My piggy has been lethargic the past few days, but otherwise acting normally. This afternoon she started wheezing. I immediately took her to the Er vets, they said her lungs sound okay (FYI, he didn't specialize in small animals) and he took her vitals, too. He prescribed her Baytril and gave her the first dose an hour ago. I came home, put a small vaporizer on in her room, fed her some critical care and she drank a little water. She is currently resting in the corner. The only symptoms are lethargy and wheezing right now. My other piggy last year was much worse off-no vets were available and she died overnight.
The doc said she shouldn't get worse and that I can hope to see improvements in 2 days.
I want to be sure I've done all I can to keep her comfortable, and to see if anyone has any other suggestions.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Lethargic and Wheezing Piggy!
Oh sheesh, she's also doing a couple weird little head twitches like my other pig who died did. This is scary.
-
Talishan
- You can quote me
For right now I think you've done everything you can do. Keep her well-fed by handfeeding if she isn't eating on her own. If she's not drinking, you can offer her unflavored Pedialyte (infants' electrolyte) via syringe. Many pigs love it and will drink it readily from a syringe.
How old is she?
Baytril can be pretty hard on their GI. Give her a probiotic while she's on Baytril.
https://www.guinealynx.info/probiotics.html
Good luck to her and to you.
How old is she?
Baytril can be pretty hard on their GI. Give her a probiotic while she's on Baytril.
https://www.guinealynx.info/probiotics.html
Good luck to her and to you.
She is older, she's 7. Thank you so much for the advice! I'd never heard of doing Pedialyte!
Something new is that's Marlowe is unbalanced now. A tiny bit of head twitching and pretty unsteady on her feet. I saw a blip online that said that a URI can move to their inner ear... Would Baytril help this or should I bring her to the vets again? I feel so badly for her!
She has been eating some, not her usual, though. She seems a bit confused but that may be that she's dizzy. Her stool is smaller than usual, but that may be a side effect of the antibiotics. Oh boy what next?
She has been eating some, not her usual, though. She seems a bit confused but that may be that she's dizzy. Her stool is smaller than usual, but that may be a side effect of the antibiotics. Oh boy what next?
-
bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
Antibiotics definitely affect stool size/frequency/color/consistency.
An inner ear infection needs oral antibiotics -- drops in the ear don't get to the inner ear.
I'd watch her carefully for the next 12-24 hours. It's possible that she'll improve. But if not, I'd get her back to the vet.
An inner ear infection needs oral antibiotics -- drops in the ear don't get to the inner ear.
I'd watch her carefully for the next 12-24 hours. It's possible that she'll improve. But if not, I'd get her back to the vet.
Maybe that's what it is? Am inner ear infection? She is taking Baytril orally twice a day. This may be unrelated. She has also been cleaning her face and itching more frequently. This is all new to me!
-
Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto bpatters. Oral Baytril is usually the first treatment of choice for both a URI and an inner ear infection. Chloramphenicol arguably penetrates better on inner ear issues but not all vets use it.
Most ER vets don't know much about small exotics like guinea pigs. This one did a pretty good job imo, better than the average. That said, you want a vet that knows how to treat guinea pigs specifically going forward.
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... f=39&t=245
Mites can "flare up" when a pig is feeling badly or otherwise debilitated. She may need a course of ivermectin or Revolution as well.
Watch her input and output carefully. Handfeed as necessary to keep food moving through her system. Weigh her once a day, at about the same time of day and handfeed more aggressively if she's losing weight.
Most ER vets don't know much about small exotics like guinea pigs. This one did a pretty good job imo, better than the average. That said, you want a vet that knows how to treat guinea pigs specifically going forward.
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... f=39&t=245
Mites can "flare up" when a pig is feeling badly or otherwise debilitated. She may need a course of ivermectin or Revolution as well.
Watch her input and output carefully. Handfeed as necessary to keep food moving through her system. Weigh her once a day, at about the same time of day and handfeed more aggressively if she's losing weight.
Ok, she does usual see someone who specializes in small animals but none were available at 7 at night when this first flared up and we had to bring her to the Er vet. Would I be able to see if she has mites? How would I know? She has never had them before and she is mostly an inside pig except on nice days when she'll sit out with me and she'll eat grass.
I will def weight her. Thank you! This is all so appreciated! 🙏🏽
I will def weight her. Thank you! This is all so appreciated! 🙏🏽
-
bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
You can't see mites. They're microscopic, and burrow under the skin.
If she has a bad case, she'd have hair loss, but it's usually thinning of the hair over a larger area than just a small defined place with no hair.
Everything has mites all the time -- you, me, the guinea pigs, all living things. As Talishan said (welcome back, BTW!), they can just flare up.
If she has a bad case, she'd have hair loss, but it's usually thinning of the hair over a larger area than just a small defined place with no hair.
Everything has mites all the time -- you, me, the guinea pigs, all living things. As Talishan said (welcome back, BTW!), they can just flare up.
Oh got it. The itching has calmed down today. She won't eat any of her normal veggies, only lettuce-she's ravenous for it right now-some hay and pellets. Her normal meal of red pepper, cucumber and apple she just let's sit there. Her belly must not feel normal on the meds. She is Def back to walking normally today, jumping around! I did manage to get two small syringe-fulls of infants Pedialyte in her, but she will NOT take critical care like she did the other day. I weighed her today, she has lost a little weight since I last weighed her in Feb, but that may just be old age. I'll weigh her again tomorrow and see what happens.
So she went from 31.68 oz yesterday to 30.88 oz today. Not a huge change but not moving in the right direction. She is eating some pellets and hay. I basically force fed her critical care this morning and she only would take about .7 ml of it. She outright refuses the larger syringe. After that she was making hungry chirps but only ate 1.5 slices of cucumber and a tiny bit of peach with her bit of hay and pellets. What else can I do?? Oh, I also gave her some Pedialyte again today. This pig is giving me an ulcer.
SHOP AMAZON