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Possible URI, Not good vet chances

avafaghani

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi!

I have two guinea pigs Maple and Ginny, 10 days ago Maple had a nose bleed so I took her to the Vet immediately and figured it was an irritated URI. She was given baytril for 10 days + meloxicam to prevent bloating. Today is the 10th day and I don't see any congestion but I hear faint whistles in her breathing and maybe an occasional sneeze? But, in Ginny she's congested, snotty, boogers, etc. My family is not very pro-animals and in the past two months we've spent over 400 dollars alone on my guinea pigs vet bills. I'm so lost but I don't want my little Ginny or Maple to be unhealthy. I have been putting them in some steam to help congestion and keeping them separated. Should I give Ginny the baytril? Otherwise maybe I'd be able to go to the vet on Friday-Monday. Please help. They're 3 and 4 years old.
 
That’s a tough one. I lost my guinea pig today due to an antibiotic she was given called ‘Convenia’. Whatever you do, stay away from that drug.
She had Baytril in the past and didn’t seem to have an adverse reactions to that drug so that might be okay for guinea pigs but definitely do all the research you can and I would highly recommend seeing someone who specializes in small animals. The vet we went to was negligent and clearly clueless. I hope your sweet babies make a speedy recovery. 🙏🏼
 
Please don’t give anything without consulting your vet. You have to drive home he fact that they can go downhill very quickly to your family and try to get Ginny seen as soon as.

Put them back together as separating them can also cause stress. There’s also no point now as they’ve been exposed to whatever it is already.

I’m afraid we can’t really give you any other advice.
 
That’s a tough one. I lost my guinea pig today due to an antibiotic she was given called ‘Convenia’. Whatever you do, stay away from that drug.
She had Baytril in the past and didn’t seem to have an adverse reactions to that drug so that might be okay for guinea pigs but definitely do all the research you can and I would highly recommend seeing someone who specializes in small animals. The vet we went to was negligent and clearly clueless. I hope your sweet babies make a speedy recovery. 🙏🏼
Aw thank you! So sorry about your little piggy :(
I'll make sure to stay away from convenia!
 
Please don’t give anything without consulting your vet. You have to drive home he fact that they can go downhill very quickly to your family and try to get Ginny seen as soon as.

Put them back together as separating them can also cause stress. There’s also no point now as they’ve been exposed to whatever it is already.

I’m afraid we can’t really give you any other advice.
Thank you! I'm gonna try to take her to the vet and I'll keep updating. Thank you so much.
 
If a course of baytril was prescribed then you need to complete the course. If it doesn’t work, then she either needs a longer course or a different antibiotic. Not all antibiotics are effective as you have to find the right one for the right bacteria.

Please do not separate your piggies though. There is no medical benefit in doing that. It can cause stress to both of them and make healing much harder. At worst separating for medical reasons can break their bond. So please put them on neutral territory and reintroduce them.
 
If a course of baytril was prescribed then you need to complete the course. If it doesn’t work, then she either needs a longer course or a different antibiotic. Not all antibiotics are effective as you have to find the right one for the right bacteria.

Please do not separate your piggies though. There is no medical benefit in doing that. It can cause stress to both of them and make healing much harder. At worst separating for medical reasons can break their bond. So please put them on neutral territory and reintroduce them.
Thank you so much! I gave Maple's last dose of baytril tonight so that's all finished. For some reason my vet told me to separate them so that was their mistake! I only put up a C&C waffle grid in between, so they can still squeak at each other, smell each other, hear each other etc. Do you think this caused stress? I'll take it down now! Thanks again
 
It can cause stress. There have been cases on here where vets tell owners to separate. It’s a little late by that time as the other has been exposed to what the ill piggy has. Sometimes it’s necessary but in your case it really wasn’t.

Good luck getting to the vet.
 
Thank you so much! I gave Maple's last dose of baytril tonight so that's all finished. For some reason my vet told me to separate them so that was their mistake! I only put up a C&C waffle grid in between, so they can still squeak at each other, smell each other, hear each other etc. Do you think this caused stress? I'll take it down now! Thanks again

Vets can underestimate the importance of guinea pig bonds. They say to separate to prevent spread of the illness but by the time one piggy is showing symptoms, the other piggy has already been exposed to the same bacteria therefore separating serves no purpose.
 
It can cause stress. There have been cases on here where vets tell owners to separate. It’s a little late by that time as the other has been exposed to what the ill piggy has. Sometimes it’s necessary but in your case it really wasn’t.

Good luck getting to the vet.
Thanks! Since Maple just got off of her baytril (should be URI free) and Ginny seems to be having symptoms would that be a case to keep the separation up? Do URI's spread back and forth in piggies?
 
No, put them back together. I’m not sure that a nose bleed is a sign of a URI though. And Maple has already been exposed if you only put a grid between them.
 
:agr:

Put them Back together. There is absolutely no benefit in them being separated,

As siikibam has said, one grid between them isn’t going to do anything to prevent spread (even if it was possible). If you truly needed to quarantine, then the poorly piggy would have needed to be in a totally separate cage in a totally separate room. then of course each piggy would get lonely as they wouldn’t have the other nearby. So this is why separating them isn’t necessary

Ginny needs to see a vet and vet her own course of treatment.
 
:agr:

Put them Back together. There is absolutely no benefit in them being separated,

As siikibam has said, one grid between them isn’t going to do anything to prevent spread (even if it was possible). If you truly needed to quarantine, then the poorly piggy would have needed to be in a totally separate cage in a totally separate room. then of course each piggy would get lonely as they wouldn’t have the other nearby. So this is why separating them isn’t necessary

Ginny needs to see a vet and vet her own course of treatment.
I just took off the grid! Thank you guys so much. It's 3 am but I'll keep an eye out on them for the night to see about how their bonding was affected. I know that guineas are very good at hiding when they're sick so I think I also tend to overthink if I see a sign, do you guys know what could've caused the nosebleed? And is congestion or a few dry boogers / occasional sneezing normal in guinea pigs? I've been hearing mixed thoughts. Thanks again for all the help! I also have been doing a vitamin C liquid supplement every night and some steam for Ginny when I feel she's congested, plus making sure she's hydrated. Until I can see a vet or for the future are these things okay and do they help? <3
 
Vitamin c supplement isn’t necessary if they’re getting a varied veg diet and hay always available. Having snot isn’t normal. Sneezing is as that’s how they clear themselves, but too much isn’t good either.
 
Vitamin c supplement isn’t necessary if they’re getting a varied veg diet and hay always available. Having snot isn’t normal. Sneezing is as that’s how they clear themselves, but too much isn’t good either.
Thank you! I don't give them any pellets and try to stick to leafy greens, cucumber, and the occasional bell pepper, strawberry, etc. Here's a photo I took with flash of Ginnys little nose right now. On the right there seems to be a little black dry booger? Does this help with anything? Thank you so much for chatting with me I really do appreciate it. I've had these guineas since I was a kid and they're my everything!
 

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May I ask why you went the no pellet route? Bell pepper and coriander are good sources of vitamin c which can be fed daily, so I would see that you give them at least one of those every day.

I can’t really see anything in the photo, it’s not really clear unfortunately.
 
May I ask why you went the no pellet route? Bell pepper and coriander are good sources of vitamin c which can be fed daily, so I would see that you give them at least one of those every day.

I can’t really see anything in the photo, it’s not really clear unfortunately.
I gave pellets to my guineas the first year I had them and noticed a lack of energy, and they just really didn't enjoy them after I tried a few different brands. After that I started just giving a fresh veggie and fruit diet and their weight has been praised by every vet I've seen! (Maple is leaning towards the chunky side though!) I'm open to new ideas though!
 
May I ask why you went the no pellet route? Bell pepper and coriander are good sources of vitamin c which can be fed daily, so I would see that you give them at least one of those every day.

I can’t really see anything in the photo, it’s not really clear unfortunately.
Forgot to mention I also give them Critical Care occasionally for some nice fiber in their diet (or of course if they're not eating).
 
Fruit should not be fed very often. - they should only have one small piece no more than once per week.

Feeding pellet free is fine, but you need to make sure they get a good variety of veg to Cover all the nutrients. This is where pellets are useful as they will give them everything and if the veg is lacking in some way then the pellets catch all the nutrients. Pellet free is fine though, there are others who do it. Regardless, hay is the most important part of the diet. Pellets should only ever be limited to just one tablespoon per day.

They don’t need to be fed critical care as part of routine though as hay is the main source of fibre and they need hay to be fed unlimited
 
Fruit should not be fed very often. - they should only have one small piece no more than once per week.

Feeding pellet free is fine, but you need to make sure they get a good variety of veg to Cover all the nutrients. This is where pellets are useful as they will give them everything and if the veg is lacking in some way then the pellets catch all the nutrients. Pellet free is fine though, there are others who do it. Regardless, hay is the most important part of the diet. Pellets should only ever be limited to just one tablespoon per day.

They don’t need to be fed critical care as part of routine though as hay is the main source of fibre and they need hay to be fed unlimited
Sorry I feel like I'm making myself sound like a bad guinea mama!
I only feed really a small strawberry maybe once a month as a sweet snack so that's pretty much it for their fruits, but their diet consists of hay, romaine/green leaf lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, bell peppers, turnip leaves, and some others but that's about it! I only started giving the vitamin C supplement about a month ago because the vet prescribed it. I hope this is okay! I got these guineas when I was a young kid and have always taken care of them myself so I really appreciate the input. Thank you! Currently sitting next to their cage and they seem to be bonded just the same, maybe a little more purring and prancing than usual.
 
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