Older pig, sudden illness

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:42 am


I do not know if this would work but it is sometimes used for pododermatitis - using a cement antibiotic bead impregnated with an otherwise dangerous medication like penicillin (which must not be given orally), placed within the abscess. Ideally, you would (after a period of not giving antibiotics) have the vet try to get a sample of the active bacteria in the abscess to identify it and determine the best antibiotic to use. Since guinea pigs don't do well with some antibiotics, the beads are a way to target a potentially dangerous med to a particular area. You would have to monitor for any reactions to the antibiotic.
www.guinealynx.info/pododermatitis.html
www.guinealynx.info/antibiotic_advice.html

SamandMel2

Post   » Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:33 am


I believe that is what they were unable to do then.
We don’t know how he got it. Probably a cut that got infected although it seemed different than that.

SamandMel2

Post   » Mon Apr 29, 2019 5:10 pm


Oh wow! I have never heard of that. If we can get this illness solved I will definitely be contacting vets outside of our area.
Multiple vets I’ve talked to have said surgery is the only option. It’s interesting to hear that it could be solved with antibiotics.
Thank you so much for the info!

SamandMel2

Post   » Mon May 13, 2019 4:22 pm


Alright so I figured I should post an update as we have more info Incase others have similiar symptoms.

Unfortunately it’s not looking good for our little guy.

He was on antibiotics for about 2 weeks to treat a possible UTI. His pee had cleared up while on them, being a bright yellow instead of pink or orange. Once we finished the antibiotics his pee turned back to pink. The antibiotics also caused him to bloat which went away once we stopped.

We were able to get him to his other vet a couple hours away this morning who is more knowledgdable. The vet decided to take xrays check his back teeth and take a urine sample. They put him under gas during this and unfortunately his heart rate dropped so they had to stop. They only got X-rays. Which did not show suspected bladder stones, but showed his abdomen had water in it. Our vet suspects cancer to be the cause. She was unable to get a urine sample after trying again.
She gave us a different antibiotic to treat to a possible UTI again due to his pee color.
She thinks he’ll be comfortable for a while longer and has suggested metacam twice fair. He’s eating happily and still has lots of life left in him.

We are disappointed by this prognosis but will be doing everything we can to keep our boy happy.

Any tips and suggestions are appreciated.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon May 13, 2019 9:57 pm


I am sorry to hear he is having these issues. I wish I had more advice to give you.

What antibiotics has he been on?

SamandMel2

Post   » Tue May 14, 2019 7:16 pm


He has been on IC Sulfame for 2 weeks and seemed to be in less pain and had regular pee by the end, despite the bloat.

He is now starting deoxycycline for another 2 weeks as long as he takes it well.

He’s eating and drinking tons but not gaining weight so everything is truly pointing towards an underlying issue. We are devastated. Thank you for all of your help.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue May 14, 2019 7:51 pm


I'm sorry for the discouraging news. Was the vet able to rule out heart issues? What did the vet base the cancer diagnosis on, besides fluid in the abdomen?

SamandMel2

Post   » Tue May 14, 2019 9:05 pm


Honestly she said she didn’t know what was the actual issue. She listed cancer as a possibility due to the fluid. Heart issue could be another possibility. His heart rate did drop when they tried to sedate him with gas.
She wasn’t able to do much testing because he was too weak to be sedated and too feisty without. At this point it seems we should just keep him comfy.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed May 15, 2019 11:57 am


If it was heart related, this page may help you:
www.guinealynx.info/heart.html

SamandMel2

Post   » Sat May 18, 2019 6:28 pm


Thank you!

SamandMel2

Post   » Tue Jun 25, 2019 11:49 am


Hi folks so our boy is still going strong. He’s still on antibiotics and pain meds as he seems to do better on both. He eats and drinks like crazy. He’s always wheeking and squeaking. We can tell he is still sick and in pain as he doesn’t lie down and sleep like he used to. Maybe because of the fluid in his abdomen. And his poops are good but not normal.

His pee is dark and smells sweet. I read this is a sign of diabetes. We are gonna try to adjust his diet to one that would help a piggy with diabetes. We are also going to call our vet with questions on this.

Any suggestions? Thanks again.

SamandMel2

Post   » Tue Jun 25, 2019 2:48 pm


I did a urine strip test and if guinea pigs are normal between 60-125mg in glucose then he might be. The strip goes as low as 100mg and it didn’t change even change to the lowest color. I could send pics if that would help.

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