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New Member Looking For Advice

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natabee

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Hi every one!
This is my first post and unfortunately I'm looking for health advice for one of my furry babies.
I rehomed Boris & Nigel 3 weeks ago from my local pet store. I don't have any information on their background or there ages, all I know is that their both male.
Thursday when I returned home from work I noticed Nigel was acting strange, he was at the bottom of the cage and kind of shuffling in a circle.
I panicked straight away and rushed poor nige to the vets. He was diagnosed with an inner ear infection and given some antibiotics (bytril ) which I have been givin home everyday so far.
Today I noticed that he has some crust around his eyes, would that also be a symptom of an ear infection? He seems a little better but still not moving around much.

I'm totally new to having guinea pigs so I'm basically after any advice from people that have had this problem before.

Thanks guys :nod:
 
Hi and welcome!

How long have you had your boys for? it sounds like he could have a respiratory infection as well as an ear infection; yellow crusts on eyes and nose are typical for that; on the other hand, it could be connected to the existing infection. Could you please give us his weight and the dosage of baytril? How is his balance issue? Are your boys outdoors or indoors?

It would be good if you could have him seen again. Please ask your vet for bisolvon powder, which helps to clear the mucus build-up in the airways. If there is any fluid in the lungs or chest, then a diuretic may help with the breathing.

As we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state or (for the UK) your county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available/possible for you as much as possible. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
You can also find our piggy savvy UK vet locator there.
 
Hi and welcome!

How long have you had your boys for? it sounds like he could have a respiratory infection as well as an ear infection; yellow crusts on eyes and nose are typical for that; on the other hand, it could be connected to the existing infection. Could you please give us his weight and the dosage of baytril? How is his balance issue? Are your boys outdoors or indoors?

It would be good if you could have him seen again. Please ask your vet for bisolvon powder, which helps to clear the mucus build-up in the airways. If there is any fluid in the lungs or chest, then a diuretic may help with the breathing.

As we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state or (for the UK) your county to your details, so we can tailor any advice and recommendations to what is available/possible for you as much as possible. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
You can also find our piggy savvy UK vet locator there.


Thanks for your reply. I've now added more information to my account, hopefully!
I've had my boys just over 3 weeks And there in a covered hutch outside.
If I'm honest I'm not sure on his weight, after reading some posts tonight it's pretty clear that I need to be weighing him so will pop and get some scales tomorrow.
I'm giving him 2.5ml twice a day.
I will definitely take him back or maybe to a vet that knows a bit more. I was given any further advice so he was pretty useless considering how panicked I was.
I'm really grateful for any help, I know I'm probably doing things wrong which is why I'm here, I just want to give them both the best lives possible
 
My vet said that Natalie Wissinkargilaga at Scotts in Bedford is a good vet for guinea pigs, might be worth considering. If you got your piggies from the very well known large pet store across the UK it is likely they both may have upper respiratory infections (URIs) :(
 
My vet said that Natalie Wissinkargilaga at Scotts in Bedford is a good vet for guinea pigs, might be worth considering. If you got your piggies from the very well known large pet store across the UK it is likely they both may have upper respiratory infections (URIs) :(
Yes they were from pets at home but they were rehomed via a charity so they wernt 'new' ones I guess you'd say. I don't know what kinda of lives they've had, I just want to make them better
 
If you got them from the "Rehoming" section from PAH then I would keep any vet bill receipts (Always ask for itemised receipts from vets) & contact the PAH branch where you got them from as they may be willing to pay the vet bills, a few members have done that on here. Sadly this is very common with piggies from their stores, not sure why, maybe because they are in close proximity to lots of others or have been previously :(
 
If you got them from the "Rehoming" section from PAH then I would keep any vet bill receipts (Always ask for itemised receipts from vets) & contact the PAH branch where you got them from as they may be willing to pay the vet bills, a few members have done that on here. Sadly this is very common with piggies from their stores, not sure why, maybe because they are in close proximity to lots of others or have been previously :(
Thanks, I will keep everything. I just hope he gets better, I'm already very attached to him :bye:
 
Could you please bring them inside for the time being. They may not have been used to outdoors, and we've been having some rather cold nights lately, which won't have helped.

Is the baytril 0.25 ml (which would make it a dose at the lower end of the sprectrum) or 2.5 ml, which would make it an extremely high dose?
 
Could you please bring them inside for the time being. They may not have been used to outdoors, and we've been having some rather cold nights lately, which won't have helped.

Is the baytril 0.25 ml (which would make it a dose at the lower end of the sprectrum) or 2.5 ml, which would make it an extremely high dose?
Opps yes thats what I meant. Yes will definitely bring them inside, I hadn't even thought about that. I know they had been in PAH for awhile so they are probably more accustomed to being inside.
I have to also say his balance has got better since we've started the antibiotics, on Thursday he was pretty much going in circles but today he was moving around more
 
Another update and it's a sad one, I came home today and Nigel was slump over. I went to get changed to take him to the vets and when I came back he had passed away.
I feel so heartbroken and sad for his brother.
How should I deal with his passing with regards to Boris? Shall I leave Nigel with him to say goodbye?

Thanks
 
Oh no, I'm so sorry. I hope you're ok.

This link should hopefully help his friend.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/looking-after-a-bereaved-piggy.110463/

Some people do let their friend see them after they had passed, so it is up to you. I have had mixed reactions when I have done it in the past, including popcorning.

Night night Nigel, hope you have fun at the bridge (you may even find my Nigel too).
 
I'm so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, Pets At Home tends to be very dodgy regarding care (or lack of) of their animals. Don't worry, none of this is your fault, you did absolutely nothing wrong. You are a very good owner and you obviously care about your animals very much. Definitely go back to Pets At Home and make sure they pay those vet bills.

Using the rescue locator (at the top of the site), the nearest rescue to you that currently has guinea pigs is Woodgreen, so you could get Boris a friend from there: http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/rehome/small_animals/filter/guinea+pig:male

There's a vet locator too, if you are in need of a piggy vet. :)
 
Oh b
Another update and it's a sad one, I came home today and Nigel was slump over. I went to get changed to take him to the vets and when I came back he had passed away.
I feel so heartbroken and sad for his brother.
How should I deal with his passing with regards to Boris? Shall I leave Nigel with him to say goodbye?

Thanks
Another update and it's a sad one, I came home today and Nigel was slump over. I went to get changed to take him to the vets and when I came back he had passed away.
I feel so heartbroken and sad for his brother.
How should I deal with his passing with regards to Boris? Shall I leave Nigel with him to say goodbye?

Thanks
ohh how heartbreaking so sorry for you and for Boris
 
So sorry for your loss... Sounds like you did everything you could for the poor little one x
 
I'm so sorry for your loss! It absolutely isn't your fault... sometimes pet stores are not doing what they should in terms of the care of their animals... he likely came to you run down or with an infection brewing and, unfortunately, what starts out looking like a human cold can quickly turn fatal in guinea pigs, even with treatment sometimes.

Letting your other guinea pig say goodbye while viewing the body is said to help with grieving sometimes... they do seem to understand. If he passed in proximity to his brother, he may have already investigated. I know when my older girl passed over the winter, she was in my arms and not with her cagemate, so we did let our other pig see the body so she would know what had happened. She did pay attention, she laid her head on her friend and sniffed and licked her face. When she moved away, we picked her up and took her friend away. It was so sad to see, but I think it did help her to realize that her friend wasn't coming back.

Since respiratory bugs can be contagious, I would probably ask the vet you saw whether Boris should be on antibiotics as well, or whether you can have some on hand if he shows any issues. Better safe than sorry, especially going into the weekend when it can be harder to get to the vet.

((HUGS)) and so sorry again!
 
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