Possible URI

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Nov 14, 2017 4:17 pm


What is the harmful ingredient? Antibiotics that are dangerous when ingested can still be used in the eye, if that is what you are worried about.

Cutepiggies

Post   » Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:13 am


I am happy to report her eye is doing better. The inflammation is subsiding and it’s not as red anymore. However I gave her just one dose of the antibiotic so I don’t think that’s what’s healing her eye. I am inclined to believe it’s the antibiotic eye ointment that I used.Talking of the antibiotic it must taste awful because Pumpkin fights me so much when I try to give it to her.

@bpatters, thank you so much for that idea, I made balls out of the critical care and she absolutely loved them. She ate a smaller one and a larger one yesterday. However , she was disinterested in them today, but I left them in their food bowl so I’ll see she ate them when I get home tonight. I also have these vitamin C tablets from oxbow that I’ll be feeding her.

Her weight went up to 530g yesterday but this morning it’s back to 523g. So far her weight goes up one day and it’s back to 523g the next day. Perhaps it’s a trend, I’ll see in the coming days if it keeps doing that.

@Lynx I wish I remembered the name, I believe the antibiotic was tetracycline but that’s not what the vet said wasn’t good for guinea pigs. There was another ingredient that started with a p, not penicillin, that he said was bad for them.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Nov 15, 2017 11:41 am


Seven grams isn't a trend. It's less than the weight of one teaspoon of water, so can be accounted for by whether or not she's recently peed.

Glad she's improving!

Cutepiggies

Post   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 6:58 am


Oh alright, I guess I am just hoping her weight will increase soon.

Her eye is doing so much better it’s about 80% healed by now, however she’s not doing too good. She is now lethargic and stopped eating. When I weighed her this morning she was 496g that’s a loss of 27g. Could it be the antibiotic? She was eating before I started giving it to her. I am going to call the vet today and ask about it, but I don’t know what to do in the meantime. I still gave her the antibiotic today, but I don’t know if that was a good choice. I thought I shouldn’t just stop it before asking the vet about it. I also fed her some critical care with a syringe but she wouldn’t take more than 6cc.

I am thinking I made a huge mistake by giving it to her, but I don’t know if it’s because of the antibiotic or if she does have an URI and it showed up. Perhaps I should have tried bactrim first and then switched to this antibiotic. My other guinea pig never had any adverse effects on bactrim.

Cutepiggies

Post   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:44 am


Yesterday when I came home she was acting fine, and wheeking for veggies. I gave her the antibiotic first thing when I woke up so I wouldn’t forget because I had to leave early again. She was also acting fine when I took her out today wheeking like she usually does. I only noticed she wasn’t doing well when I put her back in the cage. She just stood still when she usually popcorns and runs around. I didn’t get to watch her for too long as I had to leave.

I am so worried because today I’ll be in school for the majority of the day again and I won’t be able to keep an eye on her.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 8:56 am


Is there anyone to hand feed her? Your description of her lethargy could be related to the antibiotic and/or illness and sounds very serious.

I would call your vet asap.
antibiotic_advice.html
handfeeding.html
uri.html

Cutepiggies

Post   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 12:19 pm


Thank you for your reply.

I talked with the vet and he said I should discontinue doxycycline and put her on bactrim. I also managed to finish my appointment earlier and went home to syringe feed her about 6 cc more of critical care. Sadly I am not going to be home for another 6 hours and there no one else home. I will try to see if I can leave class early to make it home earlier and give her some more critical care.

I am guessing if it was an URI she would have shown other symptoms besides sneezing for one month. I feel so bad for giving her that extra dose of the antibiotic, I hope it will clear away from her system and she will return to her old self. Would giving her extra liquids speed up the process?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 8:25 pm


I don't think you did anything wrong. She may be just very ill. Be sure to weigh her daily right now and do all you can to get enough food into her (see hand feeding link above).

Extra liquids will help hydrate her.

Cutepiggies

Post   » Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:03 am


Perhaps she is ill although I hope it’s just an allergic reaction.

I think she is getting better, she’s moving around a bit more and takes nibbles of the hay and veggies I put out for them. I even saw her at the pellets bowls a couple of times. Meanwhile I am still handfeeding her, and yes I read that link, thank you.

Her eye looks completely normal, she closes it sometimes but besides that it’s fine. I hope in the coming days as the doxycycline wears off she’ll go back to her usual self.

Cutepiggies

Post   » Sun Nov 19, 2017 6:05 pm


After a period of time in which I thought I was gonna lose her she seems to be back with a bang. She’s constantly trying to lick Bella’s bottom. I’ve been reading online about this and it says that sometimes it may happen to pigs on antibiotics, is this true? Or is it perhaps related to the vitamin shots she got yesterday? Or maybe she’s just in heat?

She still won’t eat much on her own so I am feeding her every 2-4 hours 6-12cc of critical care and some other supplements from oxbow. I am managing to keep her weight at around 496g. I am taking the constant bottom sniffing and licking as a good sign since now she’s running after Bella at floor time rather than sitting in one corner hunched over. But Bella doesn’t appreciate it, she keeps giving annoyed loud squeaks.

What I learned is that her poor condition was not due to the doxycycline, but something else. However, I have no idea what as she didn’t show any other symptoms that would point to any other illness. Two good things happened, one is that she now sneezes less, maybe once or twice a day. As opposed to 3-4 times an hour. The other is that her eye is completely healed.

Sorry for the long post and constant questions, I keep getting worried there might be something wrong with them and I am trying to catch it on time so that I don’t lose them. Also thank you guys for taking the time to read this and helping me out!

Cutepiggies

Post   » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:49 am


Hey guys, I thought I’d update on Pumpkin. She stopped trying to lick Bella’s bottom after I took her off the antibiotic and she’s been doing extremely well. She started gaining weight again, she’s up to 543g as of today.

I gradually took her off the critical care, should I still make balls out of it and put them in the cage? And if so for how long? Also when is it safe to stop weighing daily and weigh weekly instead?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Dec 07, 2017 2:13 pm


I would continue frequent weighing in case she has any problems. I'd wait at least a week of good healthy guinea pig, gaining weight and not being sick, before I cut back weighing.

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