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Uri Help Please

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Guinea_Lover

Guinea_Lover

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Hi there,

Last week my guinea pig Sugar had been diagnosed with URI, we took her to the vets because her breathing was very harsh and you could hear the liquid in her lungs. The vet prescribed us 0.4ml of Baytril twice a day for a week, she went in last Friday and now its Wednesday so her breathing has slowly been improving but is still there. I'm just concerned really at the fact that whenever I syringe the meds into her, she has this yellow liquid that forms and kind of bubbles out? could this be from the chest infection that she is? (like flem maybe?). She has been really craving her own poo for some reason (i forgot to add that her sister passed away a few weeks ago) so I'm pretty worried that she might be depressed at the fact her sister has died as they were pretty close? she is still eating and drinking but not as much as she usually does, as stated above she just wants poo most of the time- so could that be the indication of why her mouth is full of browny/yellowy liquid because shes eating poo? For some reason as well whenever I put her dome in the cage she never comes out to eat, so I have taken that off her because she sits inside not moving and looking depressed? of course guinea pigs have to keep eating because its their nature to, which is why I have removed the dome.

Thank you, I hope you can help!
 
When Frank had his syringe if he'd just been eating hay or something he'd more or less 'spit' it out over the syringe. But this looked more like mashed up hay.
Have you been giving probiotic an hour after baytril?

Also, sorry to hear about the loss of your other piggy, she could be depressed yes, when she's well maybe you could look into finding her a companion?

Hope she gets better soon. x
 
I searched up that Baytril can be quite bad for guinea pigs as some do not cope properly with it? is this true?
 
That is true, I personally haven't had problems with it.
However, due to the damage it can do, probiotic needs to be given an 1-2 hours after the baytril is given. You do this by adding a pinch of probiotic to a 1ml syringe. Then syringe it 0.5ml at a time to ensure it goes down the correct path :) this keeps there gut stimulated and healthy.
 
You can get it in petsathome and online, Pro-C probiotic, or avipro... they are powders you add to food or water and contain healthy things that help to keep the gut stimulated with 'good gut' bacteria and healthy :)
 
If she had fluid on her lungs then I am surprised that the vet did not give a diuretic too. I would call and get her booked in as soon as you can so the lungs can be checked again and a diuretic given if there is still fluid. It sounds like she may be mucousy too so Bisolvon would also help.

If she has snotty nose then steam therapy can help too. Put 2 drops of Olbas oil in a bowl of boiling water next to the cage or you can use an inhaler like this one, hold over the nose in 5 second bursts:

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Easy-Breathing-Steam-Inhaler_1400961/

I second the probiotic recommendation, it needs to be given at least an hour after the antibiotics.

Also if she is not eating our hand feeding guide may help, which includes probiotic links too:

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/

Go slowly with syringing food though bearing in mind her breathing issues.
 
Thank you for your help :) was also wondering as I was checking her over IVE noticed something hard and lumpy on the back near her bottom, it also has a line in it, any idea what this could be? I have a picture so show this! It looks like something like a cut?
 

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I hope your piggy is feeling better. It sounds like she's having a hard time. It's important that you get her URI treated before you think about getting her a new friend although I would recommend it as piggies are social creatures and will grieve for a lost cage-mate. It is also a fair chance that her cage-mate died of the same infection so it's important to get it under control.

Baytril is the first antibiotic a vet will prescribe for most small furries as it's the only one licensed for piggies. It can make their guts a bit unhappy so a probiotic is important and if she's not eating enough for herself then you may need to hand or syringe feed her. They need a lot of food and sick piggy uses even more energy. It's always worth weighing her regularly to check she is maintaining her weight. Loss of weight is a serious problem and shows there is a problem. It's a good habit to get into whether they are sick or not so you know what normal is for her. She needs to keep going and complete the antibiotics but if they aren't helping then they may need to consider changing to a different antibiotic. Different drugs treat different bugs!

Eating her own poo is normal for piggies anyway but if she's struggling health-wise she might do it more to try and keep her healthy gut bacteria going. This is why the probiotic is important as it helps their gut behave better and keeps their appetite up. I've had similar problems with a piggy of mine who really struggled with his appetite on Baytril and needed us to syringe feed him.

In the long run, once she is better then try looking at the rescue locator to find one near you and they will e able to help you find Sugar a lady friend or neutered man friend who she gets on with. This is a great way to make sure you get two piggies who are happy and get on well. They can be fussy picking friends!
 
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