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My guinea pig keeps getting upper resptiory infections. Help!

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JonesJ

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I have a 10 month old male guinea pig who seems to keep getting upper resptiory infections. He's been treated for 2 already and has just got another. What can I do to keep him from getting sick? Is there a way to treat it without the vet?

He's currently cage indoors on aspen chips, pellets, water with vit c drops, and occasional fruits and veggies. As well as a blanket over his cage.
 
Aw sorry to hear about your poor little man, i think changing the bedding he is on would be a first move to try and help him, does he get unlimited access to hay? You've listed what else he gets, vit c drops in water isn't a good thing to do as you cannot control the intake, if he is being fed pellets with vitamin c and veggies high in vit c such as cabbage, brocoli, sprouts, bell peppers for example he wont need a suppliment.
 
Hi,

I would suggest changing the aspen bedding there maybe dust in there that is irritating him or a chemical:(


Think about changing to fleece and towels, that way eliminating dust.:)

Up his intake of vit c to boost his immune system and keep the room he is in at a constant temperature if you can, also make sure no one is spraying any deodorants or perfume etc near him:))
 
I changed his bedding from the paper bedding to the aspen last time he got sick. I tried flece but it got so dirty after 2 days. He does have a constant supply of Timothy hay.

Does anyone know if you can get baytrill without going to the vet?
 
JonesJ said:
I changed his bedding from the paper bedding to the aspen last time he got sick. I tried flece but it got so dirty after 2 days. He does have a constant supply of Timothy hay.

Does anyone know if you can get baytrill without going to the vet?
Click to expand...

Baytril is only available on prescription - sometimes worth asking the vet for a bit extra to keep as an emergency supply.
 
Hi,

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear that your piggy is getting URI. URI are not generally causedby cage conditions - they'd have to be really bad for that to happen. It will mostly likely be an infection that your piggy had from an early age that has not been cleared up.

Persistent URI will be caused by the same bacteria. When you're treating them, you're clearing up the symptoms but not killing the bacteria and it just comes back. The best thing to do is to get a tracheal sample sent away for analysis so you can identify the exact bacteria causing these URIs and get the right AB to tackle it.

Fingers and paws crossed for you

x
 
Have you thought he may have hayfever?

Noodles kept getting 'URIs' or so we thought...until we took all the hay from the floor of her cage and put it in a rack. Now her breathing is almost normal and she sneezes far less.

There is a sticky on it in the health section.
 
JonesJ said:
I have a 10 month old male guinea pig who seems to keep getting upper resptiory infections. He's been treated for 2 already and has just got another. What can I do to keep him from getting sick? Is there a way to treat it without the vet?

He's currently cage indoors on aspen chips, pellets, water with vit c drops, and occasional fruits and veggies. As well as a blanket over his cage.
Click to expand...

Piggy needs to be having fresh veg daily ideally (i.e. if his digestive system doesn't get upset with it - most pigs are fine with daily veg) - the recommended amount is 50g of fresh veg per pig, per day. Have a look here for some food inspiration! http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

JonesJ said:
I took his hay but he is still getting worse.
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I assume you haven't taken the hay away completely? He still needs hay to be at a minimum, 80% of his daily food intake.

Have you tried changing the bedding that he's on? Maybe try him on shredded newspaper for a couple of days, as a cheap alternative, and see if he improves. If he does, then it may well be the aspen chips, and you can look into long term alternatives like fleece or vet bed.

If you've tried changing his bedding, then he needs to go back to the vet, possibly for some further investigations, as others have mentioned, maybe a swab to see exactly what you're looking at, so the right treatment can be given.

How is he in himself? Is he still active and eating/drinking/weeing/pooing normally?
 
Sorry to hear your GP is poorly.

We have kept GP'S on and off since 1984, I know, that is the olden days.

They have only ever been bedded on news paper. One full paper in their sleeping compartment and one opened up in their eating or day area as we call it. The paper is warm to sit on also eases feeding and cleaning as you just roll everything up. They have always been kept inside and also importantly out of any draughts which also can have an adverse affect on their health. Fresh warm dried hay with the dust removed and checked thoroughly for thistles or anything else. This is about as near you will get to a dust free environment yet giving them the conditions they love. They are warm, cosy and can munch away till their hearts are content.

He is only young so something is causing his problems.

Try this, see your vet again. Hope everything turns out OK. Rosy and her family.
 
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