sick guinea pig with uri

Question
We have a 1 y/o pig that has been battling uri's since he was about 4 months. I started noticing him sneezing and coughing at times.  We use timothy hay and stall bedding pellets for his bedding.  We also have another pig housed in with him that has never had any health issues.  The first time he got a uri, he had a snotty nose and some wheezing.  We put tetramycin in his water and it went away.  The second infection was contracted a couple of months ago and so I took him to the vet.  She prescribed baytril orally for 7 days.  The uri got somewhat better, but he still sounded wheezy at times.  No labored breathing was noted.  Last week I noticed he had severe labored breathing and was very wheezy, but no nasal discharge.  We tried the baytril again for 4 days and no improvement was noted.  So my vet put him on tetracycline and he has been on it for almost 4 days now and I have seen some improvement.  He is not breathing as heavy, but I still notice he draws his flanks in.  It sounds like there is fluid in his lungs when I listen with a stethoscope, but his heart sounds good. No nasal discharge, but he is still wheezy.  It almost sounds as if he needs to cough and clear his throat.  It sounds like a rattly noise in the upper airways at times.  He is still eating real well and moving around like normal, but I notice he has not been drinking much water.  So I started syringe feeding him water several times a day. How much water should he have in a days time and do you have any idea about what might be going on with him?  I have been researching forum websites and it looks like it could be allergies, pneumonia, or even heart problems.  I have asked the vet about lasix and xrays.  He thinks the xrays would be a waste of time and I can tell he feels uncomfortable about prescribing lasix.  I may have to go to another vet possibly.  

Answer
That pig needs 2 puffs from an albuterol inhaler, every 4 hours.  Know anyone with asthma? These repeated upper resp. infections are NOT good!  Could even be something metabolic -- diabetes, liver, who knows.  Any machines (car, lawn mover, snow blower, etc.) run near the cage?  Also, any smokers in the house?  Wood burning stove, fireplace?  Candles?  Incense?
Then get a NEW (one it hasn't had yet -- ever) broad spectrum antibiotic & MAKE SURE it gets it's doses on time every day for NO LESS than 10 days!  Sounds like the other antibiotics might not have been given long enough to kill off the cause, but might now be resistant.  Steroids might help, but figuring out that dosage might give one a headache.  I would look for a vet that might have a little more experience with exotic animals.  The above advice comes from a friend of mine, she is not a vet, but is very knowledgeable on the subject matter.  Give him as much water as he'll take, 5-10cc's at a time several times a day.  
I hope this helps you some, make sure you tell the new vet what antibiotics he has been on.
Anngela