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Sick Piggy, Uri

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Lily88

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Gonna try to make this short before I go to bed. I need some reassurance and to hear similar stories. My anxiety is so bad right now...

Got two piggies on Tuesday. Friday afternoon we noticed one piggy breathing heavily and puffing herself up in the corner by the hay. Separated them ( I bought a Midwest cage, 8 sqf, with the ramp/divider thing. Had pigs before).

Called around to vets and searched a bit on the net. Suspected an URI. Called the store I got them from (yes, I know, badbad) and they said we could bring them in and their vet would treat them and they would give them back to us afterward. I saw a similar story online about another owner doing the same thing.

Brought them both in (one was showing more symptoms but they'd been together since we got them and probably before they arrived at the store).

Called tonight (we dropped them off around 3pm) and they told me that they would not be seen until about 10AM TOMORROW and that I should call back in the late afternoon, 4-5pm, to see which antibiotic they had been prescribed (I had expressed concern over Baytril after some research). She said that from her experience with her own pigs that it was likely the worse one, Reeses, had a URI and while Buttercup, the other one, seemed okay she was showing some signs of the same. She said they would likely treat Buttercup for one or two weeks but that Reeses may need a month of treatment.

Couple of questions.

A MONTH of treatment?!?! I'm willing to wait but that seems SOOO long! What is the average recovery from a URI?

Has anyone had to do something similar? Will I have to wait until they're deemed "fully recovered" before I can take them home? Will they allow me to take them home and finish their meds/whatever is needed once they've made significant improvements?

A girl working there suggested replacing the bedding with fleece and to take it out and wash it when needed. Is that better than Carefresh?

Reeses wasn't wheezing loudly, the girl had to hold her to her ear to hear it and they're both still eating and drinking. Without speaking to a vet.. does anyone suppose the prognosis is fair to good? I'm sure Buttercup will be fine. Reeses was still being curious, taking fresh treats from hands and wondering around during floor time, even yesterday. My boyfriend noticed she breathed heavier when she was sitting near the hay but I'm not sure that's the issue? She chose to sit near the hay but I'm not sure.


MAIN NOTES

8 SFT Cage. Sides are covered with towels and they are away from air vents and any other blowing air.

Feeding Oxbow's Young Pig pellets.

Treats: Fresh baby carrots (Buttercup) and romaine lettuce ( Reeses).

Orchard Grass hay. I fed this to my old pigs, never had issues.

Pigs were purchased from pet store, suspected of only being MAYBE 10 weeks old.

We're already so attached and love them to just pieces. We splurged as best we could for the set up and had everything ready to go before we even got them. I spent all day at work with a migraine and fighting back tears just trying to focus. Can anyone give me a little piece of mind without lying to me?


Man this is a lousy introduction, I'm sorry.
 
A URI can take a long course of antibiotics to fix but normally within 7 days there's a good difference and a course is usually 14 days.

It's odd that they want to keep them but (and no offense meant to you) maybe the shop doesn't think any owners can give the care that they can. Or maybe they're just covering themselves in case an owner wants to sue or get their money back.

You could ask for the back. You have paid for them and so you should be allowed. I know vets can refuse to give you a pet back but a shop can't. If you explain that you will do your best to look after them whilst they are ill, and will keep in touch with the shop they may give them back.
 
A month is a long slog. Personally I wouldn't have let them have the pigs back, but I would have told them you would bring them for the treatment, but not leave them there.
 
They did a return and told me they would "sell" them back to me. They offer a 14 day guarantee that they pet is healthy so I think they're covering their butts mainly. I feel a little better about them being there though just because I work and my boyfriend works so there's a little more eyes on them right now.

I wouldn't have minded bringing them in but it's a long drive (I don't have a car).

I might urge them that if there's been some improvement that we can continue care at home. She did seem pretty ill.
 
They said that they would hold them for me until they are well and only sell them back to me.

A month was the estimate that the employee gave but they haven't seen the vet yet so I'm hoping it will take less.
 
[i had similar story, got both ours at a pet store, before we knew all the horrible stories! Anyway our littlest , Monica got pneumonia within the first few days, I refused to let the store have her, took her to our vet, treated her round the clock. She did recover, then I took vet bills to the store, they did reimburse me. With those places u have to stand your ground! No one can care for your piggy but mommy, they need us to speak for them,QUOTE="Lily88, post: 2022698, member: 126058"]They did a return and told me they would "sell" them back to me. They offer a 14 day guarantee that they pet is healthy so I think they're covering their butts mainly. I feel a little better about them being there though just because I work and my boyfriend works so there's a little more eyes on them right now.

I wouldn't have minded bringing them in but it's a long drive (I don't have a car).

I might urge them that if there's been some improvement that we can continue care at home. She did seem pretty ill.[/QUOTE]
Lily88 said:
They said that they would hold them for me until they are well and only sell them back to me.

A month was the estimate that the employee gave but they haven't seen the vet yet so I'm hoping it will take less.
Click to expand...
Lily88 said:
They said that they would hold them for me until they are well and only sell them back to me.

A month was the estimate that the employee gave but they haven't seen the vet yet so I'm hoping it will take less.
Click to expand...
Lily88 said:
They said that they would hold them for me until they are well and only sell them back to me.

A month was the estimate that the employee gave but they haven't seen the vet yet so I'm hoping it will take less.
Click to expand...
 
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