Suspected URI

[Mimoza79]

Hi All,
My guinea pig Fudge started making croaking noises whilst she breath. I took her to the vets and the vet wasn't so sure what can be teh problem. She prescribed meloxicam and Enrocare which is antibiotic. I am also giving her probiotic.
She wasn't doing very well yesterday morning- I felt she was uncomfortable changing positions , fairly active nibbling here and there that's why I gave her 30 mils of critical care. Later on I nebulised her with 2.5 mils of saline and all of a sudden the noice disappeared, she start eating normally and behaving normally. .. Sadly, the noice it came back on some point late in the evening.
This morning she still have it despite the fact I did another nebuliser session and stayed in the bath with hot water running for 4- 5 mins as she doesn't tolerate the heat well.
She has been on the antibiotic since 16th of July and I dont see improvement apart from yesterday's she being comfortable for few hours.

Do I have to call the vet or wait for another day or 2?

Please give me any advise what to do as I am starting to panic... and again I am going away in 12 days which really makes the situation worst. Feel awful to leave her with a care if she is not cured .

Forgot to mention - Fudge is 5 years old . She never have been ill apart from very unusual fungal problems a year ago that are under control finally

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.
Antibiotics take a few days to start to work, so you are only just the point of them starting to be effective, but it can take the entire course before you see improvement.

Nebulising can help in some cases but in others it can make things worse - do discuss with your vet whether it would be helpful for you to carry on nebulising.

Is she on cat/guinea pig (0.5 mg/ml) or dog (1.5 mg/ml) meloxicom?

Our other home care advice is that you need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh her each morning.
The daily weight checks allow you to gauge hay intake and adjust the amount of critical care needed if piggy isn’t eating properly for themselves. At least 60ml can be needed each day if the appetite is affected but your daily weight checks are your guide as to whether you have the balance correct.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

 

[Mimoza79]

I’m sorry to hear this.
Antibiotics take a few days to start to work, so you are only just the point of them starting to be effective, but it can take the entire course before you see improvement.

Nebulising can help in some cases but in others it can make things worse - do discuss with your vet whether it would be helpful for you to carry on nebulising.

Is she on cat/guinea pig (0.5 mg/ml) or dog (1.5 mg/ml) meloxicom?

Our other home care advice is that you need to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh her each morning.
The daily weight checks allow you to gauge hay intake and adjust the amount of critical care needed if piggy isn’t eating properly for themselves. At least 60ml can be needed each day if the appetite is affected but your daily weight checks are your guide as to whether you have the balance correct.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

Thank you for oyur quick response! She is on dog meloxicam. The dose prescribed is 0.3 ml once a day.
I did the nebuliser as on the appointment at the clinic they did one session and her breathing became slightly better.
I weight checked her today and I think she went 100 grams lower comparing to her weight at. the vet which is significant loss just for 2 days .

I separated her yesterday for a while in separate cage to see if she is pooping normal - for an hour she produced 4 normal size and shape ones .
Might separate her again and see if she is still pooping ok.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please do not separate her to monitor poop output. It is not helpful - Poop is not a good indicator of food intake as poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake. Therefore by the time you see reduced poop, piggy already hasn’t been eating properly for a few days.

Please urgently syringe feed her at least 60ml of critical care in each 24 hour period (30ml is not enough for such severe weight loss, 40ml is the absolute minimum intake to maintain gut function for an emergency situation (100g loss in just a day or two is an emergency situation) but the closer to and ideally beyond 60ml you can get into her the better).
The guide I added into my previous reply explains further.

You do need to weigh her yourself each morning at home to accurately monitor

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

 

[Mimoza79]

I didnt gave her full dos yesterday as she was eating quite a lot of hay and fresh grass in the evening . Also I need to double check with the vet as there is a possibility I havent seen the numbers correct. Will start giving her 60 ml even if she is eating. Thanks again!

 

[Mimoza79]

Please do not separate her to monitor poop output. It is not helpful - Poop is not a good indicator of food intake as poop output is 1-2 days behind food intake. Therefore by the time you see reduced poop, piggy already hasn’t been eating properly for a few days.

Please urgently syringe feed her at least 60ml of critical care in each 24 hour period (30ml is not enough for such severe weight loss, 40ml is the absolute minimum intake to maintain gut function for an emergency situation (100g loss in just a day or two is an emergency situation) but the closer to and ideally beyond 60ml you can get into her the better).
The guide I added into my previous reply explains further.

You do need to weigh her yourself each morning at home to accurately monitor

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Just 1 more question. Is it possible the guinea pig to have URI because of fan. When it was hot I used a fan that was not very close to the cage and was not pointing straight to the cage. Also I had a wet towel on 1 side of the cage. I know that last year when we were on holiday the lady that look after my piggies mentioned that she use fan in hot weather too but my pigs were ok.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Bacteria cause the infection. Bacteria can take hold when an animal is stressed the immune system can find it harder to cope. Sudden changes in the weather is just one such stress factor (there are many others) which can allow the bacteria to take off.
A fan in the room (not close to the cage and not pointing at them) is not going to directly cause such an issue