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Pets At Home Pigs Ill Since Day One Any Hope For Recovery?

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HeatherRoyan

HeatherRoyan

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Bought my first pair of guinea pigs on the 5th November from my local pets at home store both males. Assistant checked both over and used a checklist to make sure everything covered. Set the boys up in their new home left them in peace for first 2 days until settled. One first hold both pigs were unsettled and scratching noticed the long hair 'chocolate' had white scabs on ear and nose and noticed the multicolour 'patch' had a section of fur missing from his shoulder what was left was red scabby and bumpy. Phoned pets at home who advised me to take boys to vet which i did who diagnosed skin mites and ear mites in both both boys also were sneezing a course of 3 injections over two week intervals were prescribed and an antibiotic for the suspected chest infection. Chocolate responded quickly and was soon improving although was so itchy he was biting when being handled so didnt overly handle him just enough to keep him used to us.
Patch suddenly stopped his desire to eat I noticed quickly and started with baby puree and mushed up pellets thorough a syringe then a brown discharge came from his nose I got onto the vet straight away who brought him in and have kept him in for the last 7 days treating him with antibiotics for the infection and feeding him through syringe after 7 days he still showing no sign of wanting to eat. Vet has just called with an update that he put him under anesthetic to do some exploration checked his teeth they seem fine an xray shows the chest as clear but he noticed white mucas and spots at the back of the throat which he thinks might be another infection. He has said they will now treat him for that too but he's not out the woods yet can anyone offer any words of encouragement Its my first time with these as pets and i feel i might have failed them :( pets at home have since they are not sure if they will foot the bill which has dissapointed me too
 
Hello, welcome to the forum, sorry it isn't in happier circumstances, really sorry to hear you are going through this. It's a really tough welcome into the world of guinea pigs

How is Chocolate itchiness now? Poor Patch, it does sound like your vet is on the ball keeping him in. Do you know what antibiotic they are giving him? I hope both your boys start to get well soon
 
I am really sorry to hear your little ones are so poorly. Unfortunetly pet shops rarely have healthy guinea pigs as they are just from breeders who are after money. I really hope your little ones can recover.

They have to foot the bill. They sold sick guinea pigs and it is their duty.
 
sport_billy said:
Hello, welcome to the forum, sorry it isn't in happier circumstances, really sorry to hear you are going through this. It's a really tough welcome into the world of guinea pigs

How is Chocolate itchiness now? Poor Patch, it does sound like your vet is on the ball keeping him in. Do you know what antibiotic they are giving him? I hope both your boys start to get well soon
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Hi chocolate is doing really great and is acting how I would assume a normal guinea pig will do and loving cuddles although missing hiw wee pal x I'm hoping the vet is on the ball its so hard when there is no definate answer the antibiotic he had for his chest infection was septrin 0.4 twice a day he had that for a week before he stopped eating suddenly
 
piggyfan said:
I am really sorry to hear your little ones are so poorly. Unfortunetly pet shops rarely have healthy guinea pigs as they are just from breeders who are after money. I really hope your little ones can recover.

They have to foot the bill. They sold sick guinea pigs and it is their duty.
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Wish Id done more research into where to buy them rather than a pet store but just trusted that i assumed they would never sell sick animals I'm glad in a way that i noticed the illness quickly and it was treated but feel sad for my 10 year old who thinks its her fault as she wasnt able to hold him too much when he was itchy
 
I do wish people were more aware of rescues so they would adopt. Before I had guinea pigs I had no idea about guinea pig rescues so you are not alone there. Aww your poor child. I hope you can reassure her/him that sadly animals do get sick and it is nothing to do with her/him at all.
 
Hey, don't beat yourself up. It's just bad luck. It may be worth asking your vet if they could try a different piggy friendly antibiotic if things don't start to pick up over the next 3 days. You have an amazing Guinea Pig Vet within 20 mile of you by the way, if you feel like exploring options later if he doesn't pick up

Details are below:

Apex Vets
Glenn
Winchester Avenue
Denny
Falkirk, FK6 6QE

Lots of healing vibes to Patch.
 
Thanks he did say that the first antibiotic might start to be resistant so i think he was going to try another antibiotic but never thought to ask what it was called I feel because I dont know what to expect i assume hes getting well cared for at vets they phone me every morning with an update of how hes doing so unsure if i need to try elsewhere:hmm:
 
I'm so sorry you are going through all this, sadly Pets at Home often sell sick animals. Well done on getting them to the vets so promptly. I am wondering if the spots and white mucus at the back of the throat could be oral fungal as it can thrive when an animal's immune system is compromised.

Is Patch still scratching?
 
Hi There,

Welcome to the forum, sportsbilly is Quite right Glen at Apex is an awesome vet. He's saved quite a few of my piggies, however your vet certainly does sound like they are trying everything. I really hope your little one makes it out the woods.

Guinea pig's can go downhill so quickly but equally they can come back from death door just easily, there's been many a guinea pig that I've thought was going to go only to do a full turn around, so don't give up hope.

Most of us start piggy ownership with not knowing much, I never thought guinea pig's where so complicated until I got my lot.

Welcome to the forum, I will keep my fingers crossed for your little one.
 
Fingers firmly crossed that your little boy can pull through! I am very sorry that you are going through such a steep and expensive learning curve. Mites, ringworm and URI (respiratory infections) are a well known problem for pet shops; some branches are worse than others. They are all highly infectious opportunists that hit whenever the immune system is lowered through stress or illness. And after having been ripped away from their mum, been transported from rodent farms on the Continent to shops all over Britain, these poor youngsters are certainly stressed out!

If you wish, you can find out more about what you are up against. Here are some links to a medical website for guinea pigs. Good that you have sought vet care immediately!
http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html

If I were you, I'd write a letter of complaint to p@h!
 
hi just noticed your thread, i am in the same boat, except pets at home still have my 3 boys as they all have URIs and eye infections, i have been told that they are much better, but i will take them to glen who is my piggies new vet, he has saved 1 piggie in the past, have you been giving your little one pro-biotics, use this while piggies are on antibiotics, i use either Avipro you can get this from the vets, or pro-C from pets at home.

Good Luck, I wish I had my little one's at home, I haven't even had a cuddle yet of any of them, cannot wait.

keep us updated on your little one's progress. My thoughts are with you. x
 
Great that you got them to the vet so promptly! It sounds like it might be worth trying him on a different antibiotic. Also is your vet also giving probiotics? It might sound like a dumb question, but I have taken my pigs to competent vets, but didn't carry probiotics for pigs, despite being good in every other aspect. Maybe the antibiotics are upsetting his tummy and that's why he's reluctant to eat. Just a thought. :) I hope he starts to improve, and keep us updated!
 
Hello everyone a wee update for you all afraid its not good news little patch passed away this morning my kids were devastated when they came in from school and my eldest cried herself to sleep tonight wish pets@home knew how they have impacted on this little girls life by their poor practices :(
I felt it would be a good idea to try and get another buddy as quickly as possible as I worried about our remaining piggie chocloate who has been quite depressed since Patch has been poorly and hoped it might ease some of the kids pain. I was told about a great independent pet shop that sells guinea pigs she was telling me her breeder has been breeding them for 30years so felt confident I was making a good choice couldnt believe the size of her piggies compared to my two which as were DOUBLE the size and so much healthier despite being the same age range. Wish id known she existed at the beginning.
Have introduced the boys this eve after a wee bit of sniffing and some ruff and tumble they have both settled down and squeaking away to each other so hopefully they will setttle down happily with each other I'm hoping for the best.
 
I am very sorry to hear that little Patch didn't make it!

Wishing you the best for your new boy. Hopefully, your daughter will perk up seeing them happy together.
 
Sorry for the loss of little Patch, that must have been so difficult. I hope your daughter will be ok, and your pigs will be fast friends.
 
Very sorry about your loss! I am very new in the world of Guinea Pigs. Just got my first one two days ago, and I already have bonded with it greatly, and I would be devastated if she passed!

Good luck with the new piggie!
 
I am so sorry for your loss. If ever you get guinea pigs in the future then please think of adopting from a rescue. There are so many unwanted piggies that need homes. I think it is best you quarantine your new pig for two weeks to ensure no illness is passed on. You need to be sure your first has made a full recovery too.
 
Just read your thread. So sad and so upsetting that your guinea ownership started this way. Shame on Pets at Home, as someone said, it should be pointed out to them the emotional toll on a child is not fair at that young age. I am so sad for her. Sleep well little Patch.

You sound like a wonderful caring family and good for you for sticking with it and doing your best. A lot of people would have given up particularly when faced with such cost and emotion so early on.

So I just wanted to say welcome to the forum and guinea ownership. It is highly rewarding and you and your family will have a wonderful time and you'll make a lot of like minded friends here! x
 
So sad for your loss, especially with young kids. When one of our pigs passed a couple of years ago, the kids were so upset. It's hard to go through that as a mom (plus, I loved her too, of course.) It's irresponsible for pet stores to sell sick animals, but sadly it happens all the time. A lot of them just don't care about the welfare of the animals, they just want a profit. Good luck introducing your new pair- hope all goes well! It may help to scrub the cage down completely so it no longer smells like your pig's property. There are some good tips about introducing pigs on these pages. I know when one half of our pair passed away, our remaining pig was very happy to have a friend on neutral ground, but would not share the cage with her until we scrubbed it all down. When it smelled like her, she was unwilling to share 'her' territory with someone new. Once it was scrubbed down and was essentially neutral territory, she was happy to share it with someone.
 
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