can't pick it up.
 
Did he have a GA? Because sometimes that knocks mine back for a few days afterwards & it takes a little time for them to eat properly again. I think you need to get a bit more syringe food in & maybe consider letting Debbie @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary have him for a few days to syringe feed him for you :)
 
Simon and Kim are away from next Saturday and won't be back until Monday 18th August. If you need to get him in next week and can't get there for an appointment time then I am more than happy to take him in for you. Even if they are struggling with appointments I could take him in first thing in the morning and Simon could have a look at him when he has a free minute. I could also get plenty of syringe food into him too. I am pretty full at the moment and couldn't take on another long term temporary resident but could definitely offer a few days care, and to take to an appointment.
 
That's very kind. If things don't improve by tomorrow I will be in contact. He only seems to be eating his red and orange Pepper at present if cut into very small pieces and occasionally the odd nugget but nothing else as yet.
When I phoned earlier Simon thought it would be to do with an ulcer which had appeared on his tongue but I'm not convinced and think it's the biting off which is the problem as he immediately stopped eating after having his teeth ground on Thurs whereas he was Ok beforehand.
Anyway will message you tomorrow with an update.
Thanks :-)
 
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