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Guinea Pig Sickness

Beth Steele

Beth Steele

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Please help- I'm very worried. For the past week, my guinea pig (Choco) has been sneezing. Today I came downstairs and noticed she looked severely ill. She had some white discharge around her eyes, her fur was puffy, wasnt eating, and just wasn't acting like herself. I immediately brought her to the vet and they said she was congested and has a URI. I gave Choco her medication for all the symptoms and I went home. It's been 3 hours and she's acting very sleepy and hasn't moved from her spot. My other guineas keep sniffing her to see if she's alright. Her breathing is very fast and something I can't quite explain but her head keeps going back and forth every so slightly. Please respond and tell me if you know she's okay.

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Are you able to contact an emergency vet again for urgent advice? Unfortunately I don't know the best thing to do as I have no experience of this but you could search the health forum for advice on URI's and also if she is not eating/drinking about syringe feeding. Best wishes
 
No I can't sadly. It's 8:30 at night and i'm so scared that if I go to sleep Choco won't be there when I wake up. The veterinarian didn't give me anything to syringe feed her with, only a syringe to give medicine. She just said she hopes she starts eating before Friday
 
I am unable to do the link but search complete syringe guide which explains everything- I would perhaps offer her a little water on a spoon - without forcing it and try offering her food by hand - I hope the medicine kicks in and she starts to feel better - Also she might be in pain - do you know if the vet gave any pain medication?
 
Hi, you could get some pellets and place hot water over them and mash them up.if you have been given a syringe from the vet you could use this to syringe feed your piggie.i would advise this is an emergency and you need to see a vet as soon as possible/please read the guides at the top of the page on how to syringe feed,contacting an emergency vet out of hours,.i hope your piggie condition improves.please keep the forum updated on your piggies progress.:)
 
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding

Please read this, she really needs to eat something else she risks going into gut stasis and things can go downhill fast from there. One round of medication sadly won’t magic away a URI so she is going to be a bit unlike herself for some days, this is where she really needs your help to keep her guts moving along.

Good luck and best wishes for a swift recovery.
 
I would call the vet again and explain how she is behaving. The fast breathing worries me a bit. The nodding you describe is because she is struggling to breathe. Did the vet mention anything about a diuretic? this would help clear any fluid she has on her chest. She would also need something for the mucous in her nasal passages. In the UK the vet can prescribe Bisolvon for this. Are you overseas? please could you update your location on your profile as this will help with any advice we can give and what is available where you are. Be careful if you do syringe feed, I know it is important to keep her guts going but it is more difficult to syringe a pig that is struggling to breathe. You would need to take it slowly and only give a small amount of a 1ml syringe at a time.
 
Thank you for your help. I syringe fed her a little at a time. I held her until 2am but when I woke up she was dead. My heart is broken knowing she was in pain. It was just too late for little Choco.
 
Beth Steele said:
Thank you for your help. I syringe fed her a little at a time. I held her until 2am but when I woke up she was dead. My heart is broken knowing she was in pain. It was just too late for little Choco.
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I'm sorry for your loss. She must've not been able to breathe hence the very quick downhill. Sometimes it's really difficult to tell how sick the piggies are. I've had piggies who went downhill but then the next morning perked up a bit.

The only thing I can suggest you at the moment is for you to look for a guinea pig savy vet near you, so just in case you worry about your other guinea pigs, you have a reliable vet to look at them.
 
I'm really sorry for your loss. Please don't be too hard on yourself.

Piggies hide Illness very well.
 
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