Hannah Boo
Junior Guinea Pig
I've posted on here a few times about the problems I've experienced. I lost two pigs in the space of 6 months (at 2yrs old and 2.5yrs old). After I lost the first one (Maggie) I introduced 2 Teddy baby pigs from a breeder I've known for years to Muffin who had been left on her own when Maggie died. By the way Maggie and Muffin were originally from Pets at Home (I took them in from my husbands Auntie who wanted to rehouse them). I've always got my previous guinea pigs from a local breeder who shows guinea pigs and have never experienced problems in the past with my pigs living between 5 and 7 yrs old. Crumpet and Doughnut are from this breeder - so I'm wondering if Maggie and Muffin had some kind of illness because they were pet shop pigs which when I introduced the baby pigs from the breeder it passed to them (possible maybe?)
A few weeks after introducing the baby pigs (Crumpet and Doughnut) to Muffin, Crumpet started sneezing and had wet nose. Muffin then started getting slightly wet nose. It was very rare to see Doughnut with a wet nose, and I haven't seen her with one for months now. Muffin progressed into having congested nose and this was noisy 'snorty' sort of noises. Even after treatment of baytril I think this progressed to pnemonia as her breathing sounded very wet and she had sticky wet closed eyes the morning I rushed her to the vets. I had to have her pts as she didn't improve, couldn't feed her critical care as liquid was coming out her mouth and she was making strange heaving noises like she was coughing up the critical care/ liquid.
I have to stress all piggies had been on baytril two or three times. I never wasted anytime with Muffin and on a different occasion when she stopped eating she spent a whole day at the vets having critical care and they pulled her through that time.
Muffin was put down in February as she had lost masses of weight wasn't eating or drinking and was very weak with very laboured wet breathing.
I moved my two remaining Teddy pigs (Crumpet and Doughnut) indoors just over a month ago as I was scared the cold winter might pish Crumpet over the edge (she has had on and off wet nose/ occasional sneezing) ever since I got her in August 2009. Doughnut I would say is fine. A week or two ago I noticed that Crumpet was starting to sound a little bit croaky/ congested - not as bad as Muffin had before she had to be pts, but noticeable all the same. This has calmed down again this week but if I sit and listen to her when she eats there is a very very slight noise at the moment - bit clicky but nothing too loud.
Understandably I panicked when I started hearing her 'clicky/ congested' noise. I thought straight away I'd lose her like I did with Muffin. But I was aware that I had used baytril in the past from the vets and it didn't seem to help Muffin or Crumpet. So I thought I'd email a few people on the internet - vets/ rescue places and ask them to recommend a vet. Although I had been taking my pigs to a very nice vet in Romsey who has written a book on piggy illness, I felt that if I went there again I would just be given baytril. I was scared as it hadn't helped before. I had a couple of replies from my emails giving me the name of a vet I should go and see.
So I emailed him and then had a conversation over the telephone. He asked me to bring Crumpet to him. I went last night. He looked at her - with difficulty as she was going bonkers as she's quite a lively pig. He looked in her mouth and listened to her chest. He said it sounded like there was fluid on her chest (I can't remember his exact words as I was stressed because Crumpet was stressed). He knows from my email that I want to get to the bottom of the problems I've experienced, so he's going to take action. He has asked me to take Crumpet to vets on Friday (6 days time). He will have her in all day. Give her x-rays, put a little camera down to see whats going on, take a swab from her nose to see what they're dealing with, and then go from there. He said it will be under GA - by gas. It will cost around £200.
The money isn't too much of an issue, I just want re-assurance that this is the right route to take. I'm terrified about GA as she is a small animal and I don't know how Guinea Pigs deal with this. I don't want to put her through all this trauma for nothing. But then again, I'm stressed that if I don't do anything she might go downhill somewhen in the future and end up like Muffin and I will feel terrbile that I didn't take this route and find the correct treatment to cure her.
Any advice would be appreciated I don't know what to do for the best. Has anyone else gone through this, how did your Piggy cope with GA? Do I have any other option? By the way she is happy in herself, good appetite (slight weightloss - but then again so has Doughnut, but nothing to cause great concern). They are both around 950g. They live indoors now with newspaper and meadow hay as beddding (they were on woodshavings, newspaper and meadow hay up until a week ago) - but I took out woodshavings in case it aggrevates her nose. Last summer I bedded them on carefresh only but this didn't seem to make any difference so I'm pretty certain it is nothing to do with bedding, but more likely some kind of contagious URI perhaps.
Plese help me, I want to make the right decision and I definitely do not want to lose another Piggy
A few weeks after introducing the baby pigs (Crumpet and Doughnut) to Muffin, Crumpet started sneezing and had wet nose. Muffin then started getting slightly wet nose. It was very rare to see Doughnut with a wet nose, and I haven't seen her with one for months now. Muffin progressed into having congested nose and this was noisy 'snorty' sort of noises. Even after treatment of baytril I think this progressed to pnemonia as her breathing sounded very wet and she had sticky wet closed eyes the morning I rushed her to the vets. I had to have her pts as she didn't improve, couldn't feed her critical care as liquid was coming out her mouth and she was making strange heaving noises like she was coughing up the critical care/ liquid.
I have to stress all piggies had been on baytril two or three times. I never wasted anytime with Muffin and on a different occasion when she stopped eating she spent a whole day at the vets having critical care and they pulled her through that time.
Muffin was put down in February as she had lost masses of weight wasn't eating or drinking and was very weak with very laboured wet breathing.
I moved my two remaining Teddy pigs (Crumpet and Doughnut) indoors just over a month ago as I was scared the cold winter might pish Crumpet over the edge (she has had on and off wet nose/ occasional sneezing) ever since I got her in August 2009. Doughnut I would say is fine. A week or two ago I noticed that Crumpet was starting to sound a little bit croaky/ congested - not as bad as Muffin had before she had to be pts, but noticeable all the same. This has calmed down again this week but if I sit and listen to her when she eats there is a very very slight noise at the moment - bit clicky but nothing too loud.
Understandably I panicked when I started hearing her 'clicky/ congested' noise. I thought straight away I'd lose her like I did with Muffin. But I was aware that I had used baytril in the past from the vets and it didn't seem to help Muffin or Crumpet. So I thought I'd email a few people on the internet - vets/ rescue places and ask them to recommend a vet. Although I had been taking my pigs to a very nice vet in Romsey who has written a book on piggy illness, I felt that if I went there again I would just be given baytril. I was scared as it hadn't helped before. I had a couple of replies from my emails giving me the name of a vet I should go and see.
So I emailed him and then had a conversation over the telephone. He asked me to bring Crumpet to him. I went last night. He looked at her - with difficulty as she was going bonkers as she's quite a lively pig. He looked in her mouth and listened to her chest. He said it sounded like there was fluid on her chest (I can't remember his exact words as I was stressed because Crumpet was stressed). He knows from my email that I want to get to the bottom of the problems I've experienced, so he's going to take action. He has asked me to take Crumpet to vets on Friday (6 days time). He will have her in all day. Give her x-rays, put a little camera down to see whats going on, take a swab from her nose to see what they're dealing with, and then go from there. He said it will be under GA - by gas. It will cost around £200.
The money isn't too much of an issue, I just want re-assurance that this is the right route to take. I'm terrified about GA as she is a small animal and I don't know how Guinea Pigs deal with this. I don't want to put her through all this trauma for nothing. But then again, I'm stressed that if I don't do anything she might go downhill somewhen in the future and end up like Muffin and I will feel terrbile that I didn't take this route and find the correct treatment to cure her.
Any advice would be appreciated I don't know what to do for the best. Has anyone else gone through this, how did your Piggy cope with GA? Do I have any other option? By the way she is happy in herself, good appetite (slight weightloss - but then again so has Doughnut, but nothing to cause great concern). They are both around 950g. They live indoors now with newspaper and meadow hay as beddding (they were on woodshavings, newspaper and meadow hay up until a week ago) - but I took out woodshavings in case it aggrevates her nose. Last summer I bedded them on carefresh only but this didn't seem to make any difference so I'm pretty certain it is nothing to do with bedding, but more likely some kind of contagious URI perhaps.
Plese help me, I want to make the right decision and I definitely do not want to lose another Piggy