Need to go back to basics.

[AbbieMiddleton]

Hello everybody,

I'm not necessarily a new Guinea Pig owner (although I did adopt a new piggy from a rescue yesterday) but I'd like some tips on how to return to the basics. I'm extremely paranoid about my pigs at the moment and need to try and re-wire myself.

Bumble sneezed after eating hay; I want to take her to the vet.
She had a wet nose after eating wet lettuce; I want to take her to the vet.
She had a nose wheeze just after I picked her up (made her angry too) for third time in 5 minutes which immediately stopped but....; I want to take her to the vet.

I'm a nervous wreck and looking for problems constantly. Could someone please help me start again some how? Otherwise my girls will be living at the vet and constantly stuffed full of Baytril.

I'd appreciate any suggestions at all and if this is an inappropriately placed thread, apologies.

 

[Piggies&buns]

All we all want is to have happy healthy piggies and of course we do watch out for signs of illness so we can react and get treatment but nothing you have said is cause for concern. It’s harder with new piggies because you don’t know what is their normal but if your piggy came from a reputable rescue then she would hopefully have been vet checked. It’s a good idea to register a new pet with your vet and have a general check over but I don’t think you have any reason to be concerned from the descriptions in your post

 

[Wiebke]

Hello everybody,

I'm not necessarily a new Guinea Pig owner (although I did adopt a new piggy from a rescue yesterday) but I'd like some tips on how to return to the basics. I'm extremely paranoid about my pigs at the moment and need to try and re-wire myself.

Bumble sneezed after eating hay; I want to take her to the vet.
She had a wet nose after eating wet lettuce; I want to take her to the vet.
She had a nose wheeze just after I picked her up (made her angry too) for third time in 5 minutes which immediately stopped but....; I want to take her to the vet.

I'm a nervous wreck and looking for problems constantly. Could someone please help me start again some how? Otherwise my girls will be living at the vet and constantly stuffed full of Baytril.

I'd appreciate any suggestions at all and if this is an inappropriately placed thread, apologies.

Hi!

HUGS

Have her checked for your own peace of mind but it is likely just a mild sensitivity to something (hay dust, dry air, air fresheners, perfumed skin products etc.) and very unlikely that your vet is finding anything amiss; at the very worst there is some small irritant stuck in the nose that hasn't been fully sneezed out yet.

It is certainly not the sign of a respiratory infection, which is bacterial and not viral - and NOT like our human colds and flus!

It is however very normal to be rather jittery after a traumatic experience or a really bad run you have had. these things tend to happen in lumps and never nicely spread out unfortunately. Your own 'piggy alarm' is still on high alert and hasn't had time to settle down yet.

 

[AbbieMiddleton]

All we all want is to have happy healthy piggies and of course we do watch out for signs of illness so we can react and get treatment but nothing you have said is cause for concern. It’s harder with new piggies because you don’t know what is their normal but if your piggy came from a reputable rescue then she would hopefully have been vet checked. It’s a good idea to register a new pet with your vet and have a general check over but I don’t think you have any reason to be concerned from the descriptions in your post

Thank you! I'm actually describing my older pig though which I already had.

The newbie looks and sounds fine. She came from a very well run rescue and as I picked her up myself I was able to see the set up and condition of several piggies. No concerns there. Although as soon as she sneezes one day I'm sure I'll panic then too.

 

[AbbieMiddleton]

Hi!

HUGS

Have her checked for your own peace of mind but it is likely just a mild sensitivity to something (hay dust, dry air, air fresheners, perfumed skin products etc.) and very unlikely that your vet is finding anything amiss; at the very worst there is some small irritant stuck in the nose that hasn't been fully sneezed out yet.

It is certainly not the sign of a respiratory infection, which is bacterial and not viral - and NOT like our human colds and flus!

It is however very normal to be rather jittery after a traumatic experience or a really bad run you have had. these things tend to happen in lumps and never nicely spread out unfortunately. Your own 'piggy alarm' is still on high alert and hasn't had time to settle down yet.

Thank you. I am still on high alert and it's driving me mad.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. I am still on high alert and it's driving me mad.

I fully understand! Have been there myself...

The only healer is time. It is rather disconcerting when your usual common sense is has been turned off and you are not somebody who suffers from anxiety normally. I call it 'bad news indigestion' with burps at the mere whiff of another lump my still overstretched mind struggles to cope with.

 

[Swissgreys]

I would suggest setting up a clear routine which should help both you and your piggies to feel more settled.
Feed the same amount at the same time each day, top up hay trays and clean water bottles at the same time, have a fixed weekly weigh in day, and keep track of weights.
Hopefully if you can see your piggies are eating drinking and maintaining their weight this will help you to feel less anxious about their health.

 

[AbbieMiddleton]

Thanks, Wiebke. I'm glad to know I'm not alone. You've been wonderful during this process.

Swissgreys, they both seem to be eating normally. Newbie hasn't found the water bottle yet though, so I'm a little worried there. Not sure how to help them figure it out as they're very nervous. We do have a general routine too and I'm weighing often.

Bumble is still recovering from her poorly tummy the other day but I'm assuming it might stay delicate due to her being on daily meds. It's not changing her eating or drinking habits though, thankfully. Just smelly poops.

Oddly, Bumble has been eating Newbie's poop. Is that normal?

Photo of Newbie, name to be determined.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks, Wiebke. I'm glad to know I'm not alone. You've been wonderful during this process.

Swissgreys, they both seem to be eating normally. Newbie hasn't found the water bottle yet though, so I'm a little worried there. Not sure how to help them figure it out as they're very nervous. We do have a general routine too and I'm weighing often.

Bumble is still recovering from her poorly tummy the other day but I'm assuming it might stay delicate due to her being on daily meds. It's not changing her eating or drinking habits though, thankfully. Just smelly poops.

Oddly, Bumble has been eating Newbie's poop. Is that normal?

Photo of Newbie, name to be determined.

Poop eating in recovering piggies is very common and a positive activity. They are basically reintroducing live gut microbiome into their own gut, which has been off kilter or impacted by antibiotics. She is basically eating tailor-made probiotics with exactly the 'right stuff' in them!

When we recommend 'poo soup' for guinea pigs off their food during or after treatment, we basically mimic this natural behaviour.

 

[AbbieMiddleton]

Poop eating in recovering piggies is very common and a positive activity. They are basically reintroducing live gut microbiome into their own gut, which has been off kilter or impacted by antibiotics. She is basically eating tailor-made probiotics with exactly the 'right stuff' in them!

When we recommend 'poo soup' for guinea pigs off their food during or after treatment, we basically mimic this natural behaviour.

Bumble seems to be eating the majority of her own smelly poops and loads of Newbie's regular, non-smelly poops. From your advice that should be great for her then! Oh my goodness, I'm almost dreading her kissing me in a minute.....

Bumble has been off Baytril for a week now but is on daily Metacam. However, I do think it's her overindulgence on grass last Monday which has caused her lingering upset tummy. Unless it's the Metacam. Plus all the upset, travel and changes.

 

[Wiebke]

Bumble seems to be eating the majority of her own smelly poops and loads of Newbie's regular, non-smelly poops. From your advice that should be great for her then! Oh my goodness, I'm almost dreading her kissing me in a minute.....

Bumble has been off Baytril for a week now but is on daily Metacam. However, I do think it's her overindulgence on grass last Monday which has caused her lingering upset tummy. Unless it's the Metacam. Plus all the upset, travel and changes.

Baytril is known for impacting rather strongly on the gut fauna. Too much grass on a not yet fully rebalanced gut won't have helped. Just be patient and be a bit more careful with feeding fresh veg for the next week - simply stick with the just normal diet and keep any extras to small quantities or leave them out for the time being, and the problem will sort itself out.
No issues because of the metacam; it doesn't cause tummy upsets.

 

[AbbieMiddleton]

Baytril is known for impacting rather strongly on the gut fauna. Too much grass on a not yet fully rebalanced gut won't have helped. Just be patient and be a bit more careful with feeding fresh veg for the next week - simply stick with the just normal diet and keep any extras to small quantities or leave them out for the time being, and the problem will sort itself out.
No issues because of the metacam; it doesn't cause tummy upsets.

Thank you. I didn't know Baytril was so aggressive. She was on it twice a day for a week. Came off it last Thursday but has been overindulging in grass afterwards. We didn't think to reduce the quantity after the shock of losing Pinky, so Bumble had a double portion. Thank you for the advice, I'll limit veg to maybe a lettuce leaf once or twice a day if she seems ok. If not, just pellets and hay.

Would the leftover sachets of Science Select Recovery food help her stomach? I've been looking at probiotics but most look like they'd take days to get here if ordered online. I can't find anywhere local stocking any.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. I didn't know Baytril was so aggressive. She was on it twice a day for a week. Came off it last Thursday but has been overindulging in grass afterwards. We didn't think to reduce the quantity after the shock of losing Pinky, so Bumble had a double portion. Thank you for the advice, I'll limit veg to maybe a lettuce leaf once or twice a day if she seems ok. If not, just pellets and hay.

Would the leftover sachets of Science Select Recovery food help her stomach? I've been looking at probiotics but most look like they'd take days to get here if ordered online. I can't find anywhere local stocking any.

I would just limit her veg to a normal veg portion as she is used to; that is all that is needed as you are not reporting any soft poos, diarrhea or bloating issues. In your case it is most likely due a combination of antibioic with too much fresh food as she hasn't shown any issues while on the baytril (which in most cases is well tolerated).

It is just the very mildest hint of a tummy upset which your girl is taking care of herself quite nicely; so no reason to panic or overreact.

 

[AbbieMiddleton]

I would just limit her veg to a normal veg portion as she is used to; that is all that is needed as you are not reporting any soft poos, diarrhea or bloating issues. In your case it is most likely due a combination of antibioic with too much fresh food as she hasn't shown any issues while on the baytril (which in most cases is well tolerated).

It is just the very mildest hint of a tummy upset which your girl is taking care of herself quite nicely; so no reason to panic or overreact.

Thank you. She does actually have some soft poos but she generally eats those and they only seemed to occur after the grass incident so I assume it's related. Thanks for your advice. Hopefully little Newbie's poos can keep helping her.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. She does actually have some soft poos but she generally eats those and they only seemed to occur after the grass incident so I assume it's related. Thanks for your advice. Hopefully little Newbie's poos can keep helping her.

Piggies can get soft poos after eating a lot of grass in one go. Just count it into their veg allowance and feed less fresh food on the day. Usually the poos settle down after a night on hay.