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Three weeks in...mixed bag

CV26

Junior Guinea Pig
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I've had Dash and Spud for 3 weeks now and it's safe to say its been a bit more eventful than I was expecting.

First two weeks seemed to be going ok - they were pretty nervous but was seeing gradual improvements.
Then last weekend I spotted Dash winking at me and immediately booked a vets trip initially suspecting a hay related injury. I took Spud too and thank goodness I did. Turns out they both have a mild URI.

Over the last week they've been on metacam and syringe feeding to give them a boost. But today the vet upgraded them to some mild antibiotics for the next 20 days as things hadn't cleared up enough. Back at the vets in 10 days time to see how they're doing.

They're both eating hay, pellets and veg as normal and seem generally bright enough in themselves apart from a few sneezes here and there. Weight is going on well too so no other issues other than getting this URI officially shifted. They're 'loving' all the meds so far...having to argue with Dash to get the syringe back to refill it.

They're not quite rivalling their cat brother Harvey for vets bills yet but they've had a decent go considering they've been with us less than a month. They've also had a cage upgrade in that time, 2 new hay trays, bobble mats from Wilkos and I may have gone a little mad on buying more fleece...buy hey it has donuts on it!

Heres to piggy ownership lol! Onto nail clipping next and they both have 4 black claws!
 
Sorry to hear about the URI - well done getting them treated so promptly.
Hopefully they will recover quickly.
Good luck with nail trims
 
I've had Dash and Spud for 3 weeks now and it's safe to say its been a bit more eventful than I was expecting.

First two weeks seemed to be going ok - they were pretty nervous but was seeing gradual improvements.
Then last weekend I spotted Dash winking at me and immediately booked a vets trip initially suspecting a hay related injury. I took Spud too and thank goodness I did. Turns out they both have a mild URI.

Over the last week they've been on metacam and syringe feeding to give them a boost. But today the vet upgraded them to some mild antibiotics for the next 20 days as things hadn't cleared up enough. Back at the vets in 10 days time to see how they're doing.

They're both eating hay, pellets and veg as normal and seem generally bright enough in themselves apart from a few sneezes here and there. Weight is going on well too so no other issues other than getting this URI officially shifted. They're 'loving' all the meds so far...having to argue with Dash to get the syringe back to refill it.

They're not quite rivalling their cat brother Harvey for vets bills yet but they've had a decent go considering they've been with us less than a month. They've also had a cage upgrade in that time, 2 new hay trays, bobble mats from Wilkos and I may have gone a little mad on buying more fleece...buy hey it has donuts on it!

Heres to piggy ownership lol! Onto nail clipping next and they both have 4 black claws!

You know that you can reclaim any vet bills incurred from a diagnosis in the first 2-3 weeks after purchase in the UK (in the US it is a full month)?

If it is just sneezing that won't shift after this lot of antibiotis , then there may also be a sensitivity to hay dust or other irritants in play. But that can only be decided after a URI has been definitely excluded. Symptoms of a mild URI and a sensitivity are very similar.
Irritants to Avoid Around Guinea Pigs

Unfortunately, guinea pigs are not cheap pets. You need to either have to get insurance or save up for a vet fund as part of their monthly maintenance cost. A severe illness or a major operation can quickly cost you several hundreds of pounds in just a month. :(
Unfortunately, unless you adopt from a good welfare standard rescue (we have a locator of those we can recommend on the top bar), you have to brace for problems. It can be quite a steep and expensive learning curve!
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
A guide to vets fees, insurance and payment support.

All the best!
 
Thank you all.

I was using wood shavings only in their hay tray and they were on shavings when I got them. That's all been swapped out with back 2 nature now. That only leaves the hay or maybe my wash powder (non bio sensitive type) really so I'll keep that in mind.

The cat is insured but I have a pot already for any piggy related problems. The vet didnt spot any other issues so at least a tick in the box there.

They came from a hobby breeder so not sure if I'd have any claim there - just want healthy piggies and I can absorb the fees. Not how I ideally wanted to go but I did get a proper look at them and her other animals before I handed over any cash. Another seller I spoke to wanted £100 upfront to reserve their piggies and that didn't sit right with me.

I did try a few local rescues but had disappointing results unfortunately. One never replied to any of my attempts to get in touch. Another stopped answering questions I was asking. And the final one tried to sell me an expensive starter cage set up and, when I said I already had most of what she was recommending, told me that their waiting list was currently closed. I'm always keen to support rescues and volunteer for a local cat and dog charity but my piggy experience wasn't so positive this time around.
 
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