Clicking/Wheezing

[Cheknnudol]

Yesterday morning I found Riley sitting in the corner of his cage with his nose between the bars making the strangest clicking sound every time he inhaled. I figured that was some kind of wheezing, checked with some members here, and ended up going in to the vet. They put him on oxygen right away and as we were going to do chest x-rays to test for pneumonia he apparently started going downhill. I okayed the vet's request to just start a regimen of baytril and metacam (what much else can you do with chins anyhow?) which caused a complete turnaround in his condition. Over the next few hours he was doing much better, and we were able to get the x-rays done. By the time I took him home it was like nothing had ever happened (little faker ); his breathing was perfect, he was active, and I'm pretty sure he almost took my hand off when I gave him fresh hay when we got home.

In any case, my question is this:
The x-rays showed his lungs were completely clear. No pneumonia or infection that the vet could see. So what the heck were the breathing troubles all about? The vet's best guesses were, 1. pneumonia that we can't see, 2. asthma, 3. allergies. Invisible diseases? Chin asthma? Chin allergies? What?

He seems to be doing much better now but I'd like to be certain that the current regimen of baytril, metacam, and probiocin is actually going to kick whatever this is.

Also, I'm not sure how isolated I should be keeping him from the other pets in the house. I have him in a carrier atm so I can monitor his "output" on the Baytril, but if this is contagious should he not be in the same room as his cagemate?

 

[GorillaJTA]

It could still be a URI without being pneumonia. I would separate him from cagemates and other animals as much as possible and leave him in the carrier to limit his activity a bit.

 

[Riven]

Clicking is usually signs of a URI. There is actually a gal who got a chin from me and I stopped by because she was concerned, he has a URI and while I was there it was the closest thing I'd ever seen to a cough from a chin. I know they can't vomit, but I'd never heard them cough either...

I would keep him separate and closely monitor his cage mate. Usually a good ol' listen of the chest will tell you if it's stuffy or not. Xrays show fluid, but necessarily infections unless they are very advanced.

Be sure to follow out the entire regimen of baytril, many people do a bit then stop because they chin is looking better, this leaves the bug in there to come back stronger.

Good luck and good job getting him to the vet asap.

 

[Cheknnudol]

Thanks guys. Would it be prudent to put his cagemate on a regimen as well, even though he is showing no symptoms? How likely is it that the vet would prescribe me a secondary course of the meds if Liam did start showing signs of a URI as well?