[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Pneumonia

DebJonSara at aol.com DebJonSara at aol.com
Tue Apr 13 11:36:12 EDT 2004


I believe I have now lost 2 guinea pigs to pneumonia. Both had the symptoms 
of weight loss, lethargy, laboured breathing and, towards the end, noisy 
breathing and lack of appetite. All the GP websites say to contact your nearest 
exotics vet the moment your GP presents any or all of these symptoms. But what are 
those of us supposed to do who genuinely do not have access to any vet who 
has established experience of treating guinea pigs? Certainly this is true of my 
position, here in rural Northwest France - the Net and telephone are my only 
guinea-pig-savvy resources.

When my first GP exhibited all these symptoms, Vedra at the Cambridge Cavy 
Trust told me, over the telephone, that I should administer a daily 1ml 
injection for 5 days comprising 0.4ml Bisolvon, 0.3ml 2.5% Baytril (Trimenhroprim) and 
0.3ml Dexadressen; in addition they should have 0.2ml Forusemide daily for 2 
days, and 10ml Ringers Solution 4 times a day. When I presented these notes to 
my vet in France, she prescribed 4 daily 0.3ml injections of Voren suspension 
(Dexamethasone), injection of 0.2ml 5% Baytril with 3ml Ringers Solution 
daily for 5 days, 0.2ml Dimazon for 2 days and 10ml Ringers Solution, 4 times a 
day. I must admit, I didn't give Poivre the 4 Ringers injections, as she was 
still nibbling a tiny bit on wet fruit and greens - and I couldn't bear to inject 
her any more. Before injections became necessary, ie when Poivre was still 
eating, the vet prescribed half a 5mg Marbocyl (Marbofloxacine) tablet crushed 
in her food once a day, plus half an 8mg Bisolvon tablet morning and night - 
injectable Bisolvon does not appear to be available in France. Poivre weighed 
1120g when she first showed her symptoms.

Was there anything more or different we could have tried? My vet admits her 
ignorance, and is basically willing to presecribe anything I tell her my 
Internet friends have told me works. I have read that pneumonia often develops as a 
result of another longterm, underlying health problem. I wasn't aware of 
anything with Poivre, other than that we had a constant battle to stop her curled 
claws digging into her footpads - but we did succeed. She didn't show any signs 
of illness until about her last week.

I would be really grateful if people could post their experience of URI in 
guinea pigs. Do you know of a guinea pig that made a full recovery, and if so, 
what was the successful treatment? Or did you have a piggie that died in spite 
of treatment? Once they have stopped eating, does that mean the infection is 
too severe and no longer responds to treatment, in which case euthanasia should 
be considered?

Also - I have a rabbit with Bordatella. She doesn't live in the same room as 
my guinea pigs, but she is a house rabbit, and does wander in there from time 
to time. Would she be the cause of Poivre's death? My vet is equally in the 
dark about rabbit medicine, and the antibiotics the rabbit has been on haven't 
worked - this has been a saga lasting over a year now. Are my other piggies at 
risk from her - or from having been in either the same cage or at least the 
same room as Poivre? Should I be administering some kind of antibiotic to them 
all as a preventative measure? I am extremely reluctant to administer 
antibiotics unnecessarily, for fear of developing "superbugs" which will prove 
resistant when symptoms appear. So far none of my other guinea pigs have shown any 
sign of illness (nor, indeed, have the 2 rabbits who live constantly with the 
infected one).

Those of you who have vets that really know and understand guinea pigs have 
absolutely no idea how frustrating it is to have a sick piggie and no one to 
whom one can turn with confidence. Yes, I can ring the CCT or write to the DSN - 
but I am well aware of the difficulties involved when experienced 
veterinarians are required to make diagnoses without even seeing the patient, let alone 
making any kind of physical examination. And when emergencies arise, there 
often isn't time to write a long email or chase someone up on the phone.

I still have 12 piggies. I dread the next developing breathing difficulties. 
What will I do? Do I ask the vet to put the piggie to sleep as soon as a 
symptom appears? Do I administer precautionary antibiotics the moment any piggie 
sneezes or fails to come out of its box when food is put in the cage? Or do I 
jump straight on in there with my needles, whilst the piggie is still strong 
enough to withstand the stress of being firmly held and injected? 

I would be really pleased if we could have a wide long discussion on here on 
URI in guinea pigs, that would come up when people search the archives on 
"pneumonia" like I did, and serve as a resource for slaves and vets alike faced 
with symptoms such as I describe. Yes of course, treatment is the domain of the 
experienced vet and not amateur slaves like me - but please spare a thought 
for those of us for whom experienced guinea pig vets are not an option.

Debbie  



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