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Sniffles

Piggy-chan

Piggy-chan

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 29, 2017
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Location
Kansas, USA
I very recently got a new piggy who’s roughly 3 months old. A day or so after I got her she started softly sneezing and has had a bit of a runny nose. Her snot is clear. She’s been eating for certain and as far as I can tell drinking. Her eyes are bright and clear. This has been going on for about 4 days.
I tried unsuccessfully to find what might be wrong. Any leads would be helpful. My piggy vet retired and I haven’t been able to find one that takes them near me yet.
 
Please ensure you weigh her regularly to ensure she definitely is eating enough hay. You cannot tell they are getting enough by seeing them eat it and the weight checks are the only way to know for sure

She may be irritated by hay dust, bedding dust etc but it’s always a good idea to have any health concern checked out by a vet.
 
I’d get her checked over by a vet. The stress of moving home can sometimes cause illness. Did you get her from a rescue or pet shop/breeder? If a shop/breeder then their living conditions may not have been the best. Hope it gets sorted and your piggy recovers quickly.
 
Hi, I had something very similar sounding with a newly adopted baby piggie last month.

We adopted a three month old guinea pig and her mother at the start of January. Less than a week later we noticed that while she was bright, engaged and eating, she intermittently made a strange snuffly sound. We began weighing her daily and saw a vet who advised that, just like us, sometimes stress (like from a move) can weaken their immune response and let the germs win. At that point her chest was clear but we were asked to return ASAP if other symptoms of a URI appeared, including nasal/eye discharge. Sure enough the snot appeared and she was given antibiotics for a suspected URI; we also checked the forum guide for potential irritants (all clear - I'd link it but I'm on my phone). They did the trick and she's now snot and snuffle free :)

Unfortunately if it is the same thing, the only advice I can give is to echo the recommendations above to get your pig to the vets, although I can see that that's causing you some grief as well. A URI typically doesn't resolve without treatment which is only available from a vet; there may be something on symptom management someone could advise on, but without antibiotics it would be like taking painkillers for a cavity and skipping the dentist trip, imo.

Of course I hope your little one isn't poorly at all and that they are better soon in any case :) Make sure you take lots of pictures - our Nix is putting on nearly 40g every week and I just can't believe how much she's grown in a month!
 
I’m going to start calling the vets in my area that might take pigs.
In my area they’re considered exotics and most vets don’t treat them. Same with my birds. Getting time off to see a vet if I can find one is hard too. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
 
If you have any more issues finding a vet I have a feeling there is a recommended vet list somewhere on the forum?
 
There is @Sasco - you are quite right.
Along the top bar is a Vet Locator List, however this only lists UK vets.
For the USA try Guinealynx

I have no idea how to link it though having only just graduated to the Bronze Age of technical ability
 
I got my piggy to the vet this morning and she just has a slight cold. I’m supposed to give her the medicine the vet prescribed and she should be A ok.
 
Piggy-chan said:
I got my piggy to the vet this morning and she just has a slight cold. I’m supposed to give her the medicine the vet prescribed and she should be A ok.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you had her seen. Guinea pigs do not get viral colds though. Has your piggy been prescribed antibiotics for a bacterial respiratory infection?
 
Fingers crossed the medication works quickly and your piggy is soon on the mend.
 
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