Oral medicine

[isabelbella]

I've been given some medicine to give both my guinea pigs for an upper respiratory infection in its early stages. Coconut is fine taking the medicine and lets me put it in his mouth easily with the syringe. However Alaska is a lot more fussy and does not want to take it, eventually I do manage to give it to him but i feel it is quite stressful for him. Is there anything I can try to get him to take his medicine easier?

 

[Piggies&buns]

You just need to be firm, I’m afraid. It can help to have two people do it - one to hold piggy and one to administer the meds.

 

[Swissgreys]

I am a big fn of the 'firm and fast' approach.
For us it helps to firmly wrap the reluctant piggy in a thin muslin to stop too much wriggling.

 

[Merab]

Also, it’s handy to have a treat on hand.
I give mine a piece of cucumber after medicine.
Hope your piggies recover quickly

 

[isabelbella]

i’ve been treating my guinea pigs for a URI, on antibiotics for almost a week (week on sunday), however they still seem to have the symptoms of a runny nose and sneezing. not sure what i should do, whether i should call the vets and see if i can get another week of medication or try and get a different diagnosis. but then i don’t want to stress them out all over again with another trip to the vets.

 

[Siikibam]

I would call the vet and see what they say. I’m going to merge with one of your other threads as it’s related.

 

[isabelbella]

I would call the vet and see what they say.

i will, but issue is they are closed until monday so would have to wait till then.

 

[Siikibam]

It will have to wait I think. Unless they get really bad then they’ll need to see the emergency vet. Perhaps send them an email.

 

[Wiebke]

i will, but issue is they are closed until monday so would have to wait till then.

Hi!

Continue with your course for as long as your medication lasts and see your vet on Monday; as the course runs until tomorrow, there is no problem. URIs often need longer than one week to treat but if there is no improvement, you and your may want to consider other angles, based on their examination.

Unlike with a human viral cold, a runny nose is generally not the main symptom of a bacterial upper respiratory tract infection in guinea pigs. It is more often a reaction to coming from a very sterile background at the pet shop supply mass breeder into a complex pet home. It is down to your vet to make an educated guess based on an examination of the airways whether this is more likely the case with your piggy or whether they would prefer to prescribe another round of antibiotics to be on the safe side.

Here is more information:
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Irritants to Avoid Around Guinea Pigs

 

[isabelbella]

okay i’ll ring the vets in the morning to try and get an appointment the same day.

today alaska’s nose was very runny. it’s gone all crusty and i keep having to wipe it for him. coconut seems fine i think, he isn’t sneezing but might have a bit of a runny nose so will get him checked over again too.

they are both currently on baytril 0.24 ml two times a day. are guinea pigs generally on a different medication or higher dosage?

hopefully will be able to get seen tomorrow

 

[Wiebke]

okay i’ll ring the vets in the morning to try and get an appointment the same day.

today alaska’s nose was very runny. it’s gone all crusty and i keep having to wipe it for him. coconut seems fine i think, he isn’t sneezing but might have a bit of a runny nose so will get him checked over again too.

they are both currently on baytril 0.24 ml two times a day. are guinea pigs generally on a different medication or higher dosage?

hopefully will be able to get seen tomorrow

Baytril and sulfatrim are the two officially licensed antibiotics for guinea pig; after just a week, it is worth persisting with the existing antibiotic as a URI can take more than a week to clear - but it all depends on your vet's assessment.