[Gpdd] [Health] Heart Disease

[Dawnda Stricklen]

Hello

I have had 4 guinea pigs with congestive heart
failure. Three of the four are still alive. The fourth
went into renal failure and was unable to get the
fluid out. In the case of renal failure, it's best to
get them to the vet and put to sleep before their
lungs fill up and they drown. I couldn't get a vet in
fast enough with Sophie on a Sunday night. I still get
very upset to even think about it. They will start
drinking continually with renal failure. They will
stay at the water bottle. As soon as they quite
eating, you'll know to get them to the vet. It won't
take long for their lungs to fill up.

Lasix is a good diuretic, but all diuretics can
irritate the bladder. Sabrina was always getting
bladder infections from the irritation. She eventually
started forming stones. We have now switched her to a
very old diuretic, Diuril. It was used before Lasix
and irritates her bladder less, but it is an every
12-hour drug instead of a 24-hour like Lasix.
I give the Diuril, as needed. When it is time for a
dose, I listen to their breathing. If they are
congested, I give them a dose. If not, I skip that
dose. That way it irritates the bladder less. The vet
said it was a good idea to give just as needed. 
When Sabrina first got it, I couldn't skip any doses.
She was always congested at the next dosage time. I
had to increase the dosage until she wasn't badly
congested by the next dose. Now I rarely have to give
her a dose. I can't figure out why. She just turned 4
years old last month. She's a tough old girl. 

If your pig gets worse, you may have to increase the
dosage. Sabrina has been on it for years, so the lasix
really lengthens their life span. Ginger has been on
it 6 months and Brandi has been on it a couple of
months. 

Dawnda



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