ongoing URI, A/B's not working??

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:37 pm


I had to take one of my pigs to the vet today and while I was there I asked about doing a culture when the pig is still on antibiotics. She told me that if the antibiotics are not working that the bacteria that they are not working on can still be cultured and a sensitivity can still be done on them. What it won't show is if any bacteria that were initially present were wiped out by the antibiotics. There may be more than one bacteria involved here and sometimes the primary infection sets the stage a secondary infection to occur. When Elwood had his culture done two bacteria were found (and who knows what might have already been wiped out from his antibiotics).

grace505

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:06 pm


Thank you very much for letting me know what the vet said. That does make sense. So i could get a culture and at least get rid of the bacteria that is being so persistant and then if he's still sick, maybe do another one later on. Is it assuming too much to think that what the culture showed on one would apply to both pigs? Turbo's the one who's had it this whole time, but now Diesel has it, i would think they're the same bacteria, but obviously that's just a guess on my part and could be totally wrong.

Cinnabuns Legacy

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:12 pm


Another thing to consider is the possibility of heart problems. Some heart pigs have issues with ongoing URI's.

grace505

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:14 pm


Cinna, they are only five/six months old which i've read is pretty young for heart problems, but not impossible. He came to me sick, so it's just been one long, pain in the butt URI, not reoccuring, if that makes a difference???

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:33 am


"My guess would be a nuebulizer or a combo of Baytril/Doxy, or for Diesel i guess that would be Bactrim/Doxy, but i've heard that's harsh for them and i'll need to handfeed."

Bingo. That's what you need to do in my opinion.

A culture should show you if you absolutely unconditionally have to use one of the hazardous AB's and have no other choice. Some of those (maybe all, I'm not sure) can be nebulized, bypassing the GI and thus their harmful effects.

The rescue community has had success using a Baytril/Doxy combo on set-in, persistent pneumonias and URI's. For reasons unknown to me the whole seems to work better than the sum of the parts.

Baytril may or may not cause inappetance, lethargy and diarrhea. Granted, many times it does and it is also a poor choice for young pigs; it should be used only if it's absolutely necessary. But the combo seems to work. Definitely ask about a Bactrim/Doxy combo for Diesel.

Allergies/sensitivity reactions are not impossible but if your sister got these from a petstore it's virtually certain this is a well-set-in URI and not an allergy. Having said that, IMO it's definitely worth trying the suggestions you've received, but my money is on a well-established pneumonia.

This may or may not be the vet you're already seeing. If not, you may want to consider calling them:

https://www.guinealynx.info/cabinet/inde ... New_Mexico

Rio Rancho

High Desert Animal Hospital
505-892-4412
Patricia Feeser DVM

Trish has become a remarkable guinea pig vet, certainly the best one in this area. She has gone out of her way to obtain the correct surgical instruments, EKG and ultrasound equipment and has learned the latest surgical techniques such as flank hysterectomies and complex jaw surgery. She stays constantly up to date with piggie medicine and is willing to use the latest medications to treat their illnesses. She treats the piggies as aggressively as she treats the larger animals and has definitely prolonged the lifespan of our herd.

Contributed by: Steve Sehr, Melvin's Place Rescue 3/12/2008

Steve is a member here and I would trust his recommendation.

grace505

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:07 am


Talishan, thank you so much for your advice!! Would you suggest going ahead and doing the nasal culture first so as to use the right A/B's? And do the combo but do it by neubulizer is what i'm reading, right? I would have to buy one, but online they're only fifty dollars and i would rather do that than risk the more severe side effects and handfeeding. Thank you also for the link to this vet, i have seen her name on here and will check it out! My sister did get them from a pet store and when i got them i found this site and guineapigcages.com and have learned soooo much! In the furture, i know a rescue nearby and have been watching the local shelter page.

grace505

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:21 am


So they said Trish has not been there for almost two years and a search found her possibly at the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Dept. doing vet stuff for them. Disappointing, but i'm taking them to the vet this morning and will discuss with him what our next steps will be. If anyone has any more advice, that's great, more info and options is always better!

grace505

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:09 pm


So back from the vet, he said no xray because he'd treat them the same way regardless and he's just taking my money for nothing. Turbo was nice enough to sneeze snot all over the side of his cage, which i promptly collected with a Q-tip (twice) for the vet, so he's going to do a culture and call me with the results.

He okay'd the Baytril/Doxy and Bactrim/Doxy combo and said to do it this weekend and let me know how it goes, but to stop if they stop eating and we'll do the neubulizer route instead.

I'm really hoping this does the trick and we can be done with this, Turbo's breathing sounded just awful at the vet's office. Will update again later.

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 2:29 pm


I've always used the nebulizer together with oral antibiotics, not instead of.

grace505

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:29 pm


So the vet said the culture had lots of white cells, gram negative and gram postive all in it. He said stick with our plan and let him know on Monday how they're doing.

Does anyone know more about meds for a neubulizer or how you get it, how much is usually costs compared to just plain pills or liquid, etc? I'm just trying to find out in case i need to go that route with these meds. Also, if anyone has any need-to-know tips regarding a neubulizer, treatments, etc, that would be great. Thank you!

Pink, can you tell me more? Like Baytril by mouth and something by neubulizer? If so, what? How did that work out? Thanks!

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:59 pm


Here's the link to Elwood's thread. He had a sinus infection, not a URI, but the treatment is similar. This tells what meds were used and how.
viewtopic.php?t=46361

Since then I had one more pig with a sinus infection. He was treated with oral Doxycycline and the same components in the nebulizer (Acetylcystene and saline), except he used injectable Baytril (in nebulizer) instead of Amikacin.

grace505

Post   » Fri Mar 30, 2012 8:01 pm


Pink, thank you!!

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