Teeth, pneumonia, and anaesthesia

[Mac]

Hi All,

my vet thinks that my piggy may need his back teeth fixed. Unfortunately the only reason we know this is because he stopped eating, lost weight, and now has pneumonia. Fortunately he was robust before and although I can feel his spine, he isn't skinny. At the moment were giving him antibiotics twice a day and syringe feeding him small animal recovery formula every few hours. He's also still eating spring greens etc.

Although he seems in good form, he hasn't squeaked or chatted in days, his breathing is laboured and the vet is cautious. Copper is a 5 year old male, who has never been ill before. Does anyone have experience of getting their piggy through this? How traumatic is the anaesthesia? I'm very concerned that following on from pneumonia it could all be too much.

I can't believe how quickly this happened. I would really like him well enough to squeal at me when I open the fridge and pee on me when i pick him up,

Mac x

 

[Freela]

Poor guy! I wish I had more advice to give you... two of my pigs had general anasthesia and did well with it, but neither had a lung issue at the same time. I don't have any advice, but just want to wish your little guy a safe operation and a speedy recovery!

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I think it would be risky to use an anaesthetic on a guinea pig who has pneumonia. Could you find a vet who will do his teeth without GA?

 

[Abi_nurse]

Poor little guy. I hope he gets better soon. I wouldnt advise an aneathetic while he is suffering from pneumonia. Having a GA with this is always risky, even in cats/dogs. The only advise i can reccomend is ensuring he gets around 120ml of critical into him during a 24hour period. I would get him over the pneumonia before considering the GA, at least he is eating greens.

x

 

[Pebble]

If he has pneumonia then as well as the antibiotics it might be that giving a diuretic to clear the fluid on his lungs may help him get over it more quickly.
Furosemide is being used more often as a second medication for pneumonia piggies and can be a life saver.

Depending upon the amount of fluid/difficulty in breathing, a hefty first dose up to 10mg/kg (given normally by injection) is prescribed but then reduced down to maintenance dose of 2mg/kg.

I certainly wouldn;t opt for GA whilst he is this condition - it's far too risky.

Even a dental without a GA could seriously interfere with breathing if his lungs are compromised by fluids and could cause respiratory distress as piggies are normally placed on their backs for dentals. So if you wish to take him to a vet who can do dentals without GA then it is important they do a full exam to assess his lung status before they start.

If the pneumonia prevents any type of dental then you have to concentrate firstly on getting rid of the pneumonia bug and syringe feeding him until he is well enough to have a dental done.

Sorry this probably isn;t what you want to hear.....what antibioitics (and how much) is he being given?

Please weigh him daily to monitor for weight loss.
Please ensure he gets at least 120ml of mushed up pellets/critical care each day until his lungs are clear. Feed 20-30ml every 2-3 hours (as this takes account of stomach max capacity and stomach emptying time)

Hugs - not a nice situation to be in for you or your piggie. If you want to chat further then please PM me for my phone number.

HTH
x

 

[Mac]

Thank you for posting

Hi All,
thank you for posting replies to me and sorry I haven't responded sooner. Copper sadly he passed away on Saturday evening. Thankfully, he seemed much better on Saturday and we spent a really nice day together cuddling on the couch. He had a little Mojo back, was cheeky, and chatted away to me.
At the minute we're really gutted, but so thankful that we had him for 5 and a bit years. He was a little star.
I think we're going to let his loss settle with us for a little while then maybe rehome someone who could use the cuddles and security.
Thanks again,
Mac