Post by moletteuk on Mar 16, 2016 17:28:57 GMT
Some of you may be aware that something is up with Molly, since I already mentioned elsewhere about trying to get a course of antibiotics into her. I thought I would tell the tale from scratch in case anyone has any ideas, because we really aren't sure what is going on with her.
She started off with a bare patch on her inside hip around the start of the year and being very slightly sniffly/ sneezy maybe six weeks ago (not entirely certain of the timing on that). We took her to the vet about a month ago, had the bare patch checked out, tried her on painkillers for a week because she has had leg injury in the past. The skin looks perfect apart from the odd nick where she has got carried away even more with the overgrooming. The painkillers didn't help, and the more I though about it, the more likely it seems like she is overgrooming herself. Molly is very highly strung and nervous and has overgroomed her cagemates on their backs in the springtime before. The patch has moved around a bit and when I occasionally see her grooming it, it isn't with any particular urgency. She has no evidence of pain or restriction of movement.
A week or so after the painkillers finish, the sniffles seem to get a bit worse, she is sneezing, and doing a rapid headshake like shaking water off, as though she has an itch or pain or pressure in her head, her breathing looks heavier than normal, so we decide with the vet to try antibiotics as it seems she might have a sinus infection. She isn't really producing any mucus from her nose. She isn't really right in herself, she is sitting around looking a bit sorry for herself in the evenings while the other two are busy. As already mentioned elsewhere, we struggle to get the antibiotics into her so she ends up being on them for 11 or 12 days getting the full dose for the last 5 or 6 days. I end the course abruptly when I notice her poo smells bad. She hasn't been herself at all while she has been on the antibiotics, she sits quite hunched up, fur fluffed up, and her breathing looks quite heavy. She doesn't look this bad all the time though, she still mooches about sometimes, still moves rapidly when she wants to, still interacting normally with the others.
So the antibiotics finished last Saturday night and since then I have been trying to get her stomach back on track presuming that the antiobiotics have upset her gut. I have been offering Vetark Pro C probiotics which is the most easily available probiotic that I could buy right away on Sunday, although it does have glucose on so I need to be careful with it. Basically I've mixed it with a few seeds and put some in the water every other day so they have fresh water in between because they are drinking less with it in the water. I've also ordered some Protexin Fibreplex paste to try. I think the smell is reducing and I have seen her eat healthy looking poo (presumably from Alice) which is good news.
We took her to the vet again today because she isn't looking any better and today was the last convenient day this week to take her. I think the sniffles, sneezing and head shake have improved a bit on the antibiotics. The vet couldn't hear any crackling or noises from her breathing (I haven't heard any noises either and I have tried sticking my ear in face several times), he did an amazing job checking her cheek teeth (with no sedation) and said they looked good, so at least that is very reassuring.
He advised us to keep trying the probiotics and to mix some of Alice's poo into a paste if possible to help repopulate her gut flora (although I think she is eating it anyway so I might hold off on this as she isn't normally interested in wet food). I mentioned that Flossie's noisy breathing issue has been worse over the last couple of weeks so I have ordered a nebuliser (as was advised last time her breathing was bad), so he thinks it is a good idea to try nebulising Molly and Flossie (with F10SC ).
The vet said he would refer the case to Edinburgh uni for specialist advice.
One last thing, all of them are off their nuggets at the moment, which is unusual for them, they have all lost weight this winter, probably about 30g each. All have good appetite, just being fussier.
Any ideas or observations would be gratefully received.
She started off with a bare patch on her inside hip around the start of the year and being very slightly sniffly/ sneezy maybe six weeks ago (not entirely certain of the timing on that). We took her to the vet about a month ago, had the bare patch checked out, tried her on painkillers for a week because she has had leg injury in the past. The skin looks perfect apart from the odd nick where she has got carried away even more with the overgrooming. The painkillers didn't help, and the more I though about it, the more likely it seems like she is overgrooming herself. Molly is very highly strung and nervous and has overgroomed her cagemates on their backs in the springtime before. The patch has moved around a bit and when I occasionally see her grooming it, it isn't with any particular urgency. She has no evidence of pain or restriction of movement.
A week or so after the painkillers finish, the sniffles seem to get a bit worse, she is sneezing, and doing a rapid headshake like shaking water off, as though she has an itch or pain or pressure in her head, her breathing looks heavier than normal, so we decide with the vet to try antibiotics as it seems she might have a sinus infection. She isn't really producing any mucus from her nose. She isn't really right in herself, she is sitting around looking a bit sorry for herself in the evenings while the other two are busy. As already mentioned elsewhere, we struggle to get the antibiotics into her so she ends up being on them for 11 or 12 days getting the full dose for the last 5 or 6 days. I end the course abruptly when I notice her poo smells bad. She hasn't been herself at all while she has been on the antibiotics, she sits quite hunched up, fur fluffed up, and her breathing looks quite heavy. She doesn't look this bad all the time though, she still mooches about sometimes, still moves rapidly when she wants to, still interacting normally with the others.
So the antibiotics finished last Saturday night and since then I have been trying to get her stomach back on track presuming that the antiobiotics have upset her gut. I have been offering Vetark Pro C probiotics which is the most easily available probiotic that I could buy right away on Sunday, although it does have glucose on so I need to be careful with it. Basically I've mixed it with a few seeds and put some in the water every other day so they have fresh water in between because they are drinking less with it in the water. I've also ordered some Protexin Fibreplex paste to try. I think the smell is reducing and I have seen her eat healthy looking poo (presumably from Alice) which is good news.
We took her to the vet again today because she isn't looking any better and today was the last convenient day this week to take her. I think the sniffles, sneezing and head shake have improved a bit on the antibiotics. The vet couldn't hear any crackling or noises from her breathing (I haven't heard any noises either and I have tried sticking my ear in face several times), he did an amazing job checking her cheek teeth (with no sedation) and said they looked good, so at least that is very reassuring.
He advised us to keep trying the probiotics and to mix some of Alice's poo into a paste if possible to help repopulate her gut flora (although I think she is eating it anyway so I might hold off on this as she isn't normally interested in wet food). I mentioned that Flossie's noisy breathing issue has been worse over the last couple of weeks so I have ordered a nebuliser (as was advised last time her breathing was bad), so he thinks it is a good idea to try nebulising Molly and Flossie (with F10SC ).
The vet said he would refer the case to Edinburgh uni for specialist advice.
One last thing, all of them are off their nuggets at the moment, which is unusual for them, they have all lost weight this winter, probably about 30g each. All have good appetite, just being fussier.
Any ideas or observations would be gratefully received.