• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea pig breathing worries HELP :(

Status
Not open for further replies.
Chawrr

Chawrr

Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
i just noticed a few seconds ago my little piggie, edward (hes 3 in august) is breathing really hard, hes fine acting wise and i havent noticed before. hes eating his favorite food cucumber as usual & I'm worried that it might be caused by a new food i bought him today; i bought him hay cookies from pets at home & some other natural foods.

i've always been worried about his breathing because its always been very fasted but i've never really been overly concered because he seemed fine but i've read so many different things & now I'm really worried. i'm only 17 so I'm not sure if i cant take the guinea to the vets on my own and i'm not sure if i could afford the bill. my mum doesnt really understand these kinds of things and doesnt really like taking him to the vets.

when i listen to his breathing i cant hear it via his nose & there is never any discharge from the eyes (when he cleans himself his eyes water slightly).
also he does sneeze a lot & i have asked the vet about it but he said its likely that its either the hay of his sawdust that does it (hes always had sawdust and iam looking for a better type of bedding for him)
i'm so worried about my little boy :( his cagemate died from an infection & stroke just a few months after i got him (the infection came from a bite wound edward inflicted on him which i did not noticed because it was under his hind leg)

any advice would be helpful & if i can I'm going to take him to the vets either this weekend or next. (probably the latter)
 
While it is possible that your pig has hayfever or similar causing him to breathe in the way you describe, I sincerely doubt it.

Laboured breathing is far more likely to be due to an URI (upper respiratory infection) and will need antibiotics and a diuretic to help shift the fluid from the lungs. Please try to convince your parents that he can very quickly deteriorate and this become a life threatening condition. Acting now can make all the difference.

Suzy x
 
i also wanted to say, he does have some skin issues & i asked the vet why his skin seems to be quite flaky/scabby and hes losing a lot of hair which he put down to the time of the year.

i think my mum is going to contact the vets tonight.
:...
 
Have you treated for mites? This is the most common cause for skin issues. It can also signify a weakened immune system, which may explain why he has developed a problem with his breathing.

Suzy x
 
Last edited:
i have put flee/mite treatment on him but the vet sad it is very unlikely he has that as he lives alone & indoors and never goes outside. he does have an itch that when he itches it he makes a low grunting sound.
 
Mites are transmitted in all sorts of way, from forage and bedding mainly. Its not to do with living alone and inside. Yes being alone means it won't infact other pigs, but that's it.
Hope ** wee boy feels better. URI's needed treated as a matter of urgency, there's a fine line between being ok and not ok.
Also are you weighing him? If he's loosing weight he won't be able to fight infection and will require syringe feeding
 
i dont have anything to weigh him on unfortunatly but hes constantly eating around the clock. infact id say he might be overweight since i noticed the breathing problem hes eaten a massive block of cucumber & hes always got fresh hay to eat which he never stops eating
 
he is booked up at the vets now. we just cleaned him out & he started popcorning. he seems very happy and now hes eaten his fill of hay hes dozing in his little hut. I'm so worried about him. my mum thinks that hes going to die :( but I'm really hoping he wont. hes not got the vets till saturday.
 
my mum said that it has to wait until saturday. she thinks that hes going to die :( and he probably is because of her not calling out a vet. i have to wait until saturday afternoon.

hes been inside his hut for a few hours, eating his bedding (hay) and he came out just now when i refilled his bowl but he hasnt drunk any water.
 
he just came out now & started running round in circles and i wasnt near the cage. he is acting normally & constantly eating (as per usual). hes always breathed really fast ever since i got him & hes acting like her normally would.

also we do not have any scales in my house.
 
Hello Chawr


What a worry for you....I hope he's OK.

Can you let me know whereabouts in the county you are living?

We might be able to help with recommending both a cavy savvvy vet and a local member who can offer you support and practical advice.

It sounds like your piggie has a good chance despite the fact he is ill - BUT - it would be a shame if he didnt; get the support and care he needs because some "person" thinks he's "going to die" and therefore isn;t worthy of any help.

I understand you are in difficult position

PM me f you want to dsicuss further options off-line.


x
 
Pebble said:
Hello Chawr


What a worry for you....I hope he's OK.

Can you let me know whereabouts in the county you are living?

We might be able to help with recommending both a cavy savvvy vet and a local member who can offer you support and practical advice.

It sounds like your piggie has a good chance despite the fact he is ill - BUT - it would be a shame if he didnt; get the support and care he needs because some "person" thinks he's "going to die" and therefore isn;t worthy of any help.

I understand you are in difficult position

PM me f you want to dsicuss further options off-line.


x
Click to expand...

thanks for that! thats really boosted my hopes for him, he really is eating alot of food. hes now out of his hut & eating his food. he seems to be laying down quite a lot. i live in west london - chiswick to be exact. i take him to youngs vets in brentford but if he gets worse overnight i will go to the vets myself and ask them for advice.
 
Chawrr said:
thanks for that! thats really boosted my hopes for him, he really is eating alot of food. hes now out of his hut & eating his food. he seems to be laying down quite a lot. i live in west london - chiswick to be exact. i take him to youngs vets in brentford but if he gets worse overnight i will go to the vets myself and ask them for advice.
Click to expand...

Hi Chawrr
You might like to try this practice in East Sheen-they are good for exotics including piggies:

http://www.cjhall-vets.co.uk/


Anne at Gooddard in Ewell is one of the best cavy savvy vets in the country - but she only works mon/tues/wed.

http://ewell.goddardvetgroup.co.uk/


Finally you could also try the Royal Vet College in Central London - they accept primary consults as well as (expensive) secondary referrals from your own vet - Suggest you would need to register as a primary consult.

http://www.rvc.ac.uk/QMH/Index.cfm

HTH
x
 
Also - if you need a hand with syringe feeding I would be happy to come down this weeked to show you the best techniques.

Pm me for details

x
 
Chawrr has less than 50 posts so will not be able to message (PM) you directly.

Suzy x
 
thank you so much for the help :)

he seems ok at the moment, hes out of his little hut eating some hay and he had half a carrot earlier and yesterday i dont think he was drinking much because he was constantly eating cucmber.
he did however have a long drink last night. i'm keeping a close eye on him for a while whilst I'm not at college.
 
Is he by chance, moving forward when he breaths, like you can physically see him breathing? Have you also checked his nose, can you see anything? you can drop a drop of water in each nostril, he'll sneeze anything blocking them.
 
Beautifulmess said:
Is he by chance, moving forward when he breaths, like you can physically see him breathing? Have you also checked his nose, can you see anything? you can drop a drop of water in each nostril, he'll sneeze anything blocking them.
Click to expand...

not really, he just sort of stands there and does it while hes eating. but hes a lot better today hes been popcorning all over the place & gone through 2 carrots in the past 4 hours not to mention all his hay
 
just to let everyone know i took him to the vets & she listened to his heart and said there was nothing wrong there.

she checked out his skin & apart from it being a bit scabby/dandruffy she said there was nothing wrong & the increased breathing was probably due to the soreness of where he bites himself.

shes given me flee/mite treatment & hes already had the first dose & that he seems in great health & apart from the skin she cannot find anything else wrong with him!

i also found out he weighs 1.38kg or 1380 grams. hes 3 in august so i suppose that makes him a big boy!

thanks for all the help everyone :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top