There's Something Wrong With Callie...

[Arcticwolf]

Some of you may know who Callie is. She's my relatively new guinea pig that I got January 31st. I posted videos of her chirping. She's the sweetest, happiest little thing ever, which makes this so sad...

She's showing many symptoms of there being something wrong with her heart. She started hooting and my heart dropped because I know what that's usually a sign of. I had my mom listen to her heart with a stethoscope (she worked in the medical field), and her heart beat is so fast you almost can't distinguish each beat from the next one. We compared it to Nikki's heart beat, and while Nikki is much older, we agreed that Callie's heart sounds extremely irregular. I did some reading about heart problems in guinea pigs, and Callie has about half of the symptoms. About a month ago, I took her to the vet (twice!) because I thought she had an URI. She was (and still is) sneezing and coughing very frequently and making some other odd noises when she breathes, but the vet said he couldn't/wouldn't do anything for her because her nose and eyes weren't runny and she didn't "look" sick. What do you know, in my reading I found that symptoms of an URI can mimic the signs of a heart problem. I also read that parts of the ears can turn black due to poor circulation, and Callie has a black spot on one ear... The rest of her ears, her nose, and paw pads are all very pink. And her ears sometimes turn bright red and hot to the touch with no explanation. I read a case study of a six month old sow that had heart problems (an extremely enlarged heart and fluid in the lungs). Her symptoms were hooting and rattling noises. Despite all of that, the sow was active, a normal weight, and had no problems eating. It was so similar to Callie's situation and it breaks my heart.

I'm going to look around and find the best vet I can to take her to, try to take a video of her hooting, and print off some information. I've had a feeling for a while something was off, just by the strange noises she makes (not the chirping, but the coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and now hooting) and I couldn't figure out what it was... Of course I don't know anything for sure yet, but I'm just really worried sick at this point.

 

[Beans&Toast]

Some of you may know who Callie is. She's my relatively new guinea pig that I got January 31st. I posted videos of her chirping. She's the sweetest, happiest little thing ever, which makes this so sad...

She's showing many symptoms of there being something wrong with her heart. She started hooting and my heart dropped because I know what that's usually a sign of. I had my mom listen to her heart with a stethoscope (she worked in the medical field), and her heart beat is so fast you almost can't distinguish each beat from the next one. We compared it to Nikki's heart beat, and while Nikki is much older, we agreed that Callie's heart sounds extremely irregular. I did some reading about heart problems in guinea pigs, and Callie has about half of the symptoms. About a month ago, I took her to the vet (twice!) because I thought she had an URI. She was (and still is) sneezing and coughing very frequently and making some other odd noises when she breathes, but the vet said he couldn't/wouldn't do anything for her because her nose and eyes weren't runny and she didn't "look" sick. What do you know, in my reading I found that symptoms of an URI can mimic the signs of a heart problem. I also read that parts of the ears can turn black due to poor circulation, and Callie has a black spot on one ear... The rest of her ears, her nose, and paw pads are all very pink. And her ears sometimes turn bright red and hot to the touch with no explanation. I read a case study of a [you]six month old sow[/you] that had heart problems (an extremely enlarged heart and fluid in the lungs). Her symptoms were hooting and rattling noises. Despite all of that, the sow was active, a normal weight, and had no problems eating. It was so similar to Callie's situation and it breaks my heart.

I'm going to look around and find the best vet I can to take her to, try to take a video of her hooting, and print off some information. I've had a feeling for a while something was off, just by the strange noises she makes (not the chirping, but the coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and now hooting) and I couldn't figure out what it was... Of course I don't know anything for sure yet, but I'm just really worried sick at this point.

I have no where near enough experience to help with this one but jus thought I'd say we're here to support you, it's such a horrible gut wrenching feeling when you're sure there's something wrong with your piggy and your vet doesn't/won't see it.

To be honest that vet doesn't seem very good with piggies because as they are prey animals, they are extremely good at hiding their illnesses and can appear completely normal, running about fine and eating fine, but still have an underlying health issue and it's odd a vet wouldn't know that unless they're not cavy savy..

Also, has the black mark on her ear just appeared?

 

[Arcticwolf]

I have no where near enough experience to help with this one but jus thought I'd say we're here to support you, it's such a horrible gut wrenching feeling when you're sure there's something wrong with your piggy and your vet doesn't/won't see it.

To be honest that vet doesn't seem very good with piggies because as they are prey animals, they are extremely good at hiding their illnesses and can appear completely normal, running about fine and eating fine, but still have an underlying health issue and it's odd a vet wouldn't know that unless they're not cavy savy..

Also, has the black mark on her ear just appeared?

Thank your your support.

The vet susposedly specializes in exotics, but I'm never going to him again. When I had to treat my other guinea pig, Nikki, for digestive issues, he suggested that I give her yogurt. Of course I didn't listen, so it was a waste of a vet trip and money.

There's another exotics vet I've been to who's gotten praise from knowledgeable owners in the guinea pig community, but he misdiagnosed Nikki's cysts as abscesses, so I'm wary about going back to him. He shaved her and popped one of the cysts and advised us to do the rest ourselves at home with a needle. Thankfully, we didn't.

I found another clinic that treats all sorts of exotics (as well as small animals), and they have an entire page on their website dedicated to cardio. They seem to have the right equipment to detect any heart problems in Callie. I think I might try them. The drive there is almost two hours, so it's a four hour round trip, but that's only half an hour longer than the distance to the vet who misdiagnosed Nikki. *sigh* If only good vets were easier to find around here, that'd be great.

The black spot was there when I got her. It's on the outer corner of her ear, along the margin.

 

[Beans&Toast]

Thank your your support.

The vet susposedly specializes in exotics, but I'm never going to him again. When I had to treat my other guinea pig, Nikki, for digestive issues, he suggested that I give her yogurt. Of course I didn't listen, so it was a waste of a vet trip and money.

There's another exotics vet I've been to who's gotten praise from knowledgeable owners in the guinea pig community, but he misdiagnosed Nikki's cysts as abscesses, so I'm wary about going back to him. He shaved her and popped one of the cysts and advised us to do the rest ourselves at home with a needle. Thankfully, we didn't.

I found another clinic that treats all sorts of exotics (as well as small animals), and they have an entire page on their website dedicated to cardio. They seem to have the right equipment to detect any heart problems in Callie. I think I might try them. The drive there is almost two hours, so it's a four hour round trip, but that's only half an hour longer than the distance to the vet who misdiagnosed Nikki. *sigh* If only good vets were easier to find around here, that'd be great.

The black spot was there when I got her. It's on the outer corner of her ear, along the margin.

That's quite worrying advice from a vet..
I'd drive that far for a good vet if I had to as well. I'm extremely lucky that I have a good recommended vet on my doorstep (which is odd as I live in a tiny little town, wouldn't have expected a good vet here)

My Beans has a black mark on her ear that was there when I got her about a year ago, no idea if she's always had it.. to be honest I just assumed it was a little birth mark type thing..

 

[Wiebke]

@helen105281 @Abi_nurse

 

[helen105281]

I think the next step needs to be either an ultrasound or xray if you can find a vet who is happy to xray conscious. Ideally a suspected heart pig should not be given even a whiff of gas if possible and definitely not a full GA. The vet needs to determine if the heart is enlarged or if there is any fluid around the heart or lungs. Abi will be able to answer the more technical questions as she works in a vets.

The URI type symptoms can fit with it being a heart issue, but usually it is recurring URIs that do not respond to antibiotics. My heart pigs have not had any black spots but they have had a blue tinge to the nose and lips when their breathing was compromised.

What is her current weight? and how old is she?