respiratory infection

[lialway]

hi everybody, I think my guinea pig has a respiratory infection. I woke up this morning to give my guinea pigs their treats like I always do and I noticed with one of my guinea pigs he had this discharge coming out of his eyes and his nose. He keeps coughing and sneezing in his breathing sounds very weird and squeaky if that makes sense and I need some help. The only problem is my mom will not bring me to the vet and she won’t pay for it and I don’t have very much money. no matter how much I ask her if we can go to the vet she says no every time and I’m very worried about him I’ve been sitting with him all day long trying to make him feel better but he just keeps coughing and sneezing. is there any home remedies I can do or should I keep trying to convince my mom? Is there any medicine I can buy? Or respiratory infections a deadly and do you think he’ll be OK?

 

[lialway]

I really wish I could go to the vet but my mom won’t take me or pay for it and she doesn’t think that he needs to go but I really want to get him checked out by a professional if I can’t get them checked out by a professional, is there anything I can do like medicine like I said

 

[lialway]

Here is a pic. You can see the gunk

 

[Wiebke]

I really wish I could go to the vet but my mom won’t take me or pay for it and she doesn’t think that he needs to go but I really want to get him checked out by a professional if I can’t get them checked out by a professional, is there anything I can do like medicine like I said

Hi!

A respiratory infection (URI) is a potentially fatal(or permanently scarring) bacterial infection that needs an antibiotic. If you have a newly bought piggy, you can reclaim the vet fees from the pet shop. Unfortunately, you cannot wait for days on end.
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Guinea Lynx :: URI

Here is our emergency and bridging care advice: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please show your mother the links. All the best!

 

[lialway]

Hi!

A respiratory infection (URI) is a potentially fatal(or permanently scarring) bacterial infection that needs an antibiotic. If you have a newly bought piggy, you can reclaim the vet fees from the pet shop. Unfortunately, you cannot wait for days on end.
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Guinea Lynx :: URI

Here is our emergency and bridging care advice: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Please show your mother the links. All the best!

thanks! we are hoping to get him into a vet tomorrow but i don’t know if he will be ok until then

 

[Wiebke]

thanks! we are hoping to get him into a vet tomorrow but i don’t know if he will be ok until then

Please read the advice in the emergency and bridging care advice; if the very worst comes to pass, the last chapter in it is about what you can do for a dying piggy.

 

[lialway]

Please read the advice in the emergency and bridging care advice; if the very worst comes to pass, the last chapter in it is about what you can do for a dying piggy.

Okay, he survived the night and the vet is coming today! He isn’t eating or drinking much, but the vet is coming really soon! fingers crossed he’s ok thank you for the help!

 

[Wiebke]

Okay, he survived the night and the vet is coming today! He isn’t eating or drinking much, but the vet is coming really soon! fingers crossed he’s ok thank you for the help!

Please step in with feeding support asap; unlike cats and dogs cannot fast.. The emergency guide link contains all the necessary information how to go about this; including how you can improvise in a pinch. Your feeding/support care is every bit as important as any medical care because medications can only get to work if your piggy is still alive.
PLEASE read our green guide links; they can really make the difference between getting your piggy through a crisis or not!
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

Fingers firmly crossed!

 

[lialway]

Please step in with feeding support asap; unlike cats and dogs cannot fast.. The emergency guide link contains all the necessary information how to go about this; including how you can improvise in a pinch. Your feeding/support care is every bit as important as any medical care because medications can only get to work if your piggy is still alive.
PLEASE read our green guide links; they can really make the difference between getting your piggy through a crisis or not!
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre

Fingers firmly crossed!

vet visit is done! he definitely has a URI and he is on medication and he started eating!

 

[Her Nibship]

That is really good news. I'm so pleased. Healing vibes for your little one's recovery.

 

[Piggies&buns]

vet visit is done! he definitely has a URI and he is on medication and he started eating!

I'm glad he is eating more but you do still need to continue daily weight checks while he is poorly and on medication to ensure he is actually eating enough hay to maintain his weight - if he isn’t, and antibiotics can cause a further reduction in appetite due to the fact they kill off the good guy bacteria as well, then you still need to continue to syringe feed. I hope he recovers well.

 

[Merab]

Hope your piggy makes a speedy recovery now

 

[lialway]

I'm glad he is eating more but you do still need to continue daily weight checks while he is poorly and on medication to ensure he is actually eating enough hay to maintain his weight - if he isn’t, and antibiotics can cause a further reduction in appetite due to the fact they kill off the good guy bacteria as well, then you still need to continue to syringe feed. I hope he recovers well.

okay! i don’t have a scale, how should i weigh him?

 

[Piggies&buns]

okay! i don’t have a scale, how should i weigh him?

You need to get digital kitchen scales.
Guinea pigs must be weighed weekly as part of lifelong routine care. As hay is 80% of their daily food intake and you cannot judge they are eating enough simply by watching them, weighing it the only way to know they are eating enough hay and growing well.
Any weight loss (beyond normal fluctuations) can be the first sign of a health problem (sometimes even before any other symptoms become noticeable) which then enables you to step in and start syringe feeding very early as an emergency measure and bridging care before you can get to a vet.
When any weight fluctuations become concerning or there is significant weight loss (anything beyond 50g) then you switch to weighing them daily so you can much more closely monitor their 24 hour food intake and adjust syringe feeding accordingly to ensure the weight stabilises when a piggy isn’t eating enough independently.

Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

 

[lialway]

You need to get digital kitchen scales.
Guinea pigs must be weighed weekly as part of lifelong routine care. As hay is 80% of their daily food intake and you cannot judge they are eating enough simply by watching them, weighing it the only way to know they are eating enough hay and growing well.
Any weight loss (beyond normal fluctuations) can be the first sign of a health problem (sometimes even before any other symptoms become noticeable) which then enables you to step in and start syringe feeding very early as an emergency measure and bridging care before you can get to a vet.
When any weight fluctuations become concerning or there is significant weight loss (anything beyond 50g) then you switch to weighing them daily so you can much more closely monitor their 24 hour food intake and adjust syringe feeding accordingly to ensure the weight stabilises when a piggy isn’t eating enough independently.

Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

thank you! sadly he just passed away, but i’ll have the information for my next piggy

 

[lialway]

Hope your piggy makes a speedy recovery now

thank you he sadly just passed away

 

[Free Ranger]

I'm sorry to read this. Antibiotics usually take a couple of days to start working, sometimes the wrong antibiotic has been prescribed for that infection - there may have been resistance to it. Please keep an eye on your other piggies to make sure nobody else comes down with the same symptoms because if they do you'll need a vet visit quickly. Piggies don't get 'a cold' like people do. I'm sorry for your loss x

 

[Merab]

I am so sorry that he didn’t make it.
Please feel free to post a tribute to him on the Rainbow Bridge thread if you feel you would like to.
Be gentle with yourself.
Holding you in my heart