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what do i do ?

G

guineapigs213

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one of my three guinea pigs has seemed to of caught a cold. the most worrying thing to me is, it is a lot of runny nose and she is sneezing quite a lot. it is going up to her eyes as it's so much ! she doesn't seem her quite adventurous self and has not shown much interest in her sisters either. She's eating perfectly fine and just seems very tired. this is a bit odd as she hasn't really ever been 'ill' . if anyone knows anything I can do to help her, please let me know . thanks x
 
Guinea pigs don’t get viral colds, they get bacterial respiratory infections.

You will need to switch from weighing your piggy weekly to weighing daily so you can monitor hay intake more closely, stepping in with syringe feeding if her weight drops. You cannot gauge hay intake by eye (it can appear they are eating but in fact they may not be eating enough , hence you get weight loss). Most importantly, you must have your piggy seen by a vet promptly as respiratory infections can be serious

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
She definitely needs to see a vet as soon as possible. Guinea pigs don't get colds like we do, they get bacterial respiratory infections that require antibiotics, as they can worsen really quickly and even prove fatal. Please see a vet to start some sort of treatment as soon as you can!
 
Piggies&buns said:
Guinea pigs don’t get viral colds, they get bacterial respiratory infections.

You will need to switch from weighing your piggy weekly to weighing daily so you can monitor hay intake more closely, stepping in with syringe feeding if her weight drops. You cannot gauge hay intake by eye (it can appear they are eating but in fact they may not be eating enough , hence you get weight loss). Most importantly, you must have your piggy seen by a vet promptly as respiratory infections can be serious

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
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when I first got her she had a respiratory infection (about two years ago at the pet shop) she then had medication and was absolutely fine within a day or so. She's just had some cucumber as I was worried she wasn't drinking a lot. I'm going out tonight to do some shopping but I'm worried about her. I'm going to try bathe her tomorrow and I'm also keeping her as warm as possible. also worried as she hasn't really been interacting with the other piggies . i do weigh her and her food she seems to appear a normal weight size for her age. I don't think it's the hay causing this as the hay is dust-free and I checked her mouth and her eyes thoroughly. thanks for your help x
 
Freela said:
She definitely needs to see a vet as soon as possible. Guinea pigs don't get colds like we do, they get bacterial respiratory infections that require antibiotics, as they can worsen really quickly and even prove fatal. Please see a vet to start some sort of treatment as soon as you can!
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thankyou for your help! yes I have booked her in for the vet (on tuesday) I'm expecting them to just examine her and give her some antibiotics . xx
 
Please don’t bathe her - it is not necessarily and bathing a poorly piggy is not a good idea.
She needs to get to a vet. Id try to get her seen before Tuesday. if it is a uri, then that is a long time to wait
you aren’t looking for her being a normal weight for her age (there isn’t any such thing), you looking for weight loss outside of normal daily fluctuation
 
Piggies&buns said:
Please don’t bathe her - it is not necessarily and bathing a poorly piggy is not a good idea.
She needs to get to a vet. Id try to get her seen before Tuesday. if it is a uri, then that is a long time to wait
you aren’t looking for her being a normal weight for her age (there isn’t any such thing), you looking for weight loss outside of normal daily fluctuation
[/QUOte thanks for your advice! umm, I did try to book her in before but our local vets are busy. there is another vets half hour away. ill have to see whether I can get her in there. her weight hasn't dropped or really gained, to be honest. whether that's a good thing I don't know? x
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The need to breathe comes before the need to eat, so if she struggles to breathe then she may stop eating as much. Weigh her daily, at the same time each day, so you can monitor her for the duration of her illness.
Do keep trying to get her seen sooner. Id be quite anxious with a respiratory issue and not seeing a vet for another four days.
 
Piggies&buns said:
The need to breathe comes before the need to eat, so if she struggles to breathe then she may stop eating as much. Weigh her daily, at the same time each day, so you can monitor her for the duration of her illness.
Do keep trying to get her seen sooner. Id be quite anxious with a respiratory issue and not seeing a vet for another four days.
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I haven't witnessed her struggling to breathe. hopefully, that isn't the case! and yes I'm still trying to get her into the other vets x
 
Definitely get her seen today in normal vet hours or you could well end up with some expensive out of hours weekend vet fees. They just go downhill so fast and, once infection has set in, it is so much harder to shift.

I wouldnt be waiting til tuesday. This isnt something that is likely to get better itself so much better to get there today if you can. Just realised the time! Maybe your vet runs a saturday morning surgery?
 
tabelmabel said:
Definitely get her seen today in normal vet hours or you could well end up with some expensive out of hours weekend vet fees. They just go downhill so fast and, once infection has set in, it is so much harder to shift.

I wouldnt be waiting til tuesday. This isnt something that is likely to get better itself so much better to get there today if you can. Just realised the time! Maybe your vet runs a saturday morning surgery?
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I've managed to get her in for Sunday morning , at the other place , but I am hoping she doesn't have a uri or any type of bacterial infection , what I am expecting is some antibiotics x
 
guineapigs213 said:
I've managed to get her in for Sunday morning , at the other place , but I am hoping she doesn't have a uri or any type of bacterial infection , what I am expecting is some antibiotics x
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I’m glad you’re getting her seen sooner.
We obviously can’t diagnose, but what you are describing does have the potential to be a URI, the treatment for which is antibiotics as it is bacterial
 
she seems to look a bit better. i have just gone to go feed and handle the pigs and when I let them three roam she seemed absolutely fine . still adventurous and herself again . however , I don't wanna risk it so I'm still gonna take her to the vets on Sunday . she still seems to be sneezing a bit but not as much . however, if one piggy is ill does that mean the other can get ill aswell ? any advice anyone feel free to comment or email me on here , many thanks x
 
If she does have a URI, she won’t suddenly get better and guinea pigs are masters of hiding their illnesses as prey animals. Please do keep your vet appointment.

A strong immune system of other piggies can often fend off bacteria and parasites, but there is always a possibility of spread to other piggies where immune systems are weakened for any reason
 
Piggies&buns said:
If she does have a URI, she won’t suddenly get better and guinea pigs are masters of hiding their illnesses as prey animals. Please do keep your vet appointment.

A strong immune system of other piggies can often fend off bacteria and parasites, but there is always a possibility of spread to other piggies where immune systems are weakened for any reason
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i don't think she has parasites i think its more of a URI .yes I did check on the other pigs and they seemed absolutely fine . i am going to keep the appointment as I do know that yes they can hide illnesses very well . and again I will say I don't want to take any big risks . she is not going to get better straight away , but however I personally don't think its a URI , I think its just a cold . however , I will continue to be worried and do more research into URI until the vet appointment . many thanks x
 
guineapigs213 said:
i don't think she has parasites i think its more of a URI .yes I did check on the other pigs and they seemed absolutely fine . i am going to keep the appointment as I do know that yes they can hide illnesses very well . and again I will say I don't want to take any big risks . she is not going to get better straight away , but however I personally don't think its a URI , I think its just a cold . however , I will continue to be worried and do more research into URI until the vet appointment . many thanks x
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I don’t think she has parasites from your description, my point was that a healthy immune system can fend such things off.
guinea pigs do not get viral colds, they only get bacterial respiratory infections. Sneezing/coughing, lethargy, discharge from eyes and nose are all signs of a URI
 
Piggies&buns said:
I don’t think she has parasites from your description, my point was that a healthy immune system can fend such things off.
guinea pigs do not get viral colds, they only get bacterial respiratory infections. Sneezing/coughing, lethargy, discharge from eyes and nose are all signs of a URI
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thanks for your help I think I would be clueless without this forum ! x
 
hello everyone! so I kept trying to get her into the vets, however, I could at first only get her in on Sunday or Tuesday . I kept on trying to get her in there sooner. I managed to get hold of a vet about an hour and a half away for 1 o'clock in the afternoon. so ill take her today and just see what's wrong with her. thanks for all your support everyone x any advice feel free.
 
That’s good.

Please don’t start a new thread each time for this same issue (your new post has been merged with the original one now). As we see many posts in the health section it helps us greatly to have all information on the same issue in the same place. It enables us to look back on previous advice and know the full background.
 
Glad you managed to get an appointment for today. Let us know how you get on.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It enables us to look back on previous advice and know the full background.
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Sorry, i did this as well with my Mike. I had 'rapid breathing' in Feb. And now the baytril one. Can my threads be merged too please? Easy to find in my content as i dont start many threads. Thanks
 
tabelmabel said:
Sorry, i did this as well with my Mike. I had 'rapid breathing' in Feb. And now the baytril one. Can my threads be merged too please? Easy to find in my content as i dont start many threads. Thanks
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Report one of your posts and ask for them to all be merged.
 
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