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At A Loss.. What Could These Symptoms Mean?

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LeahsPiggies

LeahsPiggies

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

Me again.. Surprise surprise! Having nothing but issues with our 3 guinea pigs at the moment. :(

As you may know, Pebbles and Pringles were at the vet the other day for heavy breathing, squinting and not being so active - To cut a long story short, the vet gave us a 10 day course of septrin. 0.5ml to be given twice daily - We have been doing exactly that, and leaving the reccomended 12 hours in between each dose.

Today is the 5th day of them being on the septrin and they havn't improved. They're still lazing around, squinting/closing their eyes and breathing heavy, and I've also noticed they're scratching quite a bit. Problem is - All 3 of my guinea pigs are doing this. They're eating, drinking and pooping fine, and are still nosey and inquisitive but they have times of the day where they don't look good.

Pebbles and Pringles live together, and Porche lives alone due to being anti-social. Could this be something contagious.. If so, what? I am so confused and stressed as we've spent a fortune on vet bills recently. :(
 
Septrin is one of the best antibiotics for U.T.Is and U.R.Is - nearly all of my 7 pigs have been on septrin over the last year - you should start to see an improvement over the next couple of days- if not it will mean another trip back to the vets - a follow on consult is usually cheaper (my vet charges £10 ) the antibiotics themselves don't cost that much - I get charged about £5.50 for a 14 day course of septrin - you arnt by any chance using spray air freshners near them or fly papers at all because this can cause breathing problems - the scratching could be mites or any number of things if it is really excessive- so the vet really is the best way to go.Hope they get better soon.
 
Thank you, TAN.

I have read a lot of posts on here and other websites about septrin being one of the best drugs to use - Which is why I'm very confused and concerned about it not taking effect even after 5 days. There are basically exactly the same as before we put them on the meds. :(. Unfortunately our vets are a lot more expensive than that. A trip cost us £22 last time, that's with the consultation fee and the septrin , we also went several times a few weeks ago in which we spent over £50 for Porche.

I never use any air freshners or anything like that. They are in a shed so there isn't any need! Their bedding is shredded paper which I replace 2-3 times daily, but we will be changing bedding once we make our mind up which one to use.

I'm coming up to 16 and don't have a job yet, the money I'm paying for the vet with is from my Christmas money. Of course my parents help me out, but they need to spend over £500 to get our car fixed so they really arn't going to be happy if I keep going back and to, to the vets :(. I do have enough for now though.

If we go back next time, another course of antibiotics and mite treatment for 3 piggies is going to cost a bomb. I'm so upset, it's making me constantly depressed and worried.
 
If the symptoms don't disappear, they are pointing rather to an environmental problem; I agree on that line of investigation with TAN.
 
An environmental problem in what form? I will admit that the shed in which they live in, isn't the tidiest ATM. It has a few cobwebs and the shelves havn't been free of dust in a while :(. I am going to be giving both the shed and hutches a thorough clean tomorrow as it's the only opportunity I'll get, what with the awful weather. I will ensure that it's as clean as I can get it!
 
I am still wondering if it could be down to an allergy.

One of my girls developed a 'hoot' last year but the vet couldn't find anything physically wrong.

Although I never changed my brand of hay, it turns out it was the dust affecting her. We had a particular bad winter which caused hay to be of poorer quality.
 
I was considering it could possibly be down to the weather, but I doubt it.

If it was an allergy, surely I would've known about it sooner as they're all 3 years old now!
 
Mould, fumes, dust etc. It can be quite some detective work! :(

The symptoms you are reporting don't fit any standard respiratory illness, but as all three are affected with obviously somewhat irritated eyes, breathing and tiredness, it is the most logical avenue of investigation.
 
Hi. When my piggies had eye and breathing problems they were fixed by changing the bedding that I was using. I found that everything but fleece was too dusty for Quinn. I think this is what Wiebke and TAN are meaning by environment as it sounds like you keep it clean (minus cobwebs) I have these in my house!
 
LeahsPiggies said:
An environmental problem in what form? I will admit that the shed in which they live in, isn't the tidiest ATM. It has a few cobwebs and the shelves havn't been free of dust in a while :(. I am going to be giving both the shed and hutches a thorough clean tomorrow as it's the only opportunity I'll get, what with the awful weather. I will ensure that it's as clean as I can get it!
Click to expand...

I can totally relate to you. My piggies live free range in a shed. The bad weather is ruining it and one of the side panels is soaked on the inside where the water has seeped through the wood :(

Thankfully, it isn't affecting the piggies and I have just blocked the area off so they can't go down where the wet part is but I'm fed up with it.

It also makes it more difficult to give a full clean when it keeps raining.
 
What can I possibly do then? If I give the shed and their hutches a good and thorough clean and rule out any dust, mould etc and ensure that it never builds up to an extent again, could it settle their problems or will it no dissapear without another course of antibiotics?
 
If it is an environmental problem, the symptoms should go away once the potential issue has been removed.

If it is an illness, the antibiotics should help to cure the illness but if symptoms persist and there is no allergy, further investigation will be needed by your vet.

I'm afraid it'll be trial and error to eliminate any allergy.

Like with humans, allergies can come on at any stage in life.

Good luck, I hope that your piggies make an improvement soon. It is always a worry when we have piggies with unexplained symptoms.
 
Thank you, Claire!

I am hoping they'll start to show improvements when everything is clean and tidy. Maybe I should start leaving the shed door open for a couple of hours when it's not raining to let some air in - I don't often open it in Winter due to the wind and rain.

If the symptoms persist after I've done a full clean out then it'll be back to the vets for more antibiotics for all 3.

What does concern me though, is even when I bring Pebbles and Pringles inside, they still squint a little - So I highly doubt it is environmental even though dust and cobwebs won't help.

I'm not sure what the vet will suggest next. :(
 
I'm the same with my piggies and leave the shed door closed most of the time during the winter. It is hard to know what to do for the best.

When I have the piggies in for floor time and when I'm cleaning them out, I leave the shed door open if it isn't raining to air it out a bit whilst their not in there.

I guess all you can do is take one day at a time. Rule out any allergies and take it from there.

Hopefully if there is illness present, the antibiotics will kick in in a day or two x
 
Is there anything else in the shed like paints or any chemicals that may have recently been put in there? as their eyes and noses are much more sensitive than ours - or is it just the pigs and nothing else.
 
Thank you both. I am taking 1 day at a time - just need to order some ivermectin for when their antibiotics have finished to see if that will help them! Getting up early tomorrow and giving the whole shed and hutches a good clean, dust and a hoover!

No there is absolutely no chemicals or anything else I can think of that's new in there. Their shed isn't painted on the inside and has had the same paint on the outside for years (way before we even got them).

I appreciate all of your advice. X
 
Bit of an update - spent literally all day thoroughly cleaning the shed and hutches so all is clean now. Turns out the vet only gave us enough septrin for 7 days I believe and they're still no better - I also think Porche's UTI has came back as she's straining and squeaking when going to the toilet again.

I am so stressed :(
 
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