I just got a new baby piggie. She is super sweet and friendly, but lately she seems very upset. She has been twitching violently (almost like popcorning, but you can tell she is upset), sneezing a little too frequently, and hiding herself a lot. We've had her for almost two weeks and she is eating and drinking normally with normal potty habits. The last piggie I had got ringworm, but she is at the vet getting treated for it and doing much better now. We cleaned out the cage thoroughly with vinegar and made sure to clean the water bottle and food bowl before putting this pig in the cage while the other gets treated. The pet store recommended tetracycline, but I know that is harmful for pigs! Please help!
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Help!
- Thread starter Alxxx
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Jesse's pigs
Adult Guinea Pig
Obviously I'm not a vet and if your worried I would definitely also book her an appointment as it's better to be safe then sorry. By sneezing frequently do you mean throughout the whole day or only when you've added hay? Popcorning is a little jump where the piggy may toss it's head but twitching could signify your piggy is in pain or irritated. It could also be a seizure.
Hi and welcome!
Please have any guinea pig checked by a good vet if you are in doubt. From what your report it is impossible to say what is going on. If in doubt, please always switch from the usual weekly weigh-in to a daily one at the same time in the feeding cycle to make sure.
Is your baby alone or has she got company/prospective company? Guinea pigs are not wired to be on their own and she may be depressed. Do you still have the ringworm guinea pig or is that your previous guinea pig? it is not clear to me. Companionship
Please be aware that vinegar is not enough to disinfect ringworm. Here are our tips on how to deal with ringworm: Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Hmm. Tetracycline belongs to the Tetracyclines group, of which Doxycycline is one, and that particular one is the drug of choice by one of my vets for treating guinea pigs with respiratory infections and was given to one of my pigs. None of the Tetracyclines should be used in pregnancy due to the risk of if affecting the bone development of the babies (I know this doesn't apply here), all in the group behave in similar ways and have similar warnings etc, though with small differences here and there.
Antibiotics in general can have an adverse affect on guinea pigs digestion, they are sensitive to the changes of the balance of bacteria within the guts and whilst this is potentially dangerous in anyone, guinea pigs are particularly at risk due to their guts needing to continually move in a healthy manner. Diarrhea is a common side effect of any antibiotics, and is particularly dangerous in guinea pigs. However treating with probiotics will counter this in most cases (to be taken a couple of hours after the antibiotics).
There are minor differences between the various Tetracyclines. Interestingly food can reduce the absorbtion of Tetracyclines, therefore reducing the dose that the body receives, the exception being Doxycycline, which is not affected by food. Being as guinea pigs must have food constantly going through their systems I wonder if Doxycycline may be better? Perhaps this is why my vet used this one instead of any others in the group.
If you are worried about any medication it may be worth contacting your vet and discussing your concerns.
I was intrigued to see if I could find anything specific to guinea pigs but can only find the general gut bacteria warnings, and this applies to all antibiotics in guinea pigs. Tetracycline taken long term can build up in the calcium crystals called Otoconia in the ear of guinea pigs, and these are involved in the stimulation of the little hairs that are responsible for transmitting sound within the ear, but I am not sure how hearing would be affected, if at all.
Here is some useful information about various antibiotics used for guinea pigs Guinea Lynx :: Antibiotics
I'd like to point out that I am not a mine of information when it comes to medicines in guinea pigs, I tend to refer to other members who have more experience and knowledge of these things than I do, but I do pick things up here and there about drugs in general due to working in a pharmacy (currently low-level), but whilst we process vet prescriptions we are very much geared to human issues. As it happens I have been learning about this group of medicines at work very recently, but having looked up the Tetracyclines in guinea pigs specifically as I say I can't find anything to be overly concerned about other than the general gut bacteria issue and that perhaps Doxycycline may be better due to food not interfering with the absorbtion of that particular one.
Has anyone here had any problems with any of the Tetracyclines, or Tetracycline itself, with their piggies please?
I may be going over the top with this, but I wouldn't want you to delay giving the antibiotic to her unnecessarily.
Antibiotics in general can have an adverse affect on guinea pigs digestion, they are sensitive to the changes of the balance of bacteria within the guts and whilst this is potentially dangerous in anyone, guinea pigs are particularly at risk due to their guts needing to continually move in a healthy manner. Diarrhea is a common side effect of any antibiotics, and is particularly dangerous in guinea pigs. However treating with probiotics will counter this in most cases (to be taken a couple of hours after the antibiotics).
There are minor differences between the various Tetracyclines. Interestingly food can reduce the absorbtion of Tetracyclines, therefore reducing the dose that the body receives, the exception being Doxycycline, which is not affected by food. Being as guinea pigs must have food constantly going through their systems I wonder if Doxycycline may be better? Perhaps this is why my vet used this one instead of any others in the group.
If you are worried about any medication it may be worth contacting your vet and discussing your concerns.
I was intrigued to see if I could find anything specific to guinea pigs but can only find the general gut bacteria warnings, and this applies to all antibiotics in guinea pigs. Tetracycline taken long term can build up in the calcium crystals called Otoconia in the ear of guinea pigs, and these are involved in the stimulation of the little hairs that are responsible for transmitting sound within the ear, but I am not sure how hearing would be affected, if at all.
Here is some useful information about various antibiotics used for guinea pigs Guinea Lynx :: Antibiotics
I'd like to point out that I am not a mine of information when it comes to medicines in guinea pigs, I tend to refer to other members who have more experience and knowledge of these things than I do, but I do pick things up here and there about drugs in general due to working in a pharmacy (currently low-level), but whilst we process vet prescriptions we are very much geared to human issues. As it happens I have been learning about this group of medicines at work very recently, but having looked up the Tetracyclines in guinea pigs specifically as I say I can't find anything to be overly concerned about other than the general gut bacteria issue and that perhaps Doxycycline may be better due to food not interfering with the absorbtion of that particular one.
Has anyone here had any problems with any of the Tetracyclines, or Tetracycline itself, with their piggies please?
I may be going over the top with this, but I wouldn't want you to delay giving the antibiotic to her unnecessarily.
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