Hopefully URI caught quickly

[smileyface:)]

Yesterday I posted for first time in ages about bringing the newly single Chewy inside following the death of his partner Poppy at last weekend, and my decision to bring him indoors for more attention and to allow me to spend more time with him.

I am so glad I did as though very quiet initially, as he always is, just hiding in the corner in a fleece cup, later in the evening I noticed he was making a hooting sound when breathing, and it lasted through the night off and on. I would never have picked it up so quickly had he still been in the shed as he's good at not making a sound when you deliver food etc. And with normal eyes and nose, and still eating and pooping etc, I would have thought him fine and not seen him again till this morning.

So I took him to the vet this morning, and though his chest is almost clear there is a faint noise, so she thinks perhaps it was a URI beginning, so just to be safe he's on antibiotics now. Hopefully he will be fine and it won't come to anything, I am just even more convinced I did the right thing deciding to make him a house pig, not that outdoor pigs aren't well looked after, mine always were, but having him in gives me a better chance to pick up on things like this, especially as like some owners I'm time poor and not able to give hours of my time to my shed pigs.


I wonder if I'd maybe spotted something when Poppy died suddenly last weekend I could have helped her, but maybe I wouldn't have, she was so fit the night before, no signs of any problems.

So hopefully Chewy will stay healthy, and once I find a girl for him I hope he'll have an enjoyable rest of his life.

 

[DMS260820]

Yesterday I posted for first time in ages about bringing the newly single Chewy inside following the death of his partner Poppy at last weekend, and my decision to bring him indoors for more attention and to allow me to spend more time with him.

I am so glad I did as though very quiet initially, as he always is, just hiding in the corner in a fleece cup, later in the evening I noticed he was making a hooting sound when breathing, and it lasted through the night off and on. I would never have picked it up so quickly had he still been in the shed as he's good at not making a sound when you deliver food etc. And with normal eyes and nose, and still eating and pooping etc, I would have thought him fine and not seen him again till this morning.

So I took him to the vet this morning, and though his chest is almost clear there is a faint noise, so she thinks perhaps it was a URI beginning, so just to be safe he's on antibiotics now. Hopefully he will be fine and it won't come to anything, I am just even more convinced I did the right thing deciding to make him a house pig, not that outdoor pigs aren't well looked after, mine always were, but having him in gives me a better chance to pick up on things like this, especially as like some owners I'm time poor and not able to give hours of my time to my shed pigs.


I wonder if I'd maybe spotted something when Poppy died suddenly last weekend I could have helped her, but maybe I wouldn't have, she was so fit the night before, no signs of any problems.

So hopefully Chewy will stay healthy, and once I find a girl for him I hope he'll have an enjoyable rest of his life.

hooting can be a heart problem in guinea pigs, i dont have experience with it but have a google about it. It might not be and i dont want to scare you but if diagnosed they can live a normal life on meds. I had an old pig that hooted on and off, it was when i put dusty hay in his hidey home

 

[smileyface:)]

hooting can be a heart problem in guinea pigs, i dont have experience with it but have a google about it. It might not be and i dont want to scare you but if diagnosed they can live a normal life on meds. I had an old pig that hooted on and off, it was when i put dusty hay in his hidey home

Thanks Skypipdot, I had googled that too last last night, and also considered the fact that when I brought him in from the shed he dived head first straight into a pile of hay - probably in fright, so I did wonder if the hooting was a result of hay too, it's so weird as following thr trip to thr vet the hooting has stopped (for now!) Time hopefully will tell and fingers crossed! Vet did not hunk he seemed pretty healthy so meds for now as precaution too.

 

[Wiebke]

Yesterday I posted for first time in ages about bringing the newly single Chewy inside following the death of his partner Poppy at last weekend, and my decision to bring him indoors for more attention and to allow me to spend more time with him.

I am so glad I did as though very quiet initially, as he always is, just hiding in the corner in a fleece cup, later in the evening I noticed he was making a hooting sound when breathing, and it lasted through the night off and on. I would never have picked it up so quickly had he still been in the shed as he's good at not making a sound when you deliver food etc. And with normal eyes and nose, and still eating and pooping etc, I would have thought him fine and not seen him again till this morning.

So I took him to the vet this morning, and though his chest is almost clear there is a faint noise, so she thinks perhaps it was a URI beginning, so just to be safe he's on antibiotics now. Hopefully he will be fine and it won't come to anything, I am just even more convinced I did the right thing deciding to make him a house pig, not that outdoor pigs aren't well looked after, mine always were, but having him in gives me a better chance to pick up on things like this, especially as like some owners I'm time poor and not able to give hours of my time to my shed pigs.

I wonder if I'd maybe spotted something when Poppy died suddenly last weekend I could have helped her, but maybe I wouldn't have, she was so fit the night before, no signs of any problems.

So hopefully Chewy will stay healthy, and once I find a girl for him I hope he'll have an enjoyable rest of his life.

hooting can be a heart problem in guinea pigs, i dont have experience with it but have a google about it. It might not be and i dont want to scare you but if diagnosed they can live a normal life on meds. I had an old pig that hooted on and off, it was when i put dusty hay in his hidey home

Hooting as an indication for heart problems comes into play only if it happens for weeks and only if it comes in combination with other symptoms for heart disease. Hooting as an indication for heart disease has sadly made it into the online syllabus of persistent urban guinea pig myths that are churned out regularly but have not stood the test of time.

99% of hooting incidents are simply caused by a slightly blocked nose. Guinea pigs can't breathe through their mouths, so you hear every little obstruction in the airways quite noticeably. A little hay dust or dry ratiator air for a piggy that is not used to it can both cause hooting. Try and see whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage can help.

And no, your guinea pig can't have died from a bacterial URI; while it can be fatal if left untreated, it will take days to get there.
Even a quickly progressing staphylococcal pneumonia ('walking pneumonia') doesn't kill as quickly as that without you becoming aware of the symptoms.
If your piggy has indeed got a mild URI, then because its immune system is somewhat lowered through the shock of the loss. Good that you have vet checked promptly!

We all have these feeling of guilt and failure at the onset of the grieving process that tell us that we should have noticed something, could have done better, may have saved the ones we have lost against all odds... All they are is a reflection of the fact you ARE a caring and responsible owner or you wouldn't have them.

In view of the time of the year, please keep your piggies indoors over the winter. Guinea pigs are like tender plants and should be treated the same.

 

[smileyface:)]

Hooting as an indication for heart problems comes into play only if it happens for weeks and only if it comes in combination with other symptoms for heart disease. Hooting as an indication for heart disease has sadly made it into the online syllabus of persistent urban guinea pig myths that are churned out regularly but have not stood the test of time.

99% of hooting incidents are simply caused by a slightly blocked nose. Guinea pigs can't breathe through their mouths, so you hear every little obstruction in the airways quite noticeably. A little hay dust or dry ratiator air for a piggy that is not used to it can both cause hooting. Try and see whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage can help.

And no, your guinea pig can't have died from a bacterial URI; while it can be fatal if left untreated, it will take days to get there.
Even a quickly progressing staphylococcal pneumonia ('walking pneumonia') doesn't kill as quickly as that without you becoming aware of the symptoms.
If your piggy has indeed got a mild URI, then because its immune system is somewhat lowered through the shock of the loss. Good that you have vet checked promptly!

We all have these feeling of guilt and failure at the onset of the grieving process that tell us that we should have noticed something, could have done better, may have saved the ones we have lost against all odds... All they are is a reflection of the fact you ARE a caring and responsible owner or you wouldn't have them.

In view of the time of the year, please keep your piggies indoors over the winter. Guinea pigs are like tender plants and should be treated the same.

Thanks so much for your reply, he is no longer hooting, alot calmer and perkier too, still shy but that's his way. Funny, I did run the shower last night and sat with him a but in there, the sort of thing I do with the kids!
You are right, feelings of guilt can't be helped, but this cuddly wee man is really helping

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much for your reply, he is no longer hooting, alot calmer and perkier too, still shy but that's his way. Funny, I did run the shower last night and sat with him a but in there, the sort of thing I do with the kids!
You are right, feelings of guilt can't be helped, but this cuddly wee man is really helping

I am glad that you feel a bit easier!

If it is any consolation to you, I have just lost my Pili Pala to sudden acute heart failure on Sunday, which has come on overnight. She died in my arms from a last massive heart attack. These things you just can't foresee and prevent, but they definitely upset and shake you!
They are however no sign of you being a bad owner, just that you are the owner of small pet. When something goes massively wrong, it can do that VERY quickly.

Try to see your pets as a loan form above; your job is to make the days that they are spending with you happy and loved ones, as much as is in your power. But you never have any control as to how long they live and what they ultimately die from. Knowing that you have made a difference for them while you have had them is what counts!

Thankfully, your current jitters will eventually settle down again.

 

[DMS260820]

Sorry for the bad info. But boy am i learning some stuff

 

[DMS260820]

I edited that last comment . It seemed a bit confusing haha

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry for the bad info. But boy am i learning some stuff

Not quite as easy, is it?

We are all still learning constantly. The piggy world has changed massively in the last decade.
Unfortunately, past fads that come up through googling again and again have tendency to persist. All we can do is give an update each time and hope that our responses make it eventually into the google cycle - unfortunately we do not have any control over what comes up when you google, so getting the correct version out is neither easy nor a quick process.

 

[DMS260820]

Not quite as easy, is it?

We are all still learning constantly. The piggy world has changed massively in the last decade.
Unfortunately, past fads that come up through googling again and again have tendency to persist. All we can do is give an update and hope that our response makes it eventually into the google cycle - unfortunately we do not have any control over what comes up when you google, so getting the correct version out is neither easy nor a quick process.

I think i have picked up some old skool info back when i was panicking about one of my old boars who kept getting uri's and had pneumonia too. Survived it all but the stuffy nose kept coming back.Even simon didnt know what was causing it. He ended up just living like it and was fine in himself. Thats when i thought heart issues.

 

[smileyface:)]

and just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your loss too Wiebke, especially when you see them suffer at the end, but as you also said they are worth the time we have them