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Pneumonia and Separation from other Piggy Friends

Shasta21

New Born Pup
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Apr 19, 2024
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Hi! I have two piggies, my one is four, Gus, and I have had him for 3 years, I recently adopted a second piggy, Boris who is 4 as well. When I got Boris he and Gus were separated so I could get him to the vet for a checkup. At the vet they said his lungs sounded noisy so they gave him some TMP/SMZ antibiotics which have not been effective. He is on doxycycline and baytril now for 10 days and hopefully he recovers. My concern is about my other pig Gus, as I said they have been separated throughout this entire process, my cage divides in two so they can still see each other but not share physical space. My concern is that since Boris has been feeling better he broke through the barrier today while I was at work. This means they were together and potentially sharing water bottles for possible up to 8 hours. Gus has been very healthy the entire time I have had him, does anyone know the likelihood that Gus will become ill as well? Should I bring him to the vet just in case?

Also has anyone had any experience with antibiotic resistant pneumonia and how have your piggies fared?



 
I’m sorry to hear of his illness.

I don’t have experience of pneumonia but what I would say is that if the two piggies have been side by side and probably having close contact between the bars, sharing an airspace if not a physical space, then he wasn’t protected from the bacteria completely anyway. For true quarantine and protection from the bacteria then the two piggies would have needed to have been kept in entirely separate rooms if they were not properly bonded and already living in the same cage . (We don’t recommended separating bonded piggies upon the diagnosis is an illness (there are several other reasons as to why) - the other was exposed probably just prior to symptoms even showing).

If you are worried about him and he shows symptoms of course a vet check is a good idea.

Make sure to keep up with daily weight checks for Boris so you can ensure he is still eating enough hay and enabling you to step in with syringe feeding if needed. Also keep up with routine weight checks with Gus.
If a piggy is not able to breathe properly then they can reduce the amount of hay they eat due to the need to breathe coming first.

I hope they are both ok and Boris continues to recover well
 
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