Trixie has a URI. It was just a snotty nose, but now it's turned to the noisy breathing. A few years ago, Nutmeg had a URI and she had 3 rounds of antibiotics before she died of a stroke. I'm so worried that Trixie's gonna go the same way. I know we can't prevent strokes and there's no way of telling whether a piggy will have a stroke or not, but I'm just sitting here, watching Trix have the same symptoms as Meg and getting a pit of dred in my stomach. I can't lose another one. Luna died three weeks ago (Ovarian cysts among various health issues), and Bandit died two weeks ago(I think she pined for Luna), I just can't go through that again.
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URI
- Thread starter Chaz
- Start date
Hi
BIG HUGS
I am very sorry about your multiple losses; I know myself only too well just how hard they are to cope with when you lose several in very succession; especially when it is to different issues.
Please accept that the stroke was not a result of the respiratory infection. We have never seen another case on here with a direct link. You are not going to help Trixie by being paralysed by your old trauma and new grief.
Not giving her a chance at being seen by a vet as to whether she has a URI or not is the biggest mistake you can make, as hard as it is to go there again.
Give Trixie a chance at turning your tables. By far not every URI is fatal. A nasal swab test as to which antibiotic she is reacting to may not be cheap but hopefully helpful in finding the right antibiotic straight away.
Sorry, forgot to mention she has been seen by a vet. Today, when it was just sneezes and discharge. But this evening it's turned into grunting. She's on antibiotics, which I'm praying will help. The vet said I'd caught it early and that she had no signs of it, other than the discharge and the sneezing, which was good.Hi
BIG HUGS
I am very sorry about your multiple losses; I know myself only too well just how hard they are to cope with when you lose several in very succession; especially when it is to different issues.
Please accept that the stroke was not a result of the respiratory infection. We have never seen another case on here with a direct link. You are not going to help Trixie by being paralysed by your old trauma and new grief.
Not giving her a chance at being seen by a vet as to whether she has a URI or not is the biggest mistake you can make, as hard as it is to go there again.
Give Trixie a chance at turning your tables. By far not every URI is fatal. A nasal swab test as to which antibiotic she is reacting to may not be cheap but hopefully helpful in finding the right antibiotic straight away.
with your excellent care she’s seen a vet so early that you’ve given her the best chance. I hope the antibiotics soon kick in and she starts to feel better again.
So today, she's grunting more and sneezing. She's fine in herself, still eating and drinking. If anything, she's hiding a bit more, but that could be just to have peace and quiet from the three chaotic babies.
She's not much better. Her nose has dried up so It's crusty. She's still eating and drinking, lost a bit of weight from the vet check on Monday. But she defo eating, I've seen her eat the nuggets. I guess the infection is making her lose weight?
Breathing comes first and is obviously affected by a URI, so piggies can struggle to eat enough when they are unwell.
They lose weight when they don’t eat enough hay. Hay is around 75-80% of what they need to eat in a day. They can appear to be eating it but as you cannot gauge intake by eye you can’t tell they are actually eating enough hence the importance of weight checks. If the weight checks show she is losing then she isn’t actually eating enough hay to maintain herself (even though she is eating some) and should be top up fed with recovery feed.
Eating veg and nuggets only makes a tiny proportion of their daily food (jointly around (25%) intake so it won’t make it maintain weight if she has lost a lot of hay intake.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Okay, so I sat and actually watched her eat today. I fought the babies off for her and she had hay and veg to herself. When the babies got bored, she ate the remaining nuggets. If she's not better on Monday, the vet said to bring her back, but I think she is getting slightly better.
Bill & Ted
Forum Buddy
That sounds more positive, I hope she makes a full recovery, look after yourself. I am so sorry for your losses 
So I've got to the end of her antibiotics and she's still grunty. But Bandit had a grunt for 2.5 years of her life and she didn't have a uri. I don't know whether to take her back to the vets or not. The vet said if the antibiotics don't do much, then it's viral and will just die off.
Guinea pigs don't get viral colds. She may need another round.
