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Post by cavymommy on Mar 31, 2011 3:57:19 GMT
Hi, I'm new here but I really need some advice. Both my guinea pigs caught pneumonia, so I took them both to the vet and she prescribed Doxycycline, one for two weeks and the other for 10 days. My guinea pig Toffee has finished his 10 day run.. but he still doesn't look right. His breathing still looks sketchy. I don't see any discharge and he's still eating/drinking fine but his breathes are short. My other guinea pig seems to be eating/drinking fine too (he wasn't before) but his breathing isn't looking better either. I just really have a bad feeling that the antibiotics aren't working. Advice? Any signs I should be looking for? bah.
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Post by kellyb on Mar 31, 2011 5:18:53 GMT
I would take them back to the vet. Is it an exotic vet? I know they can be hard to find, but they'll likely be more helpful than just a regular vet.
I would encourage you that if they've made it 10days - they are fighters! Some don't make it 24 hours once they have pneumonia. So I'm really glad to hear they've been holding on and eating/drinking. That is very good. But you say their breathing is still rough. I'd take them to an exotic vet if possible, if not then back to your current vet. I wouldn't wait it out to see what happens - things can go bad too quickly. So I'd play it safe and take them in.
Please keep us updated. Praying those piggies pull through!
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Post by Kayleigh on Mar 31, 2011 19:54:37 GMT
I too would seek vet advice again, they have made it past the worst part which is a great sign. Eating and drinking is also a very good thing. Keep them warm and out of draughts and make sure they have plenty of hay, pellets and fresh water.
Kayleigh
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Post by Orlaith on Mar 31, 2011 20:19:28 GMT
Could your guinea pigs be allergic to something in their cage? Maybe shavings, or, if you have fleece, the detergent you used? Or maybe they hay is really dusty?
I'm just asking because one of my piggies is allergic to most commercial brands of hay and will develop a crackly chest within a few hours of it being put in the cage. He was diagnosed with chest infections a few times before we figured out what was wrong, and now we're careful about what hay we put in. A steroid shot from the vet helps him but it isn't necessary. Taking out whatever makes him crackle is usually enough to clear his chest.
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Post by cavymommy on Apr 2, 2011 4:18:51 GMT
Update:
I've just taken Toffee to the vet today, and I was told that he wasn't as bad as I thought. She gave me a two week supply of Doxycyline for both of my piggies. She explained that they would be fine, it was just tough to get rid of pneumonia completely.
Thank you for everyones concern<3
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Post by kellyb on Apr 2, 2011 6:01:37 GMT
That is good to hear. Hopefully a full recovery soon.
As Orlaith said, pigs are so prone to allergies. Two of my girls are allergic to shavings, so I've had to go to fleece. And Sugar will start sneezing like crazy (and a couple times we've heard funny noises while she's breathing - really scared us at first) if the hay is getting down to the bottom of the bag where it's more dusty. I just throw it out once it gets to that point now. And Sugar is fine. The first night it happened I thought she had a chest infection. I separated her from the other girls which meant putting her in a nice new clean cage with better hay and within an hour she was completely back to normal. So I try very hard to keep their cages as dust free as possible.
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