Eye discharge and squinting

Alibabble

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 1:08 am


we tried to get a vet to see him but they won´t...going to try another vet in town

pinta

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 1:22 am


Damn. He really needs hydration with warm fluids. It´s extremely important that he swallows if you are feeding him. If the food or fluid gets into his lungs - pneumonia will result.

Try wrapping him in towels right out of the dryer.

Alibabble

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 1:48 am


Sweetheart passed away about a half an hour ago. I was busy printing off some pages from Guinea Lynx so that I could quote them to the damn vet on the other end of the line. Corey was holding Sweetheart at the end, he just stopped moving and passed away.

I´m going to lodge a complaint with my vet, the emergency vet suggested sugar water and nothing else.. despite my insistence that this was serious. I don´t know what to do, Sweetheart was not quite two years old.

pinta

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 1:57 am


Oh God. I´m so sorry. This is worth bringing up to someone. If possible I would strongly reccomend an autopsy. When they go this fast there is usually an underlying reason and it will do a lot to give you closure to know exactly what happened. The fridge is the best place for the body until you can get it done.

The two most recent ones I lost that quickly turned out to have heart disease and chronic pneumonia as well as liver problems. One also had kidney problems. The vet said it was a miracle they were functioning at all. Neither of them showed any signs of problems until the first URI synptoms and then they were gone within a day. The URI was just enough to crash their compromised systems.

At least if you have an autopsy done- you´ll know what happened.

I am so sorry. I´ve been where you are many times and know how much it hurts.

pinta

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 2:36 am


I want you to know you did everything right. I really don´t think the Chloropalm is to blame. When they can´t tolerate an antibiotic it usually is just evidenced by diarrhrea or discomfort. Once the drug is out of their system, they improve.

I think there was something more going on. And sometimes there are no earlier symptoms for you to catch. All you can do is what you did. The speed of the decline signifies something more than a URI. It is more indicative of an organ shutdown. But only an autopsy will tell you if that´s the case.

So please don´t beat yourself up. You did everything right.

pinta

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 3:01 am


I would consider putting Gavin on Baytril as a preventative measure, at least until you know what you were dealing with. Although all indications are that this was more than a URI, you will feel better if you are being proactive and I don´t think a course of Baytril will do him any harm. It´s worth asking your vet about.

Alibabble

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 5:07 am


Thank you for the reassurance, I definitely needed it. There were absolutely no earlier signs, his appetite was fine and Monday morning he did a few laps around the cage and he and Gavin had a brief head butting session. By Monday afternoon he was sick but I thought would be okay until morning. This morning I was very thankful that I had an early vet appointment. By this evening I was extremely concerned, and later this evening (when I was phoning the vets) both my boyfriend and I were afraid that Sweetheart was dying.

I´m definitely going to put Gavin on a preventative course of antibiotics. Does anyone know if a URI, or something to that effect, could be passed on to any other rodents or to the bunny?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 7:23 am


My guess is it is the particular bacteria involved, the amount of contact and the health of the well animal (not every animal will catch everything it´s exposed to).

I am so sorry you lost Sweetheart. This was so very quick. You noticed something was wrong right away and tried to get him treatment. I´m so very sorry you lost him.

pinta

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 7:45 am


Bordetella can, although I´m not sure about the other rodents. Ask your vet to check for that specifically or anything else that can be passed to other species. I really think you should do an autopsy. Hillyer Quesenberry´s book says to submit blood sample to see if white blood cell count is up or if neutrophilia is present Submit sample of nasal exudate for bacteria culture and sensitinity testing.

Chloramphenicol succinate injectable is recommended in one of my books(Harkness) for Bordetella. Another book has Chloramphenicol(30-50mg/kg q12 PO) Trimethoprim/sulfa(30-50mg/kg q12 PO) and Enrofloxacin (5-10mg/kg q12 PO or IM) plus fluid therapy, oxygen force feeding an C supplementation for Bordetella.

Until you know what it was I would have Gavin treated preventatively for Bordetella. If he´s fine, the drugs won´t hurt him. If he´s coming down with something they may save him.

I don´t mean to scare you I just think you should take precautions until you can get a diagnosiis of what was wrong with Sweetheart especially since the rabbit is fairly new and they are known to sometimes carry Bordetella (I had forgotten about the rabbit). But dogs and cats can carry it too. Kennel Cough is Bordetella.

Evangeline

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 8:22 am


I just thought of that, too. Your bun hasn´t been tested for Bordetella, right? Maybe you could have him tested, just to be on the safe side?

I´m so very sorry for your loss. You did everything you could and I don´t think Chloramphenicol is to blame, since I´ve had excellent results with it in the past. And you DID catch it early. On the other hand, sugar water??? What the hell?? This vet needs to be slapped.

badonahue

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 8:49 am


Hi Alibabble. I am so sorry for your loss. The very same thing happened to me two weeks ago with our piggie Zelda. She went down hill so fast. Unfortunately, some vets just don´t understand the severity of a URI in a guinea pig. I feel confident, and you should as well, that we did all we could.

We are in the middle of moving to a new house right now so I don´t want to get a new piggie until we are settled. I can´t wait!!

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Becky

Post   » Wed Apr 17, 2002 7:46 pm


I´m so sorry, Alibabble. You must be sad. You have been a great mom to your little guy. I´m sure Sweetheart knows you did everything you could.

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