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Sneezing? Coughing?

Strawberry_Calf4

Strawberry_Calf4

New Born Pup
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I got a new boy today as said in my last post. It's been a bit and I've noticed he keeps sneezing or coughing. A family member of mine gave him to me as a gift they picked him up at a pet store and I know they have a reputation for selling sick animals.
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
I got a new boy today as said in my last post. It's been a bit and I've noticed he keeps sneezing or coughing. A family member of mine gave him to me as a gift they picked him up at a pet store and I know they have a reputation for selling sick animals.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

Please have your boy vet checked promptly for a likely bacterial respiratory infection (URI). Guinea pigs don't have viral colds.
The coughing means that it is already well advanced but untreated. :(

You can find more information on problems with new guinea pigs (including URI and your customer rights) in this link here: New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

You may find this access link here to our extensive practical information resource helpful (and may want to bookmark it) so you can get up to speed quickly on guinea pigs. Over 15 years on this lively forum with tens of thousands of questions and up to half a century of private ownership have gone into our guides, which we have tried to make as step-by-step practical and precise as possible since we are aware that it is often the little things that trip up or puzzle a new owner. The above link is just a small part of our collection. It also contains practical advice and how to tips for illness care and medicating.
Here is the link: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners
 
I believe my new boy has a respiratory infection I'm making a vet appointment today. I know that requires antibiotics so I do I go about giving him medicine?
 
Any medication will come with instructions from your vet.
You will need to syringe the required amount into his mouth.
Antibiotics don’t usually taste very nice so it is a good idea to follow it up with a tasty treat such as coriander or piece of pepper - whatever your piggy likes - to take the taste away.

Ensure you switch to daily weight checks during any period of illness so that you can monitor hay intake and so you can step in with syringe feeding. A piggy with a respiratory infection will often/usually reduce the amount of hay they eat independently so will require support feeding of a recovery feed to keep weight stable.

The guide below explains more about syringe feeding and also how to give medication.

I hope he is ok

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
Piggies&buns said:
Any medication will come with instructions from your vet.
You will need to syringe the required amount into his mouth.
Antibiotics don’t usually taste very nice so it is a good idea to follow it up with a tasty treat such as coriander or piece of pepper - whatever your piggy likes - to take the taste away.

Ensure you switch to daily weight checks during any period of illness so that you can monitor hay intake and so you can step in with syringe feeding. A piggy with a respiratory infection will often/usually reduce the amount of hay they eat independently so will require support feeding of a recovery feed to keep weight stable.

The guide below explains more about syringe feeding and also how to give medication.

I hope he is ok

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Click to expand...
He's refusing vegetables. I don't think he was ever showed that it's food.
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
I got a new boy today as said in my last post. It's been a bit and I've noticed he keeps sneezing or coughing. A family member of mine gave him to me as a gift they picked him up at a pet store and I know they have a reputation for selling sick animals.
Click to expand...

Update: He's still sneezing vet appointment is on Monday. Still hoping it's nothing but also thinking that it's more then likely a Respiratory infection
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
Update: He's still sneezing vet appointment is on Monday. Still hoping it's nothing but also thinking that it's more then likely a Respiratory infection
Click to expand...

All the best. Not all URIs are fatal but they can also cause some nasty problems later in life if left untreated.
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
I got a new boy today as said in my last post. It's been a bit and I've noticed he keeps sneezing or coughing. A family member of mine gave him to me as a gift they picked him up at a pet store and I know they have a reputation for selling sick animals.
Click to expand...
He started Wheezing and breathing heavily at random moments last night. I know the poor thing doesn't feel well
I wish I could have gotten him in sooner but I don't have many vets that work with pets other then dogs and cats. I had to change vets because the last one I was going to obviously doesn't know what they are doing when it comes to small animals.
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
He started Wheezing and breathing heavily at random moments last night. I know the poor thing doesn't feel well
I wish I could have gotten him in sooner but I don't have many vets that work with pets other then dogs and cats. I had to change vets because the last one I was going to obviously doesn't know what they are doing when it comes to small animals.
Click to expand...

Try a bowl of steaming water right next to the cage and try to keep him warm and cosy but not hot.

Keep weighing him daily first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales for best day to day comparison.

The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. That is why a serious URI is also an appetite killer.
Guinea Lynx :: URI

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

All the best for getting him through the weekend and the early days of the antibiotic which will take a few days to build up to full efficiency.
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
He started Wheezing and breathing heavily at random moments last night. I know the poor thing doesn't feel well
I wish I could have gotten him in sooner but I don't have many vets that work with pets other then dogs and cats. I had to change vets because the last one I was going to obviously doesn't know what they are doing when it comes to small animals.
Click to expand...

Last update for now hopefully. We got to the vet and they confirmed that it's a respiratory infection he's on medicine and they said he's a bit malnourished and underweight. And probably a lot younger than what i was told he's probably like 5-6 weeks now and probably was taken from mama too soon.
 
Strawberry_Calf4 said:
Last update for now hopefully. We got to the vet and they confirmed that it's a respiratory infection he's on medicine and they said he's a bit malnourished and underweight. And probably a lot younger than what i was told he's probably like 5-6 weeks now and probably was taken from mama too soon.
Click to expand...


Glad that you have had him seen. Please keep him on a good hay based diet. His respiratory infection will have suppressed his appetite but that should return once the infection is cleared. Please be aware that the antibiotic (especially baytril) can also affect the digestive bacteria in the gut and kill the appetite further. In this case, you need to step in with feeding support.
At a conservative guess, about a quarter of all guinea pigs sold in the USA is affected with URI.

Please read the guide links below so you can support your baby correctly. Your feeding support is as important as any medication because the latter can only work if the piggy is not dying from lack of food and water.
However, with piggies this small you need to be extremely careful that nothing is going down the wrong way, hence the second link. Please be aware that your baby is in any case weaned and is now lactose intolerant and should no longer be fed any milk-based products, whatever the species.
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...pport-feeding-orphans-and-tiny-babies.159468/

PS: Your little baby can just be 5-6 weeks but they can also be older if they have have been born with a small birth weight. On good long term care, they will however be able to realise their genetically determined optimum before reaching adulthood around 15 months of age.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

For the longer term, your baby boy will need a same sex companion but he needs to be healthy first. We can help you with your baby's sexing and then the new mate to ensure that both are what they are supposed to be.
Companionship
 
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