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URI - vet appointment in 8.5 hours :(

Scooter Pie

Scooter Pie

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
May 26, 2020
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Location
Bethlehem PA, Northeastern USA
Hi guys. My extra skittish piggie Cinnamon is showing signs of an URI this morning and she can't be seen untill 5:30pm US eastern time.

Eating normally. I gave her a vitamin C cookie early (they get them every night so it's 12 hours early) and some extra red pepper. Her favorite hiding place is surrounded by fleece.

I will probably call back and see if I can get her in sooner as an emergency. She is making humming sounds nearly constantly and is coughing occasionally (probably 4-5 times total in the past 3 hours).

Any advice while I wait? I read the emergency guide. Was thinking about making her own rice filled microwave heating pad but I'm not sure.....

Planning on sitting beside her all day with my knitting.
 
Best of luck at the vets! URIs can turn nasty but many are easily treated with a course of antibiotics, and if she is eating fine this is a good sign, and you are seeing the vet in plenty of time, so please dont panic. Piggy breathing can sometimes sound much worse than it is as they have very narrow airways and a minor infection of even a bit of stuck food can cause alarming raspy grunty honky noises!
 
You really have done everything possible, and now it is just a waiting game until you can see a vet.
Good luck and don't forget to let us know how you and Cinnamon get on at the vet.
 
PigglePuggle said:
Best of luck at the vets! URIs can turn nasty but many are easily treated with a course of antibiotics, and if she is eating fine this is a good sign, and you are seeing the vet in plenty of time, so please dont panic. Piggy breathing can sometimes sound much worse than it is as they have very narrow airways and a minor infection of even a bit of stuck food can cause alarming raspy grunty honky noises!
Click to expand...

Very true. I heard some noises last week (every morning I sit with them when it's quiet in the house). But it passed...after a forceful cough/sneeze and I figured that time it could have been a hay tickle.

This might sound funny but I'm looking forward to being forced to handle her for the inevitable antibiotics. She is very very NOT interested in being picked up. I have another pig who was like that and after a long treatment for hay poke, she got used to it.

Thank you all for being here to listen while I count the hours!
 
Scooter Pie said:
Hi guys. My extra skittish piggie Cinnamon is showing signs of an URI this morning and she can't be seen untill 5:30pm US eastern time.

Eating normally. I gave her a vitamin C cookie early (they get them every night so it's 12 hours early) and some extra red pepper. Her favorite hiding place is surrounded by fleece.

I will probably call back and see if I can get her in sooner as an emergency. She is making humming sounds nearly constantly and is coughing occasionally (probably 4-5 times total in the past 3 hours).

Any advice while I wait? I read the emergency guide. Was thinking about making her own rice filled microwave heating pad but I'm not sure.....

Planning on sitting beside her all day with my knitting.
Click to expand...

Hi!

Please take a deep breath. As long as your piggy is still eating, the problem is not yet severe. With any respiratory infection it is worth noting that the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. So if your piggy still has got an appetite, then that means that they are not critical at that stage.
The severe respiratory tract distress symptoms that you really need to look out for are:
- loss of appetite and thirst
- clicking in the lungs
- very noticeable breathing from the diaphragm (heaving sides).
The two last are very much symptoms of pneumonia and nudge things up in terms of urgency.

Just keep your piggy comfy. Consider treating her to a microwaveable snugglesafe for Christmas if you can afford it or otherwise make a nice fleece or soft hay nest to snuggle in. You can place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that helps ease the breathing; keep it refreshed from time to time if it is making a difference.

Otherwise it is a waiting game until you can see a vet and then at least another day until the antibiotic is starting to kick in and then some days more until symptoms subside, which can take a week or even a bit longer, depending. Keep in mind that antibiotics build up over several days before they reach optimal efficiency.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please take a deep breath. As long as your piggy is still eating, the problem is not yet severe. With any respiratory infection it is worth noting that the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. So if your piggy still has got an appetite, then that means that they are not critical at that stage.
The severe respiratory tract distress symptoms that you really need to look out for are:
- loss of appetite and thirst
- clicking in the lungs
- very noticeable breathing from the diaphragm (heaving sides).
The two last are very much symptoms of pneumonia and nudge things up in terms of urgency.

Just keep your piggy comfy. Consider treating her to a microwaveable snugglesafe for Christmas if you can afford it or otherwise make a nice fleece or soft hay nest to snuggle in. You can place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that helps ease the breathing; keep it refreshed from time to time if it is making a difference.

Otherwise it is a waiting game until you can see a vet and then at least another day until the antibiotic is starting to kick in and then some days more until symptoms subside, which can take a week or even a bit longer, depending. Keep in mind that antibiotics build up over several days before they reach optimal efficiency.
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to post this. I feel much more relaxed now.
 
All the best for the vet trip!

Please don't separate your piggies. Healthy well kept piggies don't usually catch a URI from their mates as their immune system is strong enough to deal with one. URI is one of those opportunistic illnesses that only hit when stress, conditions and a not fully working immune system come together. The perfect breeding ground is a pet shop for uprooted, stressed out youngsters in close contact, whose immune system is still under construction.

Companionship is an important stress reliever and a big boost to the immune system. There has been a change in thinking on this issue by piggy savvy vets. Our own forum experiences with our piggies support this. :)
 
Wiebke said:
All the best for the vet trip!

Please don't separate your piggies. Healthy well kept piggies don't usually catch a URI from their mates as their immune system is strong enough to deal with one. URI is one of those opportunistic illnesses that only hit when stress, conditions and a not fully working immune system come together. The perfect breeding ground is a pet shop for uprooted, stressed out youngsters in close contact, whose immune system is still under construction.

Companionship is an important stress reliever and a big boost to the immune system. There has been a change in thinking on this issue by piggy savvy vets. Our own forum experiences with our piggies support this. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't actually considered separating them...but I did wonder if it could be contagious and if they would try to put her cage mate on abx too.

I actually feel bad about leaving her cage mate at home for the appointment! But with the curbside drop off appointments they are doing right now, I dont want to give them two carriers.

Well, since this morning, she has seemed much better to the point I wonder if they will think I'm paranoid. But when I posted this I truly was concerned about waiting so long!

30 min till the appointment, Ill report back later!
 
Scooter Pie said:
Thanks for the advice. I hadn't actually considered separating them...but I did wonder if it could be contagious and if they would try to put her cage mate on abx too.

I actually feel bad about leaving her cage mate at home for the appointment! But with the curbside drop off appointments they are doing right now, I dont want to give them two carriers.

Well, since this morning, she has seemed much better to the point I wonder if they will think I'm paranoid. But when I posted this I truly was concerned about waiting so long!

30 min till the appointment, Ill report back later!
Click to expand...

All the best! Piggies are very good at suppressing any symptoms when out of their comfort zone (prey animal instincts kicking in) so your vet may not find anything. Whatever it is, sounds to be fairly mild to borderline.
 
Wiebke said:
All the best! Piggies are very good at suppressing any symptoms when out of their comfort zone (prey animal instincts kicking in) so your vet may not find anything. Whatever it is, sounds to be fairly mild to borderline.
Click to expand...

How do you feel about antibiotics "just in case"? I'm not a fan. Here in the US sometimes if you went to the trouble to make the appointment, they think you "want" antibiotics and will say something along the lines of "we could prescribe it if you want..." Not saying our vet is like that.
 
A good vet shouldnt prescribe antibiotics just in case, but may prescribe antibiotics as a precaution to stop a mild infection getting worse. A big factor is possibly how many courses of antibiotics your piggy and their companions have had lately- too often with the same antibiotic can cause resistant bacteria to develop.
Today my wheezy piggy Blodwen didnt get antibiotics just in case because the vet listened to her chest and it was completely clear and said she just has a mild snuffly nose and is prone to snuffles because of her flat face shape and she has already had 3 courses of 2 different antibiotics this year- so we are just going with a decongestant for now. I think that is sensible, for Blodwen, for today, given that she is queen of the honky wheezy snuffles without any other signs of illness! But if your piggy has completely new URI symptoms, and if there is any suggestion of infection in the lungs, then an antibiotic is what would usually be appropriate- especially if you might have to wait for another appointment if things got worse...
 
PigglePuggle said:
A good vet shouldnt prescribe antibiotics just in case, but may prescribe antibiotics as a precaution to stop a mild infection getting worse. A big factor is possibly how many courses of antibiotics your piggy and their companions have had lately- too often with the same antibiotic can cause resistant bacteria to develop.
Today my wheezy piggy Blodwen didnt get antibiotics just in case because the vet listened to her chest and it was completely clear and said she just has a mild snuffly nose and is prone to snuffles because of her flat face shape and she has already had 3 courses of 2 different antibiotics this year- so we are just going with a decongestant for now. I think that is sensible, for Blodwen, for today, given that she is queen of the honky wheezy snuffles without any other signs of illness! But if your piggy has completely new URI symptoms, and if there is any suggestion of infection in the lungs, then an antibiotic is what would usually be appropriate- especially if you might have to wait for another appointment if things got worse...
Click to expand...

I appreciate you sharing your experience! One of my other pigs was on antibiotics once for probably sniffles. The second time it happened, her lungs were clear so no antibiotics. The third time....I watched her at home and determined it was something that happens now and then. All good.

Cinnamon hasnt had any health issues so
far. Same with her cage mate. They have been with us since July and August.

One last factor...our vet's last day at the practice is Friday 😭😭 And then I need to search for a new one. This place is literally 2 minutes from my house. I am super bummed. There are several others that are close but dont have an exotics vet.

Ill probably end up taking them to an amazing practice where I worked 20 years ago. I wasnt married then and with masks, maybe they wont recognize me. 😂 Let's just say amazing doctor, not so great boss and I went out with a bang as 20-something me was prone to do 🤷🏼‍♀️
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please take a deep breath. As long as your piggy is still eating, the problem is not yet severe. With any respiratory infection it is worth noting that the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. So if your piggy still has got an appetite, then that means that they are not critical at that stage.
The severe respiratory tract distress symptoms that you really need to look out for are:
- loss of appetite and thirst
- clicking in the lungs
- very noticeable breathing from the diaphragm (heaving sides).
The two last are very much symptoms of pneumonia and nudge things up in terms of urgency.

Just keep your piggy comfy. Consider treating her to a microwaveable snugglesafe for Christmas if you can afford it or otherwise make a nice fleece or soft hay nest to snuggle in. You can place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that helps ease the breathing; keep it refreshed from time to time if it is making a difference.

Otherwise it is a waiting game until you can see a vet and then at least another day until the antibiotic is starting to kick in and then some days more until symptoms subside, which can take a week or even a bit longer, depending. Keep in mind that antibiotics build up over several days before they reach optimal efficiency.
Click to expand...

thank you for posting this, my guineapig is in the same state and I’m waiting to go to the vets in the morning but it’s very reassuring to hear it may not be that bad yet as I’ve been upset all day about it as I couldn’t do anything to help as everywhere was closed
 
Jasminrose said:
thank you for posting this, my guineapig is in the same state and I’m waiting to go to the vets in the morning but it’s very reassuring to hear it may not be that bad yet as I’ve been upset all day about it as I couldn’t do anything to help as everywhere was closed
Click to expand...
Please let me know how it went! Hope all is ok or on the way to getting better 💕
 
Scooter Pie said:
Please let me know how it went! Hope all is ok or on the way to getting better 💕
Click to expand...
We went to the vets and turns out she has lymphadenitis so she’s had some medicine for it this morning and last night and I’ve been sat by her most the time but her back legs have now gone floppy and she’s clearly struggling quite a lot. I have hope as she is still eating and drinking normally and isn’t shy from me but obviously I’m still concerned. 💕 :)
 
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