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Sick Group Of Pigs

sqeakpigs

sqeakpigs

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, asking for a friend who has 7 guinea pigs, 3 females and 4 males. They live outside but 4 of them are currently in a shed due to ill health.
They have lost alot of guineas these past few months and the vet doesn't know why so I'm looking for answers.

All guineas have previously had ringworm and have been treated for it. Since ringworm they have lost alot of weight. They all seem to be active, sqeaking for food and still eating. They made a chart of their weight and weighted them before meals and sometimes after. There was about a 50g to 100g lose between.

They are now on anti biotics and worming treatment - worming treatment has been going for a few weeks I assume they've stopped that by now and started the anti biotics. Vet has said to feed them more veg especially those high in vitamin C which they've been doing but everyone is very confused as to what disease or illness they might have. Any advice would be helpful.
 
I’m sorry to hear that.

Is your friend syringe feeding the ones who are losing weight? 50g of weight loss is the point at which they need to be syringe fed to stop them from losing weight.
They should only be weighed once, first thing in the morning as that is the most.

Are they being kept warm enough?
Is there a risk of any damp in the hutches?

How long has your friend had them?
Are any of the piggies new introductions?

I’m assuming they don’t all live together, so How are they paired up? And is it pairs/bonded groups who are becoming unwell?

Are they all now clear of ringworm?

Worming treatment - it’s uncommon for worms (ie internal parasites) to be an issue in uk piggies

Are there any other symptoms other than weight loss?
The difficulty will be that weight loss can be a sign of absolutely anything so pinpointing what is always going to be tricky without other symptoms

Additional vitamin c can help boost the immune system but if they are losing weight then that occurs due to a reduced that intake so giving extra veg can make the reduction in fibre intake worse.
 
I suggested syringe feed but I think they were told they didn't need it via vet. It is very cold at the moment so they've split the three leftover females in a cage in a shed where it's warmer. There's 2 other boys in a separate cage with them. The other 2 males are outside. I believe they are kept inside during these temperatures as it is too cold for them to be out of the hutch.
I don't believe it's damp since 2 guineas have passed in the cage inside.

I believe they've had them for maybe 1 or 2 years. One female came to them pregnant so they got 3 unplanned pigs. I am not sure on their age but I think they are clear of ringworm.

They had 6 females and one passed about 2 months ago. They were moved into a shed for warmth and to keep a closer eye on them. Last weekend another 2 females passed. I believe it must be contagious as all pigs have lost weight.

I don't think it's respiratory as I'm sure someone would've heard their breathing difficulties. No clue 🤔
 
Hi

Unfortunately, we can only guess as wildly as you. The next step with an exotics vet would be blood tests I assume.

Has your vet considered lab tests (bloods) for zoonotic diseases? You would need an experience vet for that as piggies are tricky to get blood from
Contagion - Inter-species Transmission and Pet Care During Owner Illness/Pregnancy (incl. Covid)


I assume e.cunicoli could be one of the reasons is why they are treating with panacur, which is also used for treating e.cuniculi if there are domestic or wild rabbits coming into the garden or nearby. Panacur is best know worming but it is also used against some of the other unpleasant biology beyond bacteria.
 
There are rabbits in the outside enclosure next to them. Could they have transferred something to the guinea pigs?
 
sqeakpigs said:
There are rabbits in the outside enclosure next to them. Could they have transferred something to the guinea pigs?
Click to expand...

Yes. E.cuniculi. Please read the link about zoonosis in my first post. |

The transmission can also have happened indirectly via the owner if infected bits of food from rabbit dishes got into guinea pig dishes. We have first-hand evidence from a forum member on here of this transmission route.
 
Okay. I'll let them know asap thankyou
 
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