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Please Help Me Out!

Rebecca somethi

Rebecca somethi

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 5, 2017
Messages
25
Reaction score
7
Points
65
Location
Sweden
Hi, my guineapig has a very wheezing weird noise when she's breathing. She's 4 years old, sleeps alot, is skinny, kinda weak I guess because of age. She's not as active as she used to be, but she does eat hay and pellets, and if i give her vegetables she eats some of it, and also drink. But what worries me is the noise shes making. She started making this noise today this morning when i woke up. & What's weird is that she's still eating and all, and I can't rly take her to the vet because its too expensive for us. So what do i do? What's the matter? Thankful for answers.
 
I really want to but my parents thinks its too expensive which makes me sad because I want the best for her, but I got no money on my own right now
 
if shes wheezing and lethargic then she needs to see a vet as an emergency, there is no reason for your guinea pig to be behaving like this at years old, it will not be age related. More likely to be a respiratory infection which, without treatment, can develop quickly into a fatal condition
 
Rebecca somethi said:
Hi, my guineapig has a very wheezing weird noise when she's breathing. She's 4 years old, sleeps alot, is skinny, kinda weak I guess because of age. She's not as active as she used to be, but she does eat hay and pellets, and if i give her vegetables she eats some of it, and also drink. But what worries me is the noise shes making. She started making this noise today this morning when i woke up. & What's weird is that she's still eating and all, and I can't rly take her to the vet because its too expensive for us. So what do i do? What's the matter? Thankful for answers.
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You can place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to help ease the breathing and start syringe feeding your girl, as you should whenever your guinea pig has lost more than 50g of weight in between its weekly weigh-in. Our detailed guide contains tip on what you can do with what you have got at home (pellets you can mush up) and easily available from a pharmacy (a syringe without needle whose tip you need to adapt according to the picture in our guide) as well as carefully syringing water to make sure that nothing spills into the lungs.

However, all this does NOT replace a urgently needed vet visit and antibiotics. 4 years is not all that old yet.
Have you got charity vet clinics in your country that see the pets of people on benefits?
 
I will do that! but she does eat and drink on her own so I don't think there's something bad with that. Is there something else i can do? Vitamins? anything? She also seem rly warm, and i dont know like, should i do something to cool her down aswell? I just want the best for her. and no we haven't got it.
 
and also, could it be the cage or hay or something? Because whenever i've cleaned the cage they somehow manage to get the hay all over the cage on the sawdust. If so, should i give it a try and clean the cage?
 
If you are bedding your piggy on wood shavings as I assume you are not on sawdust, then you should be cleaning out every week with suitable animal cleaner including bowls, bottles and plastic houses or similar. Then dry thoroughly before replacing bedding. You can buy plastic corner vessels to your the hay in but they love to burrow in them anyway.

Make sure the hay is dust free, as that will help with your piggies breathing too.
 
Please clean the cage.

Weigh her daily at the same time on your kitchen scales. If you say that your guinea pig is skinny, then she has alrady lost a lot of weight and will need more food. Up to 80% of the daily food intake is hay, and that is the part you cannot control. A guinea pig can loose a lot of weight very quickly that way without you really noticing!

Do your vets require upfront payment or will they agree on a payment plan? Your girl really needs vet care!
 
Piggies are a responsibility and owners should always ensure their is an emergency vet fund. As others have said above, whilst there are some things you can do to help your piggy straight away but food is important otherwise they will start to shut down. Ideally you need to get your piggy to a vet for breathing difficulties.
 
Have you called around the exotic vets in your area to ask how much a general checkup would be? It might be less cost less than you think. ;)

As for advice, I have nothing to add that's not already been suggested.
 
If it helps, at the Vets for Pets place I use, ive never paid more than £40 for a check up and a weeks course of antibiotics. The weeks worth of Baytril on my reciepts is only £7. Are your parents on housing benefit or anything else? Low income? If so you might be able to take your piggy to a PDSA vet where you just make a small donation if you can, or even a Blue cross vets. I'm not sure where in the world you are, but I'm sure there is something around to help financially.
Fingers crossed for your piggy.
 
Mother Hubbard said:
If you are bedding your piggy on wood shavings as I assume you are not on sawdust, then you should be cleaning out every week with suitable animal cleaner including bowls, bottles and plastic houses or similar. Then dry thoroughly before replacing bedding. You can buy plastic corner vessels to your the hay in but they love to burrow in them anyway.

Make sure the hay is dust free, as that will help with your piggies breathing too.
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Oops, I'm not that good at english so i didnt rly know what it was called since I'm swedish, but yea i mean that. I'm gonna clean the cage today and, i always clean the bowl and bottle, and i will also check so that there's no dust in the hay!
 
Wiebke said:
Please clean the cage.

Weigh her daily at the same time on your kitchen scales. If you say that your guinea pig is skinny, then she has alrady lost a lot of weight and will need more food. Up to 80% of the daily food intake is hay, and that is the part you cannot control. A guinea pig can loose a lot of weight very quickly that way without you really noticing!

Do your vets require upfront payment or will they agree on a payment plan? Your girl really needs vet care!
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I will weight her daily, last time i checked she weight around 600 grams, which idk what it is in lbs, but yea. I'm keeping an eye on her and give vegetables and I often see her eating pellets especially.

The vets require upfront payment sadly. I'm really trying to make my parents let me go to the vet but we recently bought a house and spent alot of money on furniture and all to build a new kitchen and other rooms, so we barely got any money atm which sucks. I never thought ab my guineapigs getting sick, which is why I haven't like, saved my money somehow incase they need to get to the vet. But I will now on save my money incase my guineapigs needs to go to the vet, and I'm trying to be able to get my piggy to the vet.
 
Mother Hubbard said:
Piggies are a responsibility and owners should always ensure their is an emergency vet fund. As others have said above, whilst there are some things you can do to help your piggy straight away but food is important otherwise they will start to shut down. Ideally you need to get your piggy to a vet for breathing difficulties.
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Yes, I feel like the worst person /: I never saw this coming and never thought ab it, but as i said above I'm gonna now on save money incase. I will do whatever I can do for now on, and she's eating tho and i'm gonna make sure she somehow eats more and give her more vegetables. I'm keeping an eye on her.
 
Squeakz said:
Have you called around the exotic vets in your area to ask how much a general checkup would be? It might be less cost less than you think. ;)

As for advice, I have nothing to add that's not already been suggested.
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I'll try that! but my dad is so sure ab it being so expensive :( so whenever i keep on talking ab it he just says its too exepensive and that we haven't got the money for it, but wont listen at me.
 
Eriathwen said:
If it helps, at the Vets for Pets place I use, ive never paid more than £40 for a check up and a weeks course of antibiotics. The weeks worth of Baytril on my reciepts is only £7. Are your parents on housing benefit or anything else? Low income? If so you might be able to take your piggy to a PDSA vet where you just make a small donation if you can, or even a Blue cross vets. I'm not sure where in the world you are, but I'm sure there is something around to help financially.
Fingers crossed for your piggy.
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Really, idk if it's like more expensive here then. I live in sweden. They kinda have a low income and spent it on our new house because we need to fix it, and then on food ofc and food for the piggies. But other than that we don't have much money atm. I never knew about that, but I don't think we have it in sweden, but i'll google it. Thank u!
 
Rebecca somethi said:
Yes, I feel like the worst person /: I never saw this coming and never thought ab it, but as i said above I'm gonna now on save money incase. I will do whatever I can do for now on, and she's eating tho and i'm gonna make sure she somehow eats more and give her more vegetables. I'm keeping an eye on her.
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Rebecca, you are NOT a bad person or a bad owner. Don't put this idea into your head. The fact is that you are a genuine girl who thinks that when the events go bad the adults are there with their money ready. The truth is different... many adults don't care of many things which are important for us (a piggie and his/her health for example); many adults see your piggie as a "piggie" which costs 10€ at the shop and it sounds absurd to pay a fortune at the vet...
And you, as a daughter, cannot do much. But maybe something can be done: ask your Grandparents if you have any; ask your parents about paying in advance your next birthday present/christmas present/party/pocket money/mobile's card (you can turn the mobile off, it is not necessary and I also live mobile free); you can call a vet in front of your parents and explain him the situation... maybe your parents will not like the poor figure or maybe the vet will sign for you some prescription.
Another thing you can do is explaining your parents (I am not sure they know this point) that your pet is not only a common piggie, but is the piggie you love... and if she dies without a vet you will suffer a lot...
And for the future, before adopting a pet, before homing a pet into a FAMILY, remember that a pet or a child or a guest or a plant is not YOURS, but it belongs to the whole family. If only one member of the family disagrees the presence of the VET or wants to be far from troubles (and also plants need expensive cares sometimes), it is better living pets free and this is what I have written in another thread and I will go on writing and saying this aloud.
 
I agree with Rochester Piggy, plus unfortunately you haven't got the luxury
Of time , guinea pigs crash and burn so quickly!
 
Rochester Piggy said:
I'm sorry, but you MUST get her to a vet ASAP. I cannot stress this enough. Could you video your piggy breathing and post that on here? Offer to your parents to give up something for a month such as cell phone, TV, computer, etc.
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I can't video her rn since apparently, idk why, but she's breathing normally right now. I cleaned their cage as good as i could, the bottle, bowl and even on the cage because there was some dust on it. Then I also changed their hay to new incase, and made sure to clean the whole cage with water. She seems fine right now tho and that surprises me.
 
rome_italy said:
Rebecca, you are NOT a bad person or a bad owner. Don't put this idea into your head. The fact is that you are a genuine girl who thinks that when the events go bad the adults are there with their money ready. The truth is different... many adults don't care of many things which are important for us (a piggie and his/her health for example); many adults see your piggie as a "piggie" which costs 10€ at the shop and it sounds absurd to pay a fortune at the vet...
And you, as a daughter, cannot do much. But maybe something can be done: ask your Grandparents if you have any; ask your parents about paying in advance your next birthday present/christmas present/party/pocket money/mobile's card (you can turn the mobile off, it is not necessary and I also live mobile free); you can call a vet in front of your parents and explain him the situation... maybe your parents will not like the poor figure or maybe the vet will sign for you some prescription.
Another thing you can do is explaining your parents (I am not sure they know this point) that your pet is not only a common piggie, but is the piggie you love... and if she dies without a vet you will suffer a lot...
And for the future, before adopting a pet, before homing a pet into a FAMILY, remember that a pet or a child or a guest or a plant is not YOURS, but it belongs to the whole family. If only one member of the family disagrees the presence of the VET or wants to be far from troubles (and also plants need expensive cares sometimes), it is better living pets free and this is what I have written in another thread and I will go on writing and saying this aloud.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much, I do really care about my guineapigs because they mean so much to me and I want the best for them. I really can't believe there are people barely caring about their health and how they are living. But I do feel bad for not having the money, and yeah it's hard as an adult to get money, since i only got it monthly and it's not much. I will honestly try to save some money tho, the best I can even if I don't get much money, and also that's a good idea! I'll try it, but somehow she seems fine right now which surprises me, like her breathing is good and I don't hear any noise atm. I've explained it. I had her with sitting on my lap and told them to listen to the noise she made, and they got very surprised and talked about that guineapigs dosen't live long, which I obv know but just because we also talked about how much her energy changed. I started crying and told them how much I love her and that she means so much to me. & yes exactly, that's true. I didn't think that they would think it's too expensive so that we can't buy it because we don't have as much money ):
 
If your animal is ill then it needs to see a vet - end of. Nobody on here can diagnose your pet for you or provide it treatment. Neither can you diagnose your pet.

If you don't have the money to take the animal to the vets then you shouldn't have the animal - end of. It's not the animals fault you can't provide for them and they shouldn't have to suffer as a consequence. Here in England you are breaking the law if you fail to provide veterinary treatment for a sick animal (Animal Welfare Act 2006). You can be fined and even go to jail for it!

There is no excuse for not seeking vet treatment! Most vets offer a payment scheme for people who struggle to afford vet treatment. Many charities even offer free vet care for people who met a certain financial criteria!

At the end of the day, if your under 16 then the animal legally belongs to your parents and they have a duty of care to provide vet treatment for that animal. They agreed to that the moment they brought the animal. And that duty of care is still there, regardless of their financial situation.
 
Rebecca somethi said:
Thank you so much, I do really care about my guineapigs because they mean so much to me and I want the best for them. I really can't believe there are people barely caring about their health and how they are living. But I do feel bad for not having the money, and yeah it's hard as an adult to get money, since i only got it monthly and it's not much. I will honestly try to save some money tho, the best I can even if I don't get much money, and also that's a good idea! I'll try it, but somehow she seems fine right now which surprises me, like her breathing is good and I don't hear any noise atm. I've explained it. I had her with sitting on my lap and told them to listen to the noise she made, and they got very surprised and talked about that guineapigs dosen't live long, which I obv know but just because we also talked about how much her energy changed. I started crying and told them how much I love her and that she means so much to me. & yes exactly, that's true. I didn't think that they would think it's too expensive so that we can't buy it because we don't have as much money ):
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look, before ending up with any decision and struggle, you and your parents should try to call some clinic at the phone and ask how much the visit would cost because there might be a good surprise. It might be necessary only a paper with a list of medicines... And the vet might be young and in search of new clients... and might offer a very good price.
Anyway I don't know in Sweden, here in Italy you need to be 18 for going to a vet and get a visit, at least this is the general rule (and adults can deduct part of the amount from the taxes).
You say that your piggie is 4; in these 4 years has she ever seen a vet? I mean, do you know any vet? because very often vets offer a check up for free when it's necessary and you are a client...
I hope the best for your piggie, but especially for you as you are suffering more than your piggie now...
The only thing you can do which is not dangerous is adding vit C in her diet. Are you already using any supplement? if not, you can go to a supermarket and buy the one for humans. Better if you go to a chemist's because there are drops for newborns which have a good taste. The amount of vit C for a piggie is 20-40mg/kg daily but when they are ill they need more (and the excess is not dangerous because goes away with the urine). it is not a medicine but boots the immune system. You need to use a little syringe then because vit C fastly decrease with the air, the light, the time...
Don't give your piggie other supplements and other vitamins. Only vit C which is extremely cheap.
 
Heres a video of her! She seems fine right now, not breathing like that


Idk how that could change
 
rome_italy said:
look, before ending up with any decision and struggle, you and your parents should try to call some clinic at the phone and ask how much the visit would cost because there might be a good surprise. It might be necessary only a paper with a list of medicines... And the vet might be young and in search of new clients... and might offer a very good price.
Anyway I don't know in Sweden, here in Italy you need to be 18 for going to a vet and get a visit, at least this is the general rule (and adults can deduct part of the amount from the taxes).
You say that your piggie is 4; in these 4 years has she ever seen a vet? I mean, do you know any vet? because very often vets offer a check up for free when it's necessary and you are a client...
I hope the best for your piggie, but especially for you as you are suffering more than your piggie now...
The only thing you can do which is not dangerous is adding vit C in her diet. Are you already using any supplement? if not, you can go to a supermarket and buy the one for humans. Better if you go to a chemist's because there are drops for newborns which have a good taste. The amount of vit C for a piggie is 20-40mg/kg daily but when they are ill they need more (and the excess is not dangerous because goes away with the urine). it is not a medicine but boots the immune system. You need to use a little syringe then because vit C fastly decrease with the air, the light, the time...
Don't give your piggie other supplements and other vitamins. Only vit C which is extremely cheap.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna convice them to let me do that, because they are so sure ab it being too expensive. and okay i'll go to the store tomorrow if i can, to see if there's any to buy
 
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