[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Abbie and URI meds

[Ann Evans]

Dear Abbie, Kip and the GPDD Family,

The purpose of the GPDD is for members to share information, so never be 
afraid to ask questions. Penny Charlsworth gave you a very good answer. 
I will translate her answer from British to American English. Like her 
rodentologist, I too have been trained by the Cambridge Cavy Trust and 
British Association of Rodentologist (BAR). 
http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/
However I live in Tampa Florida and have operated a cavy rescue and 
sanctuary for over 26 years. I also volunteer at Dr. Frank Bonsack 
veterinary hospital where I see all of his cavy patients. Dr. Bonsack 
has a special interest in cavies. http://adventureanimalhospital.com/
In general upper respiratory infections (URI) involve the nose, sinuses 
and can involve the middle ear. Most URI’s are caused by viruses such as 
the common cold but secondary bacterial infections can occur. Evidence 
of a cold or infection may be seen in the form of a wet or mucal 
discharge from the nose. A wet appearance of the nasal passages usually 
suggests a viral infection or allergy, while a mucal discharge is more 
common of a bacterial infection. The illness usually lasts 7 to 10 days. 
Cavies breathe predominately through their noses. If Kip is breathing 
through his mouth and not eating and drinking as usual you should take 
him back to the vet. This may indicate that the infection has gone to 
the lungs. If he has fluid in his lungs he will need to be treated with 
an injection of 10 mg of Lasix and there is a totally different 
treatment protocol for an infection in the lungs.

Kip should be separated from Baxter and kept indoors and warm. Neither 
of your cavies should be kept on wooden shavings. The standard treatment 
protocol for URI’s is to apply Vicks to the nose and on the bare area on 
the inside of the front wrists, four times a day. To relieve the 
swelling of the mucus membranes Children’s Ibuprofen should be given 
orally at a dose of 0.4 ml twice a day. Sudafed containing only 
Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride should be given orally at a dose of 0.4 ml 
twice a day. You may have to ask the pharmacists for this over the 
counter Sudafed. Penny mentions Bisolvon which is a mucolytic and not 
available in the USA. Allowing Kip to breath steam as Penny describes or 
putting him in the bathroom with you when you are showering to allow him 
to breath the steam has been shown to be equally effective as taking 
Bisolvon in small animals. If you cannot find the menthol crystals you 
can use oil of menthol or eucalyptus oil, which is found in the pharmacy 
where cold remedies are kept. Just add a few drops to the hot water. 
When I have a cold I put a jar that contains a few drops of one of these 
oils in the shower and breath in the steam.  The antibiotic of choice is 
pediatric Bactrim (Septrin in UK) at a dose of 0.5 ml twice a day for up 
to 10 days. I notice that Penny’s rodentologist uses 1.0 ml of this 
antibiotic twice a day. My reference is Bar Part Two 2010. I know that 
this antibiotic is the same composition in the USA as the UK.  I am a 
pharmaceutical scientist. I know this antibiotic is safe in cavies at 
either dose. The founder of BAR in 2010 updated her treatment protocols.

If Kip begins to show signs of an ear infection such as his head tilted 
to one side, he will need to be treated with Children’s Bactrim and a 
stronger anti-inflammatory called Rimadyl. Please encourage your vet to 
call Dr. Bonsack if he needs advice. I have no idea how many cavies your 
vet sees every week. Dr. Bonsack sees cavies every week and is a skilled 
cavy surgeon. There are many places on the net that will direct you to 
the questions you should ask a vet in order to Find one who is 
experienced with guinea pigs.

I am not a vet and this advice should not take the place of you 
consulting a good cavy vet.


Cheers,

Ann and the Rescued Piggys of Piggyville, Tampa Florida USA.