Andrea999
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi everyone,
I'm a new guinea pig owner and I've been looking at forums all over the place over this past week.
About 10 days ago our family adopted 2 guinea pigs - Petey & S'mores. I did my research and we even built them a c&c cage.
The only thing I didn't know was that buying piggies at PetSmart was a bad idea. I did check our shelter, but they only had 2 and they were both on hold. They don't often get piggies.
About 4 days after we got them I noticed Petey was struggling to breathe and wheezing. I called PetSmart, since they have a 14 day guarantee. They even have a pet hospital right inside. They told me they would treat him IF I brought him in and returned him to them. That they'd give us a call when he was better. That just didnt seem right to me. Our family had fallen in love with the little guy. We didn't want to return him.
I found another vet right away and got him in that day. Vet said his lungs sounded bad and came him a neb treatment, a vitamin c shot, and smz-tmp (antibiotic). He said he gave him a 50/50 shot.
I was horrified.
2 days later vet wanted to see him back. Went in and he said Petey was doing better. I was skeptical, but he is the vet. I saw Petey still struggling to breathe all the time. He said he was improving so I took that as good and we went home.
The next day I came home from work and his eyes were both completely crusted shut. He couldn't see a thing. He even came right over to me, like he knew he needed help. It was so sad. I got them both open with a paper towel and water. Quickly called the vet again. They didn't seem too concerned. Told me to call back in an hour if I couldn't get his eyes open. How is that a solution?
I knew he wasn't improving and I knew he was getting worse. I called another vet and they got him in that day. She said he has pneumonia and that basically it doesn't look good for him. She agreed to switch antibiotics (to baytril) and gave him eyedrops. We have also been giving him critical care as much as he'll take since our first vet trip.
He has been eating semi normally and is somewhat active, which I've taken as good signs. He's also pooping normally.
Tonight he scared me so much though as he was just sitting in the corner struggling to breathe, just closing his eyes. It's horrible to watch. I can't believe this is happening. Our family has grown so attached to him and we've done nothing but try to provide him the best care and he still seems to be getting worse.
I've read on quite a few forums that in cases such as these sudafed is administered. Last night we started that. Very small dose of expectorant (.02 ml) twice a day.
Any other advice would be much appreciated.
I'm a new guinea pig owner and I've been looking at forums all over the place over this past week.
About 10 days ago our family adopted 2 guinea pigs - Petey & S'mores. I did my research and we even built them a c&c cage.
The only thing I didn't know was that buying piggies at PetSmart was a bad idea. I did check our shelter, but they only had 2 and they were both on hold. They don't often get piggies.
About 4 days after we got them I noticed Petey was struggling to breathe and wheezing. I called PetSmart, since they have a 14 day guarantee. They even have a pet hospital right inside. They told me they would treat him IF I brought him in and returned him to them. That they'd give us a call when he was better. That just didnt seem right to me. Our family had fallen in love with the little guy. We didn't want to return him.
I found another vet right away and got him in that day. Vet said his lungs sounded bad and came him a neb treatment, a vitamin c shot, and smz-tmp (antibiotic). He said he gave him a 50/50 shot.
I was horrified.
2 days later vet wanted to see him back. Went in and he said Petey was doing better. I was skeptical, but he is the vet. I saw Petey still struggling to breathe all the time. He said he was improving so I took that as good and we went home.
The next day I came home from work and his eyes were both completely crusted shut. He couldn't see a thing. He even came right over to me, like he knew he needed help. It was so sad. I got them both open with a paper towel and water. Quickly called the vet again. They didn't seem too concerned. Told me to call back in an hour if I couldn't get his eyes open. How is that a solution?
I knew he wasn't improving and I knew he was getting worse. I called another vet and they got him in that day. She said he has pneumonia and that basically it doesn't look good for him. She agreed to switch antibiotics (to baytril) and gave him eyedrops. We have also been giving him critical care as much as he'll take since our first vet trip.
He has been eating semi normally and is somewhat active, which I've taken as good signs. He's also pooping normally.
Tonight he scared me so much though as he was just sitting in the corner struggling to breathe, just closing his eyes. It's horrible to watch. I can't believe this is happening. Our family has grown so attached to him and we've done nothing but try to provide him the best care and he still seems to be getting worse.
I've read on quite a few forums that in cases such as these sudafed is administered. Last night we started that. Very small dose of expectorant (.02 ml) twice a day.
Any other advice would be much appreciated.
