Hi my name is lisa this is the first time I have written anything on any forum in my life, so forgive me if I make any mistakes.
I rescued two 3 year old male pigs, Paul and Phil from my neighbors children who were not taking care of them. I didn’t intend on keeping them (as an adult women with no kids I thought owning guinea pigs would look strange). Well it didn’t take long and I fell in love and I am proud to say I have piggies! Husbandry-
I made a 6’ x 3.5’ two level walnut cage, the second level is a hay loft
I use fleece instead of shavings for the bottom of the cage and I have unlimited amounts of Timothy hay (I buy it by the bale) for them to eat/ play or poop in.
I buy them lots of chew toys like pine cones, sticks, Timothy huts, grass huts all kinds of tunnels and caves for hiding. All Guinea pig safe.
Diet-
1/8 cup of pellets and one cup of fresh veggies per pig per day.
The usual veggies are green or red leaf lettuce, endive, cucumber and red bell pepper. The food I mix in for variety are carrots, corn, cilantro, parsley, tomatoes, rainbow chard and green beans.
They also get a oxbow vitamin c cookie daily
I keep their cage very clean and Change their fleece pads and litter boxes daily.
Health problems-
On 10/1I noticed Paul sneezing / coughing I watched for a couple more days and he began wheezing.
10/4 I took Paul to an exotic vet and he was prescribed trimeth sulfa and ciprofloxacin
Four days later I saw no improvement, back to the vet. Paul was given doxycycline and enrofloxaxin.
Mean while my other piggy was sleeping a lot and had smaller than usual poop. On 10/8 while Phil was asleep I noticed poop sticking out of his rear end so off to the vet we went. The vet said he didn’t seem bloated but with the behavior I described he suspected stasis. Paul was given fluids, meloxicam, cisapride and critical care.
Sadly neither of my babies are getting better. Paul coughs about 4 x’s a day, he sounds worse and is to be wheezing louder. He is eating and drinking but sleeping more. Phil is sleeping a lot more and I don’t know if his tummy feels hard. He is defecating but the size is still small (he’s not eating as much) and I did see him straining once. he’s not drinking water and I try to give him water via syringe but seems like the water ends up down the sides of his sweet little face (any tips?) I do have success with feeding the critical care.
My questions are-
if Phil is pooping and eating does that mean he is not in stasis or bloat?
Should I be giving him his veggies and pellets or should he be limited to hay and critical care right now. Does this sound like stasis?
Paul- the doctor wants to take X-rays, a blood etc. Unfortunately I was laid off of work and I have already spent $500 and I don’t have another $400 -$600.
Does this sound like Paul does have uri?
I don’t know what else to do for my boys, this is killing me. If anyone has any advice please let me know.
-Thank you
Lisa, Paul and Phill
I rescued two 3 year old male pigs, Paul and Phil from my neighbors children who were not taking care of them. I didn’t intend on keeping them (as an adult women with no kids I thought owning guinea pigs would look strange). Well it didn’t take long and I fell in love and I am proud to say I have piggies! Husbandry-
I made a 6’ x 3.5’ two level walnut cage, the second level is a hay loft
I use fleece instead of shavings for the bottom of the cage and I have unlimited amounts of Timothy hay (I buy it by the bale) for them to eat/ play or poop in.
I buy them lots of chew toys like pine cones, sticks, Timothy huts, grass huts all kinds of tunnels and caves for hiding. All Guinea pig safe.
Diet-
1/8 cup of pellets and one cup of fresh veggies per pig per day.
The usual veggies are green or red leaf lettuce, endive, cucumber and red bell pepper. The food I mix in for variety are carrots, corn, cilantro, parsley, tomatoes, rainbow chard and green beans.
They also get a oxbow vitamin c cookie daily
I keep their cage very clean and Change their fleece pads and litter boxes daily.
Health problems-
On 10/1I noticed Paul sneezing / coughing I watched for a couple more days and he began wheezing.
10/4 I took Paul to an exotic vet and he was prescribed trimeth sulfa and ciprofloxacin
Four days later I saw no improvement, back to the vet. Paul was given doxycycline and enrofloxaxin.
Mean while my other piggy was sleeping a lot and had smaller than usual poop. On 10/8 while Phil was asleep I noticed poop sticking out of his rear end so off to the vet we went. The vet said he didn’t seem bloated but with the behavior I described he suspected stasis. Paul was given fluids, meloxicam, cisapride and critical care.
Sadly neither of my babies are getting better. Paul coughs about 4 x’s a day, he sounds worse and is to be wheezing louder. He is eating and drinking but sleeping more. Phil is sleeping a lot more and I don’t know if his tummy feels hard. He is defecating but the size is still small (he’s not eating as much) and I did see him straining once. he’s not drinking water and I try to give him water via syringe but seems like the water ends up down the sides of his sweet little face (any tips?) I do have success with feeding the critical care.
My questions are-
if Phil is pooping and eating does that mean he is not in stasis or bloat?
Should I be giving him his veggies and pellets or should he be limited to hay and critical care right now. Does this sound like stasis?
Paul- the doctor wants to take X-rays, a blood etc. Unfortunately I was laid off of work and I have already spent $500 and I don’t have another $400 -$600.
Does this sound like Paul does have uri?
I don’t know what else to do for my boys, this is killing me. If anyone has any advice please let me know.
-Thank you
Lisa, Paul and Phill
