Hospital housing

[Duffy]

Hi there!
My guinea pig has recently been producing alot of snot and making wheezing sounds. I've taken him to the vet and been given some medicine, but she was worried it might be infectious so has recommended that I separate my sick guinea pig from my other one. He'll have to stay in a seperate pen for 5 days.
And I'm worried that this pen is too small and about the ventilation because it's basically a large plastic box. If anybody has any advice it would be very much appreciated

 

[Engel]

If your piggy is showing symptoms, your other piggies would have already been in contact with whatever is causing it so you may not need to seperate at all. However wait for one of our health experts to come along and advise you further. Hope he gets better soon.

 

[Engel]

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[Claire W]

I’m sorry to hear that you have a poorly piggy but please don’t separate them as you could break the bond between them. Your well piggy will already have been exposed to the infection so if he’s going to get it, he’s going to get it. I once had to separate a piggy to keep a check on poo output but only for 24 hours

 

[Swissgreys]

Please do not separate your piggies.
It will be stressful for both of them, and offer no medical benefits.

How experienced is your vet with guinea pigs, and what medication have you been prescribed?
I would suggest putting them back together, but if they have already been separated just to be safe I would set up a bonding pen in a neutral area for an hour or two just to let them become reacquainted. Some piggies are very sensitive to any form of separation.

And by the way your temporary pen is actually pretty good, so it's nice to know you can set one up of the need ever arises in the future.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I can only agree with the others - please dont separate your piggies.
As mentioned your other piggy has already been exposed to any potential illness, so separating them now serves no purpose and can cause stress to them both which in turn further lowers the immune system.

 

[Duffy]

Ok thankyou, I had no idea. I shall definatley get onto reacquainting them, they were only separated for a couple of hours so I hope it'll be ok. I could tell he was getting stressed so it's a relief to know that it will do him more good to be with his buddy.
I'm not sure how experienced these vets are unfortunately, but that'll will definatley be on my list of questions for next time! The vet gave me lexicom off licenced as this brand seems to be meant for cats, is that normal ? And thankyou for all your advice !

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok thankyou, I had no idea. I shall definatley get onto reacquainting them, they were only separated for a couple of hours so I hope it'll be ok. I could tell he was getting stressed so it's a relief to know that it will do him more good to be with his buddy.
I'm not sure how experienced these vets are unfortunately, but that'll will definatley be on my list of questions for next time! The vet gave me lexicom off licenced as this brand seems to be meant for cats, is that normal ? And thankyou for all your advice !

Yes it’s fine - the cat version is licensed for guinea pigs now. The dog version can also be given to guinea pigs but is not licensed (Dog version is 3 times stronger than the cat version)

 

[Swissgreys]

Ok thankyou, I had no idea. I shall definatley get onto reacquainting them, they were only separated for a couple of hours so I hope it'll be ok. I could tell he was getting stressed so it's a relief to know that it will do him more good to be with his buddy.
I'm not sure how experienced these vets are unfortunately, but that'll will definatley be on my list of questions for next time! The vet gave me lexicom off licenced as this brand seems to be meant for cats, is that normal ? And thankyou for all your advice !

Were you given anything else?
Loxicom is a pain relief and anti inflammatory, but if the vet suspects an URI your piggy will also need antibiotics.

 

[Duffy]

They prescribed them but were out of stock so picking them up tomorrow