Older pigs Illnesses

[J668]

Hi all
I’m after a little advice. My Snowy is probably getting on a bit now. She came into my care in June 2015 and was already fully grown at that point.

In the last year she seems to have picked up lots of illnesses. 2x uri, 2x uti
and a very scary attack of bloat. (Never been ill before all this)

Are piggies more prone to things as they get older?

Is there anything I can do to help prevent poorliness?

I think she may have a touch of URI again as she is wheezing on and off. I’ve given her some left over baytril and we’re off to the Vets in the morning again! She eating well, no snottiness and doesn’t seem off colour but her breathing was very hooty. I put her into her carry cage and took her into the bathroom while I showered, hoping that the steam will help and since then her breathing is back to normal. Have I done the right thing?

Also I currently have a chest infection, could I have passes anything onto her?

Thanks in advance, sorry for all the questions.

 

[piggieminder]

Snowy is beautiful. I can't answer your questions but I hope Snowy gets better soon. I am sure a health expert will be along soon.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all
I’m after a little advice. My Snowy is probably getting on a bit now. She came into my care in June 2015 and was already fully grown at that point.

In the last year she seems to have picked up lots of illnesses. 2x uri, 2x uti
and a very scary attack of bloat. (Never been ill before all this)

Are piggies more prone to things as they get older?

Is there anything I can do to help prevent poorliness?

I think she may have a touch of URI again as she is wheezing on and off. I’ve given her some left over baytril and we’re off to the Vets in the morning again! She eating well, no snottiness and doesn’t seem off colour but her breathing was very hooty. I put her into her carry cage and took her into the bathroom while I showered, hoping that the steam will help and since then her breathing is back to normal. Have I done the right thing?

Also I currently have a chest infection, could I have passes anything onto her?

Thanks in advance, sorry for all the questions.

Hi!

Older guinea pigs are like old humans: the immune system is no longer as strong and flexible, so older piggies are more liable to pick up opportunistic bugs or parasites, get them badly and struggle more to get rid.
Breathing can become a bit of a problem in some elderlies as already narrow airways narrow further. Not fully healed URIs in earlier can cause lung disease in old age and impact on the breathing. If necessary discuss nebulising with your vet.
Arthritis is not uncommon, as are old age cataracts.

Organs slowing down and starting to break down happen in fast forward compared to humans.
You have to brace that an older piggy can go into organ failure at any time or that an illness can hit with devastating speed.
In my own experience with oldies (I have lost 6 piggies between 5-9 years just last year and still have 4 piggies that are 7-8 years old), you are either dealing with a very gradual, slow decline or with a very sudden illness/emergency at the end. Make sure that you have the money and the contacts for out-of-hours vet care at any time of the day or night available.

Eating is often becoming either picky or if nutrient absorption is no longer very good, an older piggy in the last weeks can stuff itself to get what it needs. Grain-free pellets can help the piggies with tender digestions.

But generally, just allow your piggies to enjoy what they love; keep to the usual routine and companionship as much as possible. In the larger scheme of things, quality and enjoyment are more important than living a week or two longer. if necessary, offer a bowl of top up feed but try to avoid falling into the trap of keeping your piggy longer than it wants to by syringe feeding - what it eats, it has to eat on its own strength either from a spoon or bowl.
Please put quality of life at the fore - that also goes for making any decisions re. pts/euthanasia. It is not within your control when and what a piggy of yours dies, but it is in your control to make every day as happy as can be and to minimise any unnecessary suffering.

PS: As to repeated UTIs, once sludge and stones have been excluded, discuss with your vet the possibility of a sterile interstitial cystitis/IC (i.e. a recurring bladder infection/inflammation that antibiotics can't heal). Metacam and a glucosamine support for the natural glucosamine coating of the bladder walls (a cat food supplement like cystease or cystophan) are used to manage the symptoms until it goes away on its own. So far, nobody knows what is causing it and there is no medication to heal it yet; it has become more common in the last 10 years.

 

[J668]

Thank you for your reply.

I’m now not sure if it’s crackly breathing or teeth grinding. Although it did stop when she was ‘steamed’.

She still eating well. No discharge or lethargy.

Is it possible that she could have caught something from me? I’ve had a nasty cold and a chest infection.

 

[Merab]

Can’t add advice, only support.
What a beautiful girl Snowy is

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your reply.

I’m now not sure if it’s crackly breathing or teeth grinding. Although it did stop when she was ‘steamed’.

She still eating well. No discharge or lethargy.

Is it possible that she could have caught something from me? I’ve had a nasty cold and a chest infection.

It is generally very rare that guinea pigs catch a cold from you. If in doubt, please have her vet checked.

 

[J668]

UPDATE
Snowy seemed a little crackly and was hooting when I got this morning so we were sitting in the vet waiting room by 8.55! (Of course the moo had stopped all the noises by the time we got there)

Vet gave her a thorough once over, listened to her chest for ages, checked nose, eyes and teeth and then said that she was absolutely fine. Her chest was clear as a bell.

Weight is all good, colour is good, eating well and pooping fine.

BUT ... she’s at it again! Hooting away while munching her lunch.

Am I being neurotic?
Is there something else it could be?


The vet offered me some baytril to use if I was worried. I’m going away at the weekend and Snowy is being looked after by my m-i-l so I said yes so that at least we were prepared if she does go down with something.

So should I give it to her? Even though the vet said there’s nothing wrong.

Advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Wiebke]

UPDATE
Snowy seemed a little crackly and was hooting when I got this morning so we were sitting in the vet waiting room by 8.55! (Of course the moo had stopped all the noises by the time we got there)

Vet gave her a thorough once over, listened to her chest for ages, checked nose, eyes and teeth and then said that she was absolutely fine. Her chest was clear as a bell.

Weight is all good, colour is good, eating well and pooping fine.

BUT ... she’s at it again! Hooting away while munching her lunch.

Am I being neurotic?
Is there something else it could be?


The vet offered me some baytril to use if I was worried. I’m going away at the weekend and Snowy is being looked after by my m-i-l so I said yes so that at least we were prepared if she does go down with something.

So should I give it to her? Even though the vet said there’s nothing wrong.

Advice would be greatly appreciated

Hi!

Please be aware that guinea pigs can't breathe through their mouths. Any slight narrowing or obstruction in the airways is usually more noticeable during eating. Hooting in most cases is a small stuffiness in the nose.
It is up to you whether you want to treat or not, but personally I wouldn't unless symptoms wer noticeably worse.

If it is any consolation to you, it took me two years and a specialist vet with a very good stereoscope to diagnose Ffraid's on off crackling (of course always supressed at the vets) as lung disease from a not totally cured URI earlier in life before she came to me. As she was stable, the vet decided to rather not treat with antibiotics as that could cause resistance in the longer term.
Ffraid lived to 7 years of age without her breathing problems getting any worse by the way.

 

[Merab]

Piggies love to worry us!
This sounds a little like Merab one day last year.
She was hooting away so I phoned the vet who fitted me in at the end of surgery.
She was given a thorough examination- she objected loudly to a thermometer being stuck up her bum.
Absolutely nothing wrong.
She hooted a bit more when we got home but by the following day all was well.
Hope it’s the same for Snowy

 

[caseypig]

I have a pig that is very 'hooty' eater - he makes a lot of noise only when eating. It took me a while to figure out what was happening. Does it only happen at certain times?

 

[DMS260820]

Illnesses i have had with older pigs is Arthiritis, leading to mild urine scald, runny poos that cant seem to be corrected, and cancer. Thats about it. Oh and cataracts

 

[Sophie B]

She’s beautiful x
Not sure about older pig illnesses x