Possible aspiration

[Pigglesticks]

Hey all, I'm new to the guinea pig forum and ive currently rekindled my love for guinea pigs. This post is going to be fairly long so sorry in advance

I bought 2 little boars just over a week a go from p@h, which ive recently found out are notorious for bad animal welfare. One of my boys showed clear signs of ringworm and both where suffering from a URI... :/

So i took them to the vets and was prescribed baytril and intrafungal. Theybe been on meds for about 6 days and seem to be recovering. Ive also been giving them probiotics 1 hour to 3 hours after baytril.

Tonight i was getting concerned that donza one of my boars was having a bloat. I dont think he is cause hes showing no other signs of discomfort but I'm kinds paranoid now, googling every little think. Theyre so frail and wont be mich older than 10 weeks so I'm not sure if its justified. So tonight i decided ti syringe probiotics instead of sprinkling them on food. I mixed an appropriate amount with water and gave it to both the boys. However i think i may of been a bit quick with donza.

He did not cough at all to begin with, infact i stroked him for 2 minutes then put him back in the cage. This is when he coughed aggressively 3 times and then acted like nothing had happened.

Am i freaking out for no reason or do you reckon some has gone into his lungs? Why was there such a delayed response for his cough? Should i ring the vets for advice in the morning or do you giys reckon hes fine?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s always worth seeing a vet if you are concerned. We can’t know if anything has gone into his lungs so it would be wrong of us to say anything other than to see a vet.

 

[Claire W]

I would definitely phone the vets for advise if only for peace of mind

 

[Free Ranger]

As prey animals their instinct is to hide their problems so he might have 'waited' to cough until he was back in his house. Syringing fluids is a tricky business. I would ring the vet for advice but if he looked no worse this morning it's difficult to know what they would do. They might suggest making an appointment for late this afternoon or for tomorrow when if he's going to get something there would be more clear symptoms. Or they might say to come in straight away.

If you are concerned about their weight you can do daily weighing although be aware there will be a bit of fluctuation! Although they are eating for themselves and you are not syringe feeding it is quite a good way to get probiotics in... boil water, pour a bit in a bowl and cool, add some pellets to soak and mix into a mush and stir in a bit of probiotic. They might even take some from a spoon or bowl and not need a syringe - but syringing tiny amounts of thick goop like this is less likely to be inhaled than a runny liquid.

Not all P@H are the same. You should get in touch to tell them what has happened. They might have had a batch of infected piggies in and then they would know to treat those pigs before they go out the store and be aware of the problem with that source. You might even be able to get them to contribute to your vet bills...?

Good luck and well done for looking after these little ones!

 

[Pigglesticks]

As prey animals their instinct is to hide their problems so he might have 'waited' to cough until he was back in his house. Syringing fluids is a tricky business. I would ring the vet for advice but if he looked no worse this morning it's difficult to know what they would do. They might suggest making an appointment for late this afternoon or for tomorrow when if he's going to get something there would be more clear symptoms. Or they might say to come in straight away.

If you are concerned about their weight you can do daily weighing although be aware there will be a bit of fluctuation! Although they are eating for themselves and you are not syringe feeding it is quite a good way to get probiotics in... boil water, pour a bit in a bowl and cool, add some pellets to soak and mix into a mush and stir in a bit of probiotic. They might even take some from a spoon or bowl and not need a syringe - but syringing tiny amounts of thick goop like this is less likely to be inhaled than a runny liquid.

Not all P@H are the same. You should get in touch to tell them what has happened. They might have had a batch of infected piggies in and then they would know to treat those pigs before they go out the store and be aware of the problem with that source. You might even be able to get them to contribute to your vet bills...?

Good luck and well done for looking after these little ones!

Thank you for your reply, ill definitely give the vets a quick ring allthough he seems to ve acting normal.

I did tell p@h and they said there where no issues with the other two pigs but i steuggle to believe that. Thankfully they are paying for our vet bills.

Again thanks for the reply!

 

[Pigglesticks]

It’s always worth seeing a vet if you are concerned. We can’t know if anything has gone into his lungs so it would be wrong of us to say anything other than to see a vet.

Thank you for your reply!