Should you separate cage mates if one may be sick

[Tlong]

I noticed one of my boys Monty started wheezing this evening. He is still running around and eating no eye drainage or cough but occasionally is wheezing. There isn’t an emergency vet near me for exotics so I have to wait till the morning to call and get him in. I just wondered if I should separate him from his cage mate or anything I can do for him till I can take him in?

 

[RedLoredAmazon]

Hi! I am not an expert on sick piggies, but I know there is a care guide about this (sadly, I cannot find it). I did find a thread from a couple of years ago that said that you shouldn't separate them. I included the link below.

How long to quarantine a sick guinea pig?

 

[Tlong]

Hi! I am not an expert on sick piggies, but I know there is a care guide about this (sadly, I cannot find it). I did find a thread from a couple of years ago that said that you shouldn't separate them. I included the link below.

How long to quarantine a sick guinea pig?

Awesome! Thank you! I couldn’t find one specifically about the topic! My boys have a perfect bond and I’m afraid if I separate them it will break it!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please don’t separate them. There is no need to do so. If one piggy is sick, the other hs already been exposed to it in any event so separating them serves no purpose. Separation causes them stress (and in piggies with underlying bond problems, separating them, does run the risk of meaning they won’t go back together again).
I hope he is ok. Wheezing is something that definitely needs to be seen by a vet. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Wiebke]

I noticed one of my boys Monty started wheezing this evening. He is still running around and eating no eye drainage or cough but occasionally is wheezing. There isn’t an emergency vet near me for exotics so I have to wait till the morning to call and get him in. I just wondered if I should separate him from his cage mate or anything I can do for him till I can take him in?

Please see a vet when you can. Wheezing is a symptom that should be checked out. Please be aware that a human viral cold and a guinea pig bacterial respiratory infection are two very different things. A URI doesn't start with a runny nose and coughing, which is a very common mistake made by their human owners.
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

If at all possible, do not separate piggies. They are group animals; a separation is a serious immune system lowering stress factor and can also lead to a permanent fall-out. In the case of URI, exposure will have already happened anyway.

 

[Tlong]

I left them together and I got him into the vet today! The vet thinks he may have allergies because of course by the time they see him his breathing is no longer labored and his wheeze has cleared. I could hear it with my own stethoscope last night so I know I wasn’t going crazy. I recently changed laundry soap and bought a different brand of their food so worrying that he may be having a reaction to something I stripped their cage rewashed everything in a hypoallergenic laundry soap and basically washed everything they touch and switched out the litter, pulled out the pellets and put a humidifier in the room for the night. By the time I checked on him in the morning he was perfect! So They told me to bring him back in if it happens again and just leave out the new things they recently had because it may have been the cause! Thank you for advice and knowledge!