It's really weird. His breathing's normal, his eyes/nose aren't running and he's eating normally and very active. I took them to a vet who
claimed to treat Guinea Pigs, but I think I knew more than she did and she said he seemed fine and thought the sneezing was some sort of virus that should go
away. Now I'm worried though. Could this still be a respiratory infection or am I just overworrying?
0 Kudo
Squiggy's sneezing - now blood in urine.
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 Juli54321 |
Squiggy's sneezing - now blood in urine. |
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Posts: 28 07/15/08 11:52 PM |
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/16/08 06:18 AM Moderator |
I have never heard of sneezing due to a virus in a guinea pig. I would wonder about your vet, too.
Sneezing is usually one of three things: URI (upper respiratory infection), signs of a heart problem, or just reaction to dust. I had one guinea pig who would sneeze every time I cleaned the cage, because the shavings were dusty. Took me a bit to realize the pattern. I have another that tends to sneeze in the winter, I think because of the dry air. Most likely, its a URI, as you are concerned about. I am somewhat concerned she didn't prescribe an antibiotic for it. Have you weighed her? Is she keeping her weight up? I would keep an eye on her, weigh her daily, and look around for a new vet for a second opinion. Your best bet for a cavy-savvy vet is to look for one that is listed as an exotics vet, or one that sees birds and reptiles. Believe it or not, guinea pigs are lumped in with them as an exotic. |
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Juli54321 |
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Posts: 28 07/17/08 12:24 AM |
Ok, thanks. He probably just has allergies, but I'll find another vet. This vet told me that they were full grown; but Lenny's a full pound and
Squiggy's only 0.8, so I think I know more than she does. He's eating and very active, at least. Thanks for your help.
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maryspigs |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 48 07/17/08 12:45 AM |
Yeah, lol, it doesn't sound like the vet knows much about pigs! I usually hear a sneeze from one of my four pigs every few days or so. It seems to happen
when they are all running around kicking the aspen up in the air. But they have no other symptoms and it doesn't happen that often. If it is happening
often I would be concerned.
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/17/08 06:50 AM Moderator |
A full pound, or a full kilogram? There's a huge difference between the two, and a 1 pound pig is only a couple of months old. Oy. If this vet thinks a 16
oz pig is full grown, I would disregard her advice and *run* to another vet.
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Juli54321 |
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Posts: 28 07/17/08 08:49 PM |
When they weighed him, it said a pound. Two months! That's the bigger one, the littler one was .8 pounds. I had no idea. I got them at a petstore which I know I'm not supposed to do, but it was like pulling teeth with rescues and people putting out ads for their piggies, trying to get a Guinea Pig. But his sneezing has started to decrease I think. One time he started when I held him. Thanks for your help, I read up on them a lot before I got them, but only experience tells you some things. |
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Juli54321 |
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Posts: 28 07/17/08 09:00 PM |
Lenny is one pound and Squiggy is 0.8 pounds. I was there when they weighed them, so that had to be right. How old is Squiggy then? I can't believe
Lenny's two months old.
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/17/08 09:10 PM Moderator |
Pet stores will sell them as young as a week or two. They shouldn't be separated from their mom until they're 21 days old. I know some (better?) pet
stores won't sell them until they're 7 weeks old. According to the weight charts, your two are between... oof.. 4 to 8 weeks old. How long have you had
them?
Given that you got them from a pet store, and looking back at your posts, I'm guessing you've only had them a week or so, it is highly likely that Squiggy was sold to you with a URI. If the sneezing is decreasing, that's great. But I would recommend weighing them daily, and making sure they continue to gain weight. They should be gaining about 1.5oz every week for the next several weeks. They start to slow down on the weight gain when they're about 5 months old. Normally, you need to start worrying about illnesses when a pig starts to lose weight. In your case, since they're so young, you should be alert if they fail to gain weight. |
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Juli54321 |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 28 07/17/08 09:18 PM |
I've had them two weeks, but they were weighed about a week ago. I don't have a good scale. Since they're so small, what sort of scale would you
recommend? Thanks.
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PooksiedAnimals |
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Posts: 3566 07/17/08 09:25 PM Moderator |
A kitchen scale - one that can weigh up to 4-5 lbs is great. You can find them at any kitchen store. A cheap one will run under $20. If you're lucky, you
can find one at a discount store (I found a great digital one at TJMaxx for $10!) if they happen to have any in stock.
I am a big believer in having a scale at home. A change in weight is usually the first indicator that something is wrong with your pig, and can give you literally a 1-2 week head start when they get sick. By the time you can feel a change in weight, the pig has lost over 3 oz, and is often seriously sick. I know if I had had a scale earlier, I'd have noticed things going wrong some of my earlier pairs of sows. |
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Juli54321 |
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Posts: 28 07/17/08 11:02 PM |
Ok, thanks. I'll get one soon.
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Jewlee |
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Posts: 85 07/18/08 06:09 PM |
Yeah knowing about what weight loss means and having a scale definitely would have helped me to help my guinea pig sooner.
I won't make that mistake this time. Good luck with your pigs! |
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Juli54321 |
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Posts: 28 07/18/08 11:49 PM |
Thanks. They're going to a different vet this time, he's treated my family's and my animals for thirty years. I would have gone to him first, but
he's very far away and I didn't want to subject my babies to that long drive unless absolutely necessary. He treats everything from dogs and cats to
horses to birds to small animals.
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Juli54321 |
Squiggy's got blood in urine. | #13 | ||
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Posts: 28 07/21/08 09:23 PM |
First his sneezing and now this! He has blood in his urine and it was too late to take him to the vet. He's going first thing in the morning and he's
eating, drinking, playing. It sounds like a stone or a UTI, but I'm still scared. Is there anything I should do for him until he goes in the morning?
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PooksiedAnimals |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 3566 07/22/08 05:48 AM Moderator |
Sorry I didn't get his earlier - I just have just logged off.
I've merged this with your original topic. I am trying to keep one thread per pig, because sometimes unrelated symptoms are actually all from the same source, so its easier to track a pig's history under one thread. Have you fed Squiggy and Lenny anything unusual lately? A lot of red pepper? Red Swiss chard? Beet greens? Sometimes food can change urine a pink/red color. Taking him to the vet is the right move, just to make sure. Does he cry when he pees, or lift his but way in the air? I've had some pigs with a UTI that clearly are uncomfortable when they pee, and others that just have the red urine. He should be fine - UTIs are uncomfortable, but can go a couple of days without treatment (although I wince right along with them). He should get an xray to check for stones. He shouldn't have stones - he's so young! If he does, you'll need to take a serious look at his diet, to try to prevent them in the future (its most likely he has a UTI). |
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Juli54321 |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 28 07/22/08 10:51 PM |
I can't believe it, it was diarrhea. It looked so weird. But he went to the vet this morning and he thinks it's wet tail. He gave him sulfamezathine
for it. Turns out what he had to chew on wasn't hard enough either, so he had his teeth clipped. (Don't worry, I know what to get now, won't happen
again.) He said it could also be a form of Salmonella. He thinks the sneezing is possibly because of the teeth. I know that sounds strange, but he's been
our family vet for thirty years and he treats exotics as well. He even used to have Guinea Pigs. Anyway, pig is home and is probably going to be fine.
We're keeping everything very clean, but not exposing him to harsh chemicals. Thanks guys for your suggestions and support.
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PooksiedAnimals |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 3566 07/23/08 06:06 AM Moderator |
Guinea pigs don't get wet tail. That is a problem with hamsters, but not guinea pigs. Its likely the diarrhea is from something he ate, or possibly some
kind of bug. What have you been feeding them lately? I want to know pellets, hay and greens. Is Lenny showing any symptoms of anything? Or just Squiggy?
Sounds like he's on an antibioitc? Is there a name on the bottle? Sulfamezathine seems to be a broad name, and I can't find it on the approved or dangerous list of antibiotics. You will want to watch him the next few days - some guinea pigs have a bad intolerance of antibiotics, and it could make the diarrhea worse. How long and what dose are you giving of the antibiotic? How's his weight doing? Please tell me he didn't just clip the front teeth, but planed the molars as well? Clipping the front teeth doesn't do anything for them, they'll just grow back. If there's problems with the front teeth, there's problems with the molars. Keep an eye on him to make sure he's eating. If the front teeth are clipped too short, they won't mesh properly (because the molars will prevent them from touching), and he'll have problems picking up his food. If he's sneezing because of the teeth, I would be worried that there's an abscess with the molars. Molars and respiratory problems often go hand-in-hand - so that's not a crazy assessment. Do your pigs get unlimited hay (either Timothy or alfalfa)? They need unlimited hay to keep their teeth in working order. Wood chews don't cut it (although my girls do sometimes chew their wooden house from time to time). |
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Juli54321 |
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Posts: 28 07/25/08 12:45 AM |
Actually the vet did say it was probably salmonella. He has unlimited hay. He eats timothy based pellets. I was feeding them parsley, carrots, apples,
cilantro, red pepper, cabbage, kale. I know the kale and cabbage aren't too good, but they didn't get that much.
His teeth were incredibly long, he had to trim them. They're not too short, they're just right. He didn't plane them, but the only reason he had to trim them anyways, was because they didn't have anything hard enough to chew on. Lenny is not showing any signs yet. I'm keeping an eye out and I'm cleaning their cage more often. Even though he started over thirty years ago, he keeps up with everything current and he loves animals, so I trust him. I'm always open to suggestions about their care, but I do trust him. The brand name for the antibiotic is albon. The broad name I'm pretty sure is one of the safe ones. Don't worry, he's eating, drinking, playing. The only thing that's abnormal is he never used to pee on me, but now he does. I think he just pees a lot more now. |
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