Help With Possible Uri?

[Paigeroonie]

Hi there! I'm new to the forum, and relatively new to guinea pig ownership. I rescued a male called Bilbo about a month ago, and he's been great up until this morning I noticed some slight wheezing. When I got home from work, the wheezing was a lot worse (sounds a little bit phlegmmy?)

Hes booked in at the vets for the earliest appointment I could get, however it isn't until tomorrow afternoon. Is there anything I can do to help Bilbo in the mean time? He is still eating really well, currently munching on some romaine lettuce, and he's never been an active piggy, I just hate hearing him wheezing like this

Many thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there! I'm new to the forum, and relatively new to guinea pig ownership. I rescued a male called Bilbo about a month ago, and he's been great up until this morning I noticed some slight wheezing. When I got home from work, the wheezing was a lot worse (sounds a little bit phlegmmy?)

Hes booked in at the vets for the earliest appointment I could get, however it isn't until tomorrow afternoon. Is there anything I can do to help Bilbo in the mean time? He is still eating really well, currently munching on some romaine lettuce, and he's never been an active piggy, I just hate hearing him wheezing like this

Many thanks!

Hi and welcome!

Good that you have booked him in before coming on here.

What you can do to help ease the breathing until he can be seen and the meds are kicking in is to place (and regularly replace) a bowl of steaming water next to the cage. If you wish, you can add a couple of drops of olbas oil, but NOT vicks - the latter contains ingredients that are harmful to guinea pigs.

Please shift to weighing daily at the same time in the feeding cycle instead of the normal weekly weigh-in whenever you are worried about the food intake. Hay is making up to 80% of the daily food intake, but it is the one food group that is often dropped first and that you cannot control.

If your piggy has got URI indeed, he needs an antibiotic. Since URI is also an appetite killer if you are dealing with a serious (the need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat), we recommend to get some probiotics; they are available from a pet shop in a pinch. Give them 1-2 hours after the antibiotic to help prop up the guts, as antibiotics are often a bit of an appetite dampener and in some cases an appetite killer.
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[Paigeroonie]

Thank you! I was considering trying some steam for him, glad to know that olbas oil could help! He was a skinny little thing when I rescued him, and he has been steadily gaining weight since I've had him, and he used to have Pro-C sprinkled on his nuggets (I stopped once I was happy with his weight gain) so will have to get some more