Do I Need To Separate My Pigs?

[Peanut&Butter]

Apologies if this has already been answered, but I can't seemed to find a clear answer. I took my two pigs to the vets on Saturday as one of them seemed to have a URI. The vet agreed, and gave me antibiotics and food to syringe feed her as she stopped eating. She seems to be improving, as now when she sneezes, all of the bad stuff seems to come out of her nose, where as before it seemed blocked or scabby, and she is eating and is almost back to being the friendly, bubbly pig she is. Now to the confusion. The vet never told me to separate my pigs until the poorly one is over the URI. I didn't even think of asking her, as I was so upset and worried. Should I have separated them?

 

[Wiebke]

Apologies if this has already been answered, but I can't seemed to find a clear answer. I took my two pigs to the vets on Saturday as one of them seemed to have a URI. The vet agreed, and gave me antibiotics and food to syringe feed her as she stopped eating. She seems to be improving, as now when she sneezes, all of the bad stuff seems to come out of her nose, where as before it seemed blocked or scabby, and she is eating and is almost back to being the friendly, bubbly pig she is. Now to the confusion. The vet never told me to separate my pigs until the poorly one is over the URI. I didn't even think of asking her, as I was so upset and worried. Should I have separated them?

Not necessarily. Most healthy, well looked after piggies with a fully working immune system are able to fend off URI bacteria; by the time your piggy was seen, the infection would have likely already happened and it is certainly too late now. I am glad that your piggy is slowly getting better. In our experience, companions rarely catch URI if they are healthy and not stressed.

Please make sure that you are feeding and watering enough. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly before the need to eat. Giving an antibiotic that often also affects the gut bacteria necessary for the digestion and acts as an appetite dampener/killer means that with URI there is a double whammy hitting the guts. Give a pinch of probiotic about 1-2 hours after the antibiotic. You can also place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to help ease the breathing as much as possible.

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide (includes information on probiotics)
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

 

[Peanut&Butter]

Not necessarily. Most healthy, well looked after piggies with a fully working immune system are able to fend off URI bacteria; by the time your piggy was seen, the infection would have likely already happened and it is certainly too late now. I am glad that your piggy is slowly getting better.

Please make sure that you are feeding and watering enough. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly before the need to eat. Giving an antibiotic that often also affects the gut bacteria necessary for the digestion and acts as an appetite dampener/killer means that with URI there is a double whammy hitting the guts. Give a pinch of probiotic about 1-2 hours after the antibiotic. You can also place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to help ease the breathing as much as possible.

Complete Syringe Feeding Guide (includes information on probiotics)
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

Thank you so much for your advice. This is the first illness we have had and its been a weekend of guilt and sleepless nights (for me, not them!).