URI in guinea pig

Question
QUESTION: I took Peaches to the vet Mon as I noticed she was not eating.  She was down to 1.1 lbs and she had been eating some that day as he found some veggies in her mouth.  He suspected an URI so prescribed Baytril.  I have been giving it to her and hand feeding her.  I also give her Acidopholus.  How much Acidophlus should I give her as she does have diarrhea.  I gave her about 1/4 tablet once a day.  I am hand feeding her water and mashed pellets.  She won't eat on her own.  I know how much I need to feed her, but how often, around the clock?  It is now 2:30 am-just fed her but she is very listless and uncooperative. She just cries, very pathetic and heart-wrenching.  She lives with her mommy, I am so scared she will die.  When will she start getting better, if she is to recover at all?  It is almost her 4th day of being sick.  We are very attentive to our piggies, I cannot even believe she got so skinny before I noticed she may be sick.  Will she have a better chance of survival if I feed her Critical Care?  Nobody here has it but I can drive to a vet school to see if they have some. Do piggies really recover from this?  There is a dark cloud in our house...Please help.
ANSWER: Hello Angie,

I give my guys a whole crushed acidophilus tablet a day when they are on antibiotics and that has always worked well for me. Feed her 3-4 times a day, it doesn't need to be around the clock. Go for a 5th feeding if you are still uneasy, it won't hurt, but 3-4 times should be sufficent. Critical Care is a better choice if you can get it because it is easier for them to digest. Check with your vet if you haven't already. Most vets have it on hand. If not you can order it directly from Oxbow. Piggies can an do recover from URIs. Catching it early gives them the best chance. They generally get worse before better even with treatment and it usually takes about a week to 2 before they are well. I'm curious though, why he thought it was a URI. Has there been and nasal or eye discharge? Any wheezing? Did he listen to her lungs and hear rattling? If yes to any or even all of these, it is likely a URI, if not, it could be something else. I only ask because you didn't mention any discharge and that's the most common symptom of a URI. If she is having trouble breathing, you can run a vaporizor for her or take her into the bathroom with you while you shower. The steam will help clear her nasal passages a bit. Good luck. Your little Peaches will be in my prayers.

-kkat
http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your response.  I am sad to report she died today.  She just would not take any food or water, she would not swallow at all today, it would just dribble out of her mouth as she whimpered.  She gave up.  She went downhill so fast.  She did have eye discharge.  I live in a small town and don't have access to a guinea pig vet.  I think my vet was just basing the diagnosis on the eye discharge and her anorexia.  He did check her for malocclusion and that was not the problem.  Now I am worried about her mom, Ginger.  Should I weigh her weekly to make sure she isn't losing weight too?  She is eating fine.  I am worried she will go into mourning mode though.  We are going to move her cage to a more active place in the house so she's in the middle of everything.  We will be cuddling her alot the next few days.  

Answer
Hello Angie,

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's terrible to lose them that way. Keep an eye on Ginger. Weighing them weekly is recommended as a regular practice anyway so yes, that would be a good idea. She will likely be ok but monitor her eating closely for the next week or so. Spending alot of time with her is an excellent idea right now. My heart goes out to you right now. I know you did all you could. Sometimes they just can't beat it.

-kkat