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Ill new piggie, any quick advice?

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timtheenchanteruk

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I bought 2 piggies last Wednesday, all seemed well, settling in ok, one was a bit quieter than the other, but put that down to settling in/differing personalities.

Today things seem to have taken a bit of a downward turn, the quieter piggie has this evening been struggling to get up, laid on its side, kicking its back legs, but not able to stand, even if the other guy is running around, and even stepping on him.

He doesn't even move if you go to pick him up (and he's not been handled here yet, was letting them settle properly first) you can pretty do anything you want with him with no struggle or protest, he's completely passive this to me seems wrong for a new piggie.

There's nothing obviously wrong, although I do suspect he hasn't drunk anything all day, eyes are clean, skin feels fine, breathing normal.

I've seperated the 2 into seperate cages for now, and been giving water from a syringe, until I can contact the petshop (I believe they have their own vet) or get him to the vets in the morning. Is there anything else I can do in the meantime, I will be giving water to him every 1/2hour for now, and will get up in the night to do so if I feel it would be beneficial to him.

If anyone has any quick help suggestions, I would be most grateful, its a shame that my first post here is for help under these circumstances :(
 
Please get your piggie to a vet asap. Is he still layed on his side? Not to scare you but he sounds very unwell and i would not wait till tomorrow for veterinary treatment, please at least give your vets a call. When was the last time he ate?

x.

Ps if you dont have a vets I'm sure we can advise you on a good one in Leeds, Bramley Cavies will have a good regular vets they use.
 
cant you call an emergency vet? poor little mite sounds very poorly!
 
The only advice there really is, is to take your piggie to a vet as soon as possible, piggies deteriorate very quickly with any form of illness and the only way to get a clear diagnosis is through going to the vet (:
Hope it's nothing to serious !
 
Just phones the vets, left a message (normal for our vets out of hours) just waiting for them to ring me back its not usually too long, will report back when I get back.
 
timtheenchanteruk said:
Just phones the vets, left a message (normal for our vets out of hours) just waiting for them to ring me back its not usually too long, will report back when I get back.
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Well done, it's best to get him seen urgently. If you got him from Pets at Home, keep any vet's receipts for treatment as you will probably be able to claim these back from them; a few members on here have had sickly piggies from there & have got their vet bills paid. I hope he will be okay.
 
Wonderfull, Sending healing vibes to your little one and do let us know how you get on!

Once you know whats wrong we may be able to gives tips on how to give them medication etc etc if you need it. :) And ofcourse for moral support!
 
Well, got him to the vets last night, they didn't really have a definite diagnosis, they gave him a couple of jabs, and some stuff to go in the water (dioralyte type stuff)
Been giving him this in water overnight every 2 hours, getting about 5-10mls down him at a time, everything seemed ok, not getting worse, but unfortunatly, between 6am and now, things have taken a turn for the worst, his breathing has now got a bit of a rattle (I have taken great care in giving water so as not to make him aspirate, so I'm sure this is not the problem.), I'm contacting the vets again asap, get him there as soon as the kids are at school. If they still don't have a scooby. I'll give holly house a ring
 
don't exactly know the age, but only a few months, we only got him last week.
Prognosis not good, looks like pnumonia, as its now gone onto his chest.
He's staying with the vets for now, we did buy them from pets at home, and they have agreed to pay any vets bills, and if the worst does happen will replace him.

just finished scrubbing and disinfecting the cages etc, does anyone know what the incubation period is for infections like this? ie when will my other piggie be out of the "danger zone" as i believe its a pretty contagious infection.

I'm a little stressed right now, this isnt how i imagined the first week of guinea pig ownership 8...
 
timtheenchanteruk said:
don't exactly know the age, but only a few months, we only got him last week.
Prognosis not good, looks like pnumonia, as its now gone onto his chest.
He's staying with the vets for now, we did buy them from pets at home, and they have agreed to pay any vets bills, and if the worst does happen will replace him.

just finished scrubbing and disinfecting the cages etc, does anyone know what the incubation period is for infections like this? ie when will my other piggie be out of the "danger zone" as i believe its a pretty contagious infection.

I'm a little stressed right now, this isnt how i imagined the first week of guinea pig ownership 8...
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I am really sorry to hear this. I would certainly delay getting another piggy from there until a good few weeks have passed, then maybe take your little guy to a rescue to choose his friend, as they will be healthy well cared for piggies. The trouble is with pet shops they don't always take good care of theirs & they are bred on a huge scale which is awful for them :(

If your vet is very guinea pig knowledgeable then he/she will be able to give antibiotics etc but it may also be worth them trying Furosemide which is a diuretic that will remove a lot of fluid from his lungs. It has saved many piggies' lives so it is worth a try at least.

He will also need syringe feeding, 120 ml in 24 hours as they need to keep his gut working.

Good luck, hope he makes it :)
 
This is such sad news. Unfortunetly this seems to be all too common when buying guinea pigs from pet shops. When you get them from a rescue you can be sure of a clean bill of health. I really hope your little one pulls through.
 
With complex illnesses like Neumonia- they come on quickly and without a very good cavvy vet I'm afraid to odds arent great. I lost a piggy to this horrible disease. I was nieve at the time but had I have known what I know now I would have rushed him to my current vet and not let him suffer if he was beyond help. Poor ralfy struggled on for about 5 days before he finally went to the rainbow bridge.
If your not 100% trusting of your vets knowledge the best advice I could give is get him to a cavvy savvy vet and keep him warm and hydrated and syringe feed little and often.

What medication is he on and how is his weight?
 
Hi all, its with regrets I have to announce my little one passed on yesterday morning. :(
My other piggie, now named midnight, so far seems unaffected, the vet advised that there is approx a 10day incubation period for pneumonia, and infections that can cause pneumonia in guinea pigs, so midnight is going to be alone for a couple of weeks.
On the plus side for him, he has settled in, and is already very easy to handle.
 
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