Louie Pig has an URI

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LouieClue

Post   » Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:12 pm


Hi, I am a new member and one of my pigs was making wheezing/hooting sounds this morning so I brought him to our local emergency vet Hospital who (thank goodness) has a rodent-savvy vet.

I’m about to go pick him up with an antibiotic and I had a few questions:
1) the vet mentioned bordatella is a common cause of guinea pig URIs, and asked about other pets in our home.
I have gerbils and wasn’t able to find any information on if gerbils can be carriers - I wondered if anyone here knows about that?
They don’t spend time together and aren’t housed in the same room, but if it could be an issue I will start being a lot more cautious about how I interact with each of them.

2) I ordered some benebac gel, but it will be a couple days before it gets in. Should I start dosing with acidophilus powder in the meantime (I take probiotics myself)?

3) Should I separate my two guinea pigs?

Pig history/info:
Boar (Louie) 2-3 yrs old (we adopted him as an adult)
American
Lives with unrelated boar (cloots) - around 8 months

LouieClue

Post   » Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:11 pm


Update after picking him up:
Antibiotic is enrofloxacin 25mg/mL
He’ll get 0.75mL every 12 hours

Vet recommended to house them separately so I’m going to set up their old cage now.
I’ll wash all the fleece in the big cage (where little pig will stay) other than that and washing hands between doing anything in either cage, is there anything to be careful of?

Also are they likely to be able to get along together again once Lou is off his antibiotics?
They are fine now, but they are boy pigs, and the little one has been full of testosterone lately, so there’s been plenty of rumble strutting and angry squeaks when they get too close to each other.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:49 pm


Actually, I think we normally recommend keeping them together in a case like this, where the other guinea pig has already been exposed anyway. Especially with boars that are separated, you can end up having problems reintroducing them. Watch, of course, to make sure they can both easily get the food they need. Acidophilus powder would be fine, if you wish to give it.

With Baytril, watch for antibiotic intolerance.
https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotic_advice.html

Did the hooting start after eating food? Sometimes food can become lodged in the throat and cause those worrisome noises.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:26 pm


I wouldn't separate them. They're apt to be stressed out by being apart, and besides, they've both been thoroughly exposed to whatever Louie has anyway.

And yes, I'd give the probiotic.

Hooting is not usually a sign of anything that requires an antibiotic, although it can be. But in that case, there are probably other symptoms of a respiratory infection. We usually hear hooting with a heart problem, or when the pig has some food caught in its throat.

LouieClue

Post   » Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:37 pm


I reintroduced them just now and it was a bit of a production already - thank you for the advice!

We just got over a rough patch after our younger pig decided he was a big pig who needed to boss his brother around, but they’d been so chill with each other the past few weeks, so I was really dreading if they would not get along again after a separation.

Now they are eating hay side by side in the big pen, but we’ll give them another hour or so before putting them in their cage together.

The hooting started this morning. Really more like snoring sort of sound, and it was while he was sleeping. He did it several times over a few hours, and then started sort of wheezing/honking (it is so hard to describe their noises) when awake as well. He also got very hooty when he tried to Wheek for a treat.
He was staying huddled up under a hay rack, so I weighed him, and he was down 20 grams since Friday (I know that is not a very large amount, but he is normally very consistent on his weight, rare that it changes more than 2 grams between weigh ins)

I am keeping a very close eye on his eating (though he’s only had one dose of the antibiotic) so far he has been eating hay and his poops are normal.

LouieClue

Post   » Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:08 pm


All seems to be well. He’s still down about 10g, but is eating enthusiastically and pooping normally.

I did want to follow up that this was probably not an URI - would it have been better to take a “wait and see” approach in this case?
These are my first guinea pigs, so I may have overreacted.

Our current vet doesn’t keep any open appointment slots either (which I loved about our old vet), so it’s a long wait to get in. Would we have been better off taking a day or two and only bringing him in if he got worse?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:48 pm


It really is hard sometimes to know if something is serious or not. In general, when a guinea pig gets ill, he/she can go downhill quickly. Becoming really familiar with your own pet and noticing if they are feeling off can help alert you to a problem.

The emergency page is the best advice I have to offer. You will get a sense of when something is potentially wrong:
https://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html

The next time you visit this vet, I would bring up how quickly a guinea pig can go downhill and see what they have to say. Are there any other vets who might be more accessible?

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:57 pm


I'm glad he seems to be doing well. By now if there was a problem with the antibiotic you would know. And if he was getting worse or if this was contagious, it would be obvious by now.

I think you did the right thing bringing him in when you did, especially since your vet's schedule is booked pretty tight. Guinea pigs hide their symptoms very well because they are prey animals. So by the time we notice symptoms, its possible they have been ill for several days or more. It's good that you weigh them. Much of the time weight loss is the first tipoff that something is wrong.

The hooting was possibly some hay dust up his nose, or something in his throat. I've had that happen with my pig and it's scary.

LouieClue

Post   » Mon Mar 29, 2021 11:59 am


I am definitely planning to look for a new vet, this is the second time we’ve been told it’ll be a minimum of 3 weeks to get in, which means we’ll only be able to work with them for wellness visits.

Do you have questions you ask of new vets before a first visit? I’ve had great luck finding rodent savvy vets for my hamsters and gerbils, but it seems like guinea pigs offer a few more challenges, or maybe there are just more misconceptions about their needs.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Mar 29, 2021 11:55 pm


It sounds like trying to find out how many guinea pigs they normally treat in a week, what kind of procedures they do, and their emergency accessibility would be important.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:31 am


We had a similar situation with the vet we took our dog to. He’s great and I think he’s the best in a the area for dogs, but it’s so hard to get on his schedule we only got to see him for wellness visits.

Lynx had good advice about what to ask. I would also check their website to see if they list guinea pigs specifically or just small pets. Do they have equipment to do x-rays and ultrasounds if necessary? If you find one that you feel confident about, you might even schedule a wellness exam to see what they check and how they handle your guinea pig.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:54 pm



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