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Shaking Piggie.. Need Advice

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courtney123

Junior Guinea Pig
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Mar 21, 2018
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Hi everyone. I have three guinea pigs: Zeus, Apollo, and Triton. Zeus and Apollo are both roughly 6 month old Teddy piggies. My youngest (who is kept separately from the other two) is a very young guinea pig. He was gift and I am unsure of the breed and exact age, but I know he is very young - probably close to 2 months.

My issue with Triton (the youngest) is that he appears to shaking constantly. It's a bit hard to describe. He seems to be breathing normally, but his whole body will go back and forth - almost a slow shake. He eats fine, much less than the other two, but fine for his age and size. I'm concerned about the way he's shaking. It's quite odd. He is very cuddly and enjoys being picked up and being close to me (he tends to move toward me and seek being pet).

I will post a video if that is possible. I'm a new member and not 100% sure if I can do that or not.
 
courtney123 said:
Hi everyone. I have three guinea pigs: Zeus, Apollo, and Triton. Zeus and Apollo are both roughly 6 month old Teddy piggies. My youngest (who is kept separately from the other two) is a very young guinea pig. He was gift and I am unsure of the breed and exact age, but I know he is very young - probably close to 2 months.

My issue with Triton (the youngest) is that he appears to shaking constantly. It's a bit hard to describe. He seems to be breathing normally, but his whole body will go back and forth - almost a slow shake. He eats fine, much less than the other two, but fine for his age and size. I'm concerned about the way he's shaking. It's quite odd. He is very cuddly and enjoys being picked up and being close to me (he tends to move toward me and seek being pet).

I will post a video if that is possible. I'm a new member and not 100% sure if I can do that or not.
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Hi! We do not have a video uploading facility on this forum which lives on member donations.
If you want to share, you need upload on a public setting elsewhere and then link the url into your post.
 
All I can think of is either rumble-strutting or that odd vibrating thing they do?
 
Here is a little video of mine of what I call 'boar hakas', which is basically measuring up and marking their territory against the other chap. The boars are rumblestrutting, i.e. vibrating while shifting their weight from one back foot to the other. It is mild dominance behaviour, more common in boars than in sows although you see it in both genders.
https://www.facebook.com/

In this case, Triton is simply staking his claim against the other two boys in a "Hey! I am here!" kind of way.

How a rumblestrut sounds you can get in this link here: Guinea Pig Sounds

More about interactive social behaviours: Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
 
That is not what he is doing, although Zeus sometimes does that to Apollo. I will attach a link to a video shortly
 
Your guinea pig is having breathing difficulties, likely a respiratory infection. Please have him seen by a piggie savvy vet promptly as they can go downhill quickly. Poor little chap. He also looks unwell as he's hunched and fluffed up, a common appearance of an unwell piggie. Hope you get him sorted. Here if you need any advice.
 
Abi_nurse said:
Your guinea pig is having breathing difficulties, likely a respiratory infection. Please have him seen by a piggie savvy vet promptly as they can go downhill quickly. Poor little chap. He also looks unwell as he's hunched and fluffed up, a common appearance of an unwell piggie. Hope you get him sorted. Here if you need any advice.
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Oh my! I’ll get him to a vet as soon as possible! Poor little guy :( thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.
 
Let us know how you get on.
It’s always a good rule of thumb with guinea pigs trust whenever there is any concern go to the vet as soon as possible.
Vets would rather see a piggy with nothing wrong than one who has become too ill to treat.
Do you have a vet fund set up?
Our gorgeous darlings can cost a fortune in vet bills.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Let us know how you get on.
It’s always a good rule of thumb with guinea pigs trust whenever there is any concern go to the vet as soon as possible.
Vets would rather see a piggy with nothing wrong than one who has become too ill to treat.
Do you have a vet fund set up?
Our gorgeous darlings can cost a fortune in vet bills.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip. No, I don’t have a vet fund. How would I go about setting that up?
 
courtney123 said:
Thanks for the tip. No, I don’t have a vet fund. How would I go about setting that up?
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Because vets bills can escalate quickly when you have an ill piggy, many members set aside a regular amount of money each month into a special account.
They then have something to help pay for large or unexpected vets bills when they arise.

For example I have 4 guinea pigs, and set aside 15 Swiss francs per month, per piggy into a separate bank account.
It has been nearly a year since we have needed to see a vet, but last week one of my piggies fell ill, and her bills so far (in just under a week) are running at around 600 Swiss francs. :yikes:
This will wipe out the entire fund, but at least I know I have the money set aside to get her the treatment that she needs.
Now I just need to hope that no one gets sick again until I can build the fund back up!
 
Swissgreys said:
Because vets bills can escalate quickly when you have an ill piggy, many members set aside a regular amount of money each month into a special account.
They then have something to help pay for large or unexpected vets bills when they arise.

For example I have 4 guinea pigs, and set aside 15 Swiss francs per month, per piggy into a separate bank account.
It has been nearly a year since we have needed to see a vet, but last week one of my piggies fell ill, and her bills so far (in just under a week) are running at around 600 Swiss francs. :yikes:
This will wipe out the entire fund, but at least I know I have the money set aside to get her the treatment that she needs.
Now I just need to hope that no one gets sick again until I can build the fund back up!
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That’s a great idea! Thanks so much. After this vet visit I’ll be sure to do that. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. That’s the earliest appointment I could get, is there anything I can do for him until the appointment?
 
Sadly, on the way to the vet the poor little guy didn’t make it. ): at least he’s not in any pain now. Thanks everyone for your help, I’ll know for next time if something like this happens again.
 
Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, he must have been seriously ill then even though he was still eating. It makes it so difficult for us caring for them that piggies hide their illnesses so well. xx
 
courtney123 said:
Sadly, on the way to the vet the poor little guy didn’t make it. ): at least he’s not in any pain now. Thanks everyone for your help, I’ll know for next time if something like this happens again.
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Awww, I'm so sorry. When I saw the video, I was thinking it was breathing difficulty. Unfortunately respiratory disease can kill so quickly, particularly in old and young pigs. ((HUGS.))
 
Sorry to learn of your loss. Your little man is out of pain now and playing zoomies at The Rainbow Bridge. Have a hug cos you need one.:hug:
 
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