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Squeeky Petes all puffed up

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kittyla

kittyla

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Help, why do these things always happen at the weekend!

Squeeky Pete didnt touch his greens this morning, which rung alarm bells.
although he's been eating plenty of dried food & hay. Now he's looking rather puffed up & generally a bit unwell. We noticed yesterday he puffed up a bit but then seemed ok again till now. He has been sneezing occasionally this week, but his breathing seems ok. Could he have URI?
Is there anything I can do, or should look out for till the vet opens on Monday?
 
"Squeeky Pete didnt touch his greens this morning"
Yes, alarm bells
"he's looking rather puffed up"
Sorry, definite alarm bells there too.

I am presuming that he is either an indoor pig or you have moved him indoors to a warm room - if you haven't that's the first thing to do.
He really needs seeing before Monday as these things can progress quite quickly. Perhaps you can contact Vedra at CCT (details will be on lots of posts on here) and find the address of a rodentologist in Northants or someone more experienced who could at least look at the pig and tell you whether you need to rush to an out of hours vet.

Ah...my other half is commenting as I write and just mentioned that I should ask you what you mean by 'puffed up'. Do you mean his coat is standing on end (which is what I thought) OR do you mean he is bloated in his guts making him look big?
 
If I was you hun, I'd get him to a vet. If not a vet, is there a rescue near you that might be able to take a look at him. There is a chance it might be bloat, and if it is, it needs seeing to. Has been having a large amount of 1 particular food? x
 
Yep defo contact an out of hours vet, or PDSA may know someone.

Pigs do puff up when unwell. If he hasn't eaten I was syringe some critical care, or mashed pellets or maybe baby food. If you don't have syringes use the back of a spoon and I find wrapping in a blanket a help when feeding.

I would give water too.

Good luck!

Louise
x
 
Yes I do mean his coat is puffed, he's not bloated. & yes he's an indoor pig. I rang the out of hours vets who adv I make sure he's drinking, so I've syringed him some water to be sure. (They charge £70 + meds! so I'm not rushing there unless its urgent)There are no rodentologists in Northants as I've looked before, & Vedra wouldnt see him at the weekend would she? praps I'll try & ring her for advice.
 
Not sure about CCT I'm too far away to consider her for treatment. Guinea Pigs systems do shut down after 16 hours and anorexia will set in. So its important to give him the food as well as water.

So silly how vets charge the amount they do at weekends, animals aren't sick to suit them. Hope something gets sorted for the little guy. :)
 
If you don't have any critical care to hand you can syringe vegetable baby food as a substitute. If he's not drinking you'll have to syringe him water too. It does sound like an urti so you'll need to get him to a vet soon :)
 
Hmm Squeekys fur has now gone back to its normal smooth self & he came out to get some cucumber from me! now he's out munching hay with Crystal his mate.
perhaps the water helped or its a problem that comes & goes. When I picked him up
1/2 hr ago I thought he felt a bit to warm & a bit shivery. Maybe I'm just fussing, I'll
watch him closely today & take him for a check up on Monday anyway.
Thanks for the quick replies.
 
Dont know if this will help but my boar casper puffs up when he is cold hope your boy is ok i think they like to worry us!
 
The fact this problem seems to be rather intermittant makes me wonder if it's similar to a problem I kept having with Zach. I would find him stood in the corner of his cage, looking puffed up and not eating. After having some metacam and being syringed some water he would start to perk up again. This happened a few times. On one occasion he really looked very ill and I dashed him over to Simon who gave him fluids and imediately he picked up again. Simon couldn't find anything specifically wrong with him though, but suggested maybe I keep a note of whether it was connected with a particular food he was eating. I started a food diary. Within a couple of weeks I had pinpointed the problem. Everytime I gave him celery, within a few hours the problem started again. I cut it from his diet and we have never had a problem since.

I really hope Squeeky Pete's still feeling a bit better Kitty! Keep us posted.
 
Well praps he is just cold or tired & I'm just watching him too much & getting in a flap! They live in the kitchen & they're so much part of the family they cant blink without me noticing! Squeeky is so tame & so full of personality I've become extremely attached to him & couldnt bear to lose him.......
(I'm still going to watch him like a hawk today!)
 
Oh! Squeeky eats alot of cellery, a food diary may be a good idea! he had kale for the 1st time in ages yesterday. & He's got a new water bottle! better check its working properly.
 
Yes definitely check the water bottle. Maybe if he isn't getting enough water and then eating something like celery which is a diuretic may be causing him to become dehydrated.

If you still have any concerns on Monday, phone vets and tell them its an emergency and they will fit you in, even though they are most likely fully booked. They keep some appointments back for emergencies. It's Simon all day on Monday too!

How does he seem now?
 
well he seems absolutely fine now! He's eaten veg for tea, I've given him syringes
of water a few times just to be sure. Perhaps he was just sleepy, a bit cold & full of hay this morning! Boys!
I'll keep a close eye anyway, & get him checked over next week
 
Glad he is feeling better, best to get him checked as you say. As guineas hide illnesses so well he may be doing this. :)
 
Thank goodness for that! They do like to worry us don't they. I was so pleased to hear how well he had settled with his girlfriend and how happy he was, and was really concerned to hear he wasn't well earlier.

I would definitely get Simon to just check him over next week though!

Glad you're feeling better Squeeky Pete!
 
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