[Gpdd] HEALTH Re: Pig has pneumonia

Penny Charlesworth piggyfriends48 at gmail.com
Fri May 9 06:48:10 EDT 2014


Hello Rachel,

Ann is away on holiday in France and may be out of reach of the internet.

Vedra of the Cambridge Cavy Trust, of which you may have heard via Ann,
always recommends giving a diuretic in cases of URIs. My Rodentologists do
the same.

I just called my Rodentologists to check the dosage of lasix and they
advise that 0.15mg is correct for an injectible dose. No more. This is
assuming that the strength of the lasix is the same. We are in England and
drugs do vary. Ann sent them some injectible Lasix some time ago but they
used it up and no longer have the packaging to check.

Your vet may keep diuretic tablets as these are frequently prescribed for
dogs. I always keep a few of these in my piggy medicine box. Mine are
Furosemide and are exactly the same as humans take.

The piggy dose for these tablets is 20mg. They come as 40mg tablets so you
break one in half, crush it between two teaspoons until it is a powder, add
a little water from a syringe and stir it up. Then draw up the mixture into
the syringe (  a 1ml one is best ) and give it to piggy. A second dose can
be given on the second day but this time only use one quarter of the
original tablet ( 10mg ) and use the remaining 10mg ( quarter tablet ) on
the third day.

So, to sum up, the injectible dose is far lower than that which can be
given by tablet. Take care.

Anyone with a human friend who takes furosemide should ask for a few
tablets to keep for piggies. You never know when you might need a diuretic
and the vet is shut. It cannot hurt to give a dose and you might save a
little life.

And, of course, various foods have diuretic qualities - dandelion is best
as it is high in potassium. Many diuretics will lower potassium in the
piggy so top this up by giving banana,  a great source of potassium.
Syringe it if piggy will not eat it himself. Piggies that will normally run
away from a banana will often take it by syringe.

All the best for Merrie. Keep him warm and be prepared to syringe feed him
if he goes off his food.

Penny and the Piggyfriends. ( usual disclaimer - I have no veterinary
training but have cared for piggies for decades and have learned from the
best, Peter Gurney, my Rodentologists and a wonderful vet - plus a lot of
common sense! )



More information about the Gpdd mailing list