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Possible Uri?

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Crazeefiend

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Hey guys, I'm new to this website.. I bought 2 guinea pigs 2 days ago (Both male, Ludo and didymus) and I'm abit worried about them, They have been sneezing occasionally. This is the only symptom they have ( Been through all of the checks myself. wheezing ect) . The reason this overly worries me is that another piggle in the cage with them at the place i bought them had a runny nose an was getting checked over by a vet.. Mine are clean "sneezes", No runny nose no crusty no anything. I'm willing to go to the vet but I was just wondering if any of you guys had any ideas before I did.
Cheers :)
edit: i should also note that they are very young ( ~10weeks)
Edit 2: There cage consists of Hay and wood shavings, Just thought i'd put that out there
 
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Hi, welcome to the forum. Usually I would say to monitor but as their cagemate had a URI I would get them checked out in case. It may just be dust up their nose a reaction to a particular batch of hay. Are there any air fresheners nearby? They do tend to sneeze when they clean themselves so that is something to bear in mind too.
 
helen105281 said:
Hi, welcome to the forum. Usually I would say to monitor but as their cagemate had a URI I would get them checked out in case. It may just be dust up their nose a reaction to a particular batch of hay. Are there any air fresheners nearby? They do tend to sneeze when they clean themselves so that is something to bear in mind too.
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Hey, No air fresheners near by as I have a parrot which is allergic to them. (and they're outside), I'll get them checked soon :) thank you
I do get them out twice a day for about 1 hour so they're not outside all the time
 
Crazeefiend said:
Hey, No air fresheners near by as I have a parrot which is allergic to them. (and they're outside), I'll get them checked soon :) thank you
I do get them out twice a day for about 1 hour so they're not outside all the time
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Please be aware that quick temperature changes can weaken the immune system. Guinea pigs are not animals that adapt quickly to temperature changes, whether it is day/night shifts or indoors/outdoors changes. Is your hutch insulated?
 
Wiebke said:
Please be aware that quick temperature changes can weaken the immune system. Guinea pigs are not animals that adapt quickly to temperature changes, whether it is day/night shifts or indoors/outdoors changes. Is your hutch insulated?
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Hey, My hutch isnt insulated no. Just lots of hay, Should I insulate it? if so how do I go around doing that?
edit: well as far as I know it isn't. I've had about 6 guinea pigs in here before this one. So I'm not sure anymore ( They all lived to an old age)
 
Wiebke said:
Please insulate your hutch - the last month has been very cold with all the night frosts. You also need to think about protection during heat waves. Guinea pigs can die from heat strokes!

You can find lots of tips in these threads here:
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes
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Thanks for your reply. I'll pop a couple of blankets over their cage and make sure they're warm.. in the end I'll probably panic and bring them inside until its warm out
 
Crazeefiend said:
Hey It's me again.. My mum says it doesn't need insulation as its double thickness but I'm arguing it does still need it. Am I right or wrong?
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Just have a read through the threads.
 
Taking them both to vets now asap.. Woke up and didymus has a runny nose. Panicking like heck
 
If he has a uri. Does it mean he's going to die? Or is it easy to treat?
 
Hi just been vets he said they both have respitory infection
Both have medication wish me luck
 
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Crazeefiend said:
Hi just been vets he said they both have respitory infection
Both have medication wish me luck
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With prompt treatment and the right kind of meds, URI is not deadly. It is a serious illness, though. if you can, please bring them indoors into even temperatures.

Please make sure that you give a pinch of probiotic 1-2 hours after the antibiotic, as the antibiotic works not only on the 'bad' bacteria in the airways but also on the 'good' bacteria in the guts, especially baytril. You can get it in pet shops.

If you struggle to give baytril (which you have likely been given), then try to mix the same amount of baytril with ribena or fruit juice to cover up the horrible taste.
Administering Medications
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

I would also recommend to give 1/4 of a human vitamin C tablet dissolved in 2 syringes full of water - 1 syringe each per piggy 1-2 times a day while they are ill. This helps boost their immune system and fight the URI.About 1/4 -1/3 of a syringe are amouthful for a very young or young guinea pig, about 1/2 a syringe fill for an adult pig. Please never give a syringe full in one go, as the last thing you want is for things to down the wrong way especially with a respiratory infection!

Please weigh your piggies daily at the same time (before their dinner is the best time) instead of once weekly, so you can monitor their food intake. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Guinea pigs can;t breathe through their mouths, unlike humans, so they are much more likely to go off their food when breathing gets difficult - on top of the whammy from the life-saving antibiotic. As long as your piggies are still eating and not losing more than 50g, you don't need to panic.
If they go over that threshold, especially if they lose that weight or more from one day to another, then please step in with syringe feeding and watering asap. We have got an illustrated step-by-step guide that tells you exactly how to do it and how much/how often to feed. If you haven;t got any recvery food at home, you can use mushed-up pellets.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Please speak to your vets if your piggies stop eating and see a vet as an emergency if one of your piggies is very apathetic.

Best of luck!
 
Wiebke said:
With prompt treatment and the right kind of meds, URI is not deadly. It is a serious illness, though. if you can, please bring them indoors into even temperatures.

Please make sure that you give a pinch of probiotic 1-2 hours after the antibiotic, as the antibiotic works not only on the 'bad' bacteria in the airways but also on the 'good' bacteria in the guts, especially baytril. You can get it in pet shops.

If you struggle to give baytril (which you have likely been given), then try to mix the same amount of baytril with ribena or fruit juice to cover up the horrible taste.
Administering Medications
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs

I would also recommend to give 1/4 of a human vitamin C tablet dissolved in 2 syringes full of water - 1 syringe each per piggy 1-2 times a day while they are ill. This helps boost their immune system and fight the URI.

Please weigh your piggies daily at the same time (before their dinner is the best time) instead of once weekly, so you can monitor their food intake. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Guinea pigs can;t breathe through their mouths, unlike humans, so they are much more likely to go off their food when breathing gets difficult - on top of the whammy from the life-saving antibiotic. As long as your piggies are still eating and not losing more than 50g, you don't need to panic.
If they go over that threshold, especially if they lose that weight or more from one day to another, then please step in with syringe feeding and watering asap. We have got an illustrated step-by-step guide that tells you exactly how to do it and how much/how often to feed. If you haven;t got any recvery food at home, you can use mushed-up pellets.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Please speak to your vets if your piggies stop eating and see a vet as an emergency if one of your piggies is very apathetic.

Best of luck!
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thank you very much :) I'll make sure to do all these
 
Quick update: They both seems alot better. They're sneezing (wet i think) still but not as much. My other guinea pig didnt really eat but now he goes for it. day 5 of antibiotics it seems to be going well
 
Update: One of them is still not better. Vets saying they dont need anymore antibiotics. Pushing to force them to give them some more as I can tell one is still not better
 
You need to take them to a different vet if your current one won't treat them. 5 days of antibiotics is not enough to treat a URI, it needs at least 7 and it can take 14 days or more to fully treat.
 
Jaycey said:
You need to take them to a different vet if your current one won't treat them. 5 days of antibiotics is not enough to treat a URI, it needs at least 7 and it can take 14 days or more to fully treat.
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Planning on taking them to another vet. One in holmes chapel that is good in guinea pigs
 
Good idea. It's always worth finding a good guinea pig vet. They're quite difficult to find so once you find somewhere decent you can feel more secure knowing there's someone good at hand when you need them.

Regular vets really try to help, but they don't have the additional training in guinea pigs. So, they can't always spot the problems or prescribe the right medicines.
 
update: Ludo has been diagnosed with a fungal infection. Didy has nothing even though hes the one sneezing the most and ludo has no symptoms at all. I'm confused beyond belief but I have medication for both of them so wish me the best
 
That's brilliant, it's the best thing for the job. Good it's not Ringworm, there are many different types of fungal.
 
helen105281 said:
That's brilliant, it's the best thing for the job. Good it's not Ringworm, there are many different types of fungal.
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Thank you :) can't wait for them to get better doing everything in my power to make sure they get better
 
Are you familiar with the hygiene measures you need to put in place too?
 
Just been to another vets. she checked them both out for a good hour. Chest is fine and everything is fine. They do have a fungal infection in their nose so she's going to get the results back from the other vet to see the exact fungus they found. I feel so much better now and not as worried
 
woke up this morning. didy seems to be struggling to breathe. Taking him back to vets. not looking good
 
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