I am not sure what it is!

deadlykisses · #1 05-08-08, 08:02 pm

Spike has been sick for the past week. It started last Thursday, he refused to eat.. Watering eyes runny nose. Little movement, labored breathing and no interest in food. The entire weekend I spent nursing him back to health. Force feeding he willingly took the food.
And I stuck vitamins in it too.

By Sunday he was doing ALOT better. Monday he was eating tons of lettuce. strawberries, bananas everything. But yesterday he went back to his "state". He's laying there limp. I am trying to feed him as we speak although it is very little he IS eating again (force/hand fed).

I was thinking of getting some unsweetened cranberry juice and diluting it for him. But I do not know what to do. We do not have any Vet's near us it's probably a 30-45 minute drive and atm no car.

I am so scared and feel almost helpless at this time. I really REALLY don't want him to pass. I did make the mistake of buying him from a pet store and I am now truly regretting it. The poor guy! Am I doing everything right? Is there anything more I could possibly do for him?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And please if your reading this keep spike in your thoughts.

**linda_chicha** · #2 05-08-08, 08:11 pm

I think you need to take Spike to the vet urgently. Could you catch a bus, get a taxi or ask for a friend or family that has a car?

**Susan9608** · #3 05-08-08, 08:19 pm

Yes, there is something else you can do for him. You can take him to the vet. It sounds like he's got a URI. Those can be fatal for guinea pigs. They need to be treated with antibiotics.

There's really nothing else that can be done or diagnosed over the internet.

Call a friend, take a cab, take the bus, find a way, but get the pig to a good cavy vet as soon as possible.

deadlykisses · #4 05-08-08, 10:14 pm

Thank you both for the kind words and the prompt responses. After many phone calls I have found someone to take me in the morning to get him checked out. I am hoping that he can be saved at this point, but I am still so scared about what may happen in the overnight hours. Being a mother I keep checking in on him, he looks to be getting ready for bed for the evening and hopefully he can pull through to the morning we are rushing him to the Vet after m oldest son is seen off to school please pray for him.

I found a decent Vet and a friend is taking me tomorrow. I just hope that they are willing to work with me and make him all better. I miss my hyper little guy, he's so crazy!

**Ly&Pigs** · #5 05-08-08, 11:54 pm

Keep handfeeding and keep him warm if he feels cold. I agree it sounds like it is a URI.

**rabbitsncavyluv** · #6 05-09-08, 03:30 am

Print out a list of good and bad meds with you: Guinea Lynx :: Medications

Submit the vet bill to the pet store and make a big stink with them. They often pay to shut you up.

deadlykisses · #7 05-09-08, 09:16 am

I was up with him all night begging him to hold on just a few more hours, not being able to sleep. I began my routine cleaning. Around midnight I heard a kind of "puff/sigh" noise come from his cage, heard it many times through the night but he finally gave up.
It's really amazing how attached you get to these little guys. But I promised him if and when we get more Cavy's that we won't get hem from pet stores. But I know I gave him a good life while he was here he was a very happy Piggie. And he will be greatly missed.

**PrayerWarrior** · #8 05-09-08, 12:44 pm

[FONT=Georgia]I am sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences. [/FONT]

**Karsluma** · #9 05-09-08, 01:04 pm

I'm so sorry - how long have you had him?

**Ly&Pigs** · #10 05-09-08, 01:15 pm

I'm sorry for your loss.

I do want to say to anyone reading this thread that it's extremely important to act at the first sign of illness. If you notice your pig has a runny nose or any unusual breathing, is sneezing a lot, suddenly not interested in food or has stopped eating, to IMMEDIATELY get ahold of your vet and get the pig checked out. Early URI signs may only be a runny nose or sneezing. The quicker you can get the pig to the vet, the better the chances are you can save your pig because URI's are fatal if left untreated.

deadlykisses · #11 05-09-08, 03:55 pm

Thanks everyone for your wonderfully kind words.

I have been a Cavy lover all of my life, everytime I pass by them in the store I have to stop and watch. I had 3 when I was younger, and once my oldest son reached 8 I decided it was the right time to get another. Although he dosen't take care of him he thought of him as his pet of course he is very upset over Spikes passing.

In the past week I grew very attached to this little guy, force feeding him and ect, He got better. But please don't make my mistake of seeing a very good improvement as "cured" he quickly turned for the worst 3 days after he seemed okay.

His little sneezes/ "sighs" as I call them was a true warning sign. And If we would have had a emergency Vet here in town Or anywhere near me, I would have taken him last night instead.. I had to wait until the morning and it did not have good consequences.

Sadly I had to learn this the hard way but I do not wish this kind of thing on my own worst enemy. Please take my expierence as a lesson and learn from it as I have. I will adopt again, in due time. And I will be around this board alot in the future.

I vow to learn everything I can and give the new little guys I eventually get a even better home and life.

Thank you again.

deadlykisses · #12 05-09-08, 05:20 pm

What causes a UTI?

**PiggieMamaKelly** · #13 05-09-08, 05:49 pm

I'm so sorry you lost him :(.

To elaborate on what Ly said- guinea pigs are prey animals so they are wired to hide illnesses until they just can't go on anymore. By the time you even NOTICE signs of illness they have likely been sick for a while.

I too got a sick pig from a petstore once who died of the same thing just days after I got her. I was heartbroken and I'm sure you are too.

**Haley0489** · #14 05-09-08, 06:12 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadlykisses

What causes a UTI?

Do you mean URI? A UTI is a urinary tract infection, while a URI is an upper respiratory infection, which is what appears to be what happened to your piggie. I'd like to know the same thing, I'm not sure if there's really a "cause" for a URI, but maybe there is?

My thoughts go out to you and your family! xx

**Ly&Pigs** · #15 05-09-08, 11:43 pm

Both URI's and UTI's are caused by bacteria. If you got your beloved piggie at the petstore then it's not uncommon that he was sick. The breeding mills that the majority of pigs come from don't have very sanitary conditions and many of the pigs end up sick.

**GuineaAddict** · #16 05-10-08, 12:17 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

I'm sorry for your loss.

I do want to say to anyone reading this thread that it's extremely important to act at the first sign of illness. If you notice your pig has a runny nose or any unusual breathing, is sneezing a lot, suddenly not interested in food or has stopped eating, to IMMEDIATELY get ahold of your vet and get the pig checked out. Early URI signs may only be a runny nose or sneezing. The quicker you can get the pig to the vet, the better the chances are you can save your pig because URI's are fatal if left untreated.

I absolutely have to agree with this. When I got my first guinea I was very ignorant and she ended up getting diarrhea. I didn't know what to do because all the vets in MA and NH that I had called were going to charge me $150 just for the visit (here in IN it was only $50 with the medication!). I battled with myself over it and finally during the night when we were watching her we realized she wasn't drinking any water. So we got her out and were giving her water from a dropper and I called every vet in the book to try and get a late night one that would see us. I ended up getting one that was an hour away and was going to cost me, once again, $150 for just the visit, but I was so afraid of losing her. Sadly...she was in my arms wrapped in a towel in the car...and she died in my arms on the way to the vet. It was the second time I'd ever had a pet die in my arms and it's one of the hardest things to go through. So take these posts to heart.

**Weatherlight** · #17 05-10-08, 06:09 pm

I've made so many mistakes too. I did learn already that life and happiness are more important than a few (or many) hundreds or thousands of dollars, but I wasted a few days trying to decide how to get to a vet I was referred to, a four hour drive away, before finally bringing in my baby girl. I wonder what would have happened if I'd taken my girl earlier. Then, at the horrible end, I waited to be able to talk to my exotics vet, but found her dead after about 12 hours. Now I know she probably would have died by then anyway, but I very much wish I had demanded strong painkillers asap from a vet, any vet with an opening even if s/he couldn't spell "guinea pig," and if her pain could not be controlled, immediate euthanasia with the most humane method available to whatever vet I could see. It must have been pure hell laying like that, every second an eternity, for so long...

The most horrible thing about me is that I learn my lessons, but later forget many of them. I hope this is the last time, and I always carry these lessons with me until I die. They are hard lessons to learn, and it is the teachers who pay the price.

RIP Spike.

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