Hi, I’ve been researching this all month and can’t find a lot of information ,I have a female guinea pig about 4 months old named Honey, she was very lively and cuddly when I first got her, we slowly introduced her to our 6 month old female Hazel and they got along great and share a cage, Honey got crust on her eyes which was a kind of upper respiratory infection we treated with a cleaning spray, that she soon cleared up, she was fine for a few weeks except recently she’s lost hair around her shoulders to her mid back, she had a black coat that’s now more gray where the hair loss is, she is breathing heavily and not making many noises, just today i noticed she’s had a bald spot on her cheek, she’s also been making some clicking noises in her throat, I’m worried her infection came back or something worse.
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Hair Loss And Rapid Breathing
- Thread starter Grawatt51
- Start date
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
Take her to your vet.
D
DM030819
@Grawatt51 The infection is probably still there. Unfortunately you need antibiotics to treat URI's so it's not possible to self treat them.
The vet will also have a look at the bald patches. It could be from mites, but a good vet will be able to diagnose it for you.
The vet will also have a look at the bald patches. It could be from mites, but a good vet will be able to diagnose it for you.
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
Agree with Jaycey. An infection will not be cured by cleaning spray alone. A URI can be fatal if left untreated so please do look in to getting your piggy to a vet asap, if she stops moving around or refuses to eat then please treat as an emergency and get her to a vet today.
Hi! Please see a vet as soon as you can.
Honey's respiratory infection has come back and may proceeded to pneumonia; only a vet can diagnose that and treat accordingly. she urgently needs an antibiotic, which is prescription-only. URIs will kill if you wait too long and do not treat with an antibiotic!
Guinea Lynx :: URI
Until you can see a vet, please place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to help ease her breathing. Keep changing whenever necessary.
She also has got either a fungal infection or mites because of her suppressed immune due to her infection not being cleared out properly.
Both issues are transmittable, so you need to treat both piggies. Please do not treat on spec, as you can make things much worse.
If a health issue comes up within 2 weeks of you buying a pet store guinea pig, you can reclaim any vet cost from the store by presenting the vet bill with your sales receipt since exposure and infection must have happened at the shop. If you wait too long and treat on spec with insufficient products, then you can no longer prove that the shop is at fault.
Respiratory infections (URI), ringworm (fungal) and mange or hay mites are all issues that are unfortunately distressingly common in mass bred pet store or breeder guinea pigs.
Be aware that ringworm (the most aggressive fungal skin infection) is highly transmittable to all mammals, including humans, and requires thorough hygiene. Mites can only be got on top of with a good ivermectin or selamectin product and NOT with a low dosed broad spectrum pet store brand. Mange mites can also kill from the sheer discomfort they are causing. However, as mites and ringworm require different treatment, please see a vet for a proper diagnosis. As it sounds like it is advancing rather quickly, a vet should be able to distinguish between the two by now.
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
Please weigh her daily at the same time and start topping her up with syringe feed and water (in an emergency you can use mushed up pellets and a needle-less 1 ml syringe from a pharmacy; prep the tip as shown in our illustrated syringe feeding guide). The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. This means that guinea pigs with a serious respiratory infection will lose their appetite and can die from just that. Your care in that respect can make all the difference until the antibiotic is kicking in and the appetite gradually returns.
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Administering Medications
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