Help! I'm a new piggie mommy and I'm lost at what to do

[fouprincesse]

I've had my baby for 5 days now, (I wont lie, I saved her from Petco, I fell in love and just had to save her.) Shes young and beautiful but there's just one thing, a few days (I would say 2) after I brought her home she started sneezing! Im worried about her because I read about Uris happening in babys from pet stores. I don't want to seem like im overeacting, it could just be allergies but her nose is dry also and I saw some dried boogers on her nose but she quickly wiped them away. When I get close to her I can hear her breathing, and it sounds okay no real wheezing or heavy breath. Just little snuffing sounds like you know, breathing.


The sneezes are once in a while not very often. She has timmothy hay in her bedding and also I have an airfreshiner in my room that sprays once in a while. (Turned it off)

She's eating like normal and drinking like normal, jumping and popcorning like normal and all that jazz I just want a second opionion other then my mother which is im over reacting. :( I just want her to be okay.

[Sandra4677]

I am new guinea owner as well. Since there is some crust on the nose, I would call the pet store AND take her to get checked. URI's happen fast. Did they give you the 15 day window? I bought both of mine from a pet store, too. *blush* I searched high & low for adoptable piggies, but there are NONE where I live. Finn developed an eye infection about 2 weeks after I brought him home. The pet store gave me a refund & took him to the vet for me. I picked him up two weeks later aka. "bought him back". He's been great ever since. Anyway, I digress... from my research, any crust on her nose & if she is licking her legs, it can be a sign of a URI. Better safe than sorry!

[HannibalLecter]

Do not take the pig back to a pet store, they have no knowledge in guinea pig care or illnesses, and their vets usually don't either. You need to take the pig to a cavy savvy exotics vet for a correct diagnosis & treatment should she be sick. Unfortunately, it's to be expected when purchasing animals from pet stores with horrible conditions & breeding background. Take her as soon as possible just to be safe, and always have a vet fund in place.

[bpatters]

I'd take her to a good vet, not the Petco one, and get her checked out. Guinea pigs hide illnesses very well, sometimes until it's too late, and the young ones get overwhelmed much more quickly than the older ones.

Sandra4677, do you have a source for licking the legs being a sign of an URI? I've never heard of that, and can't see how the two could possibly be related.

[Sandra4677]

I heard that from another guniea owner, but thank you for talking to me like I am stupid. Newbies need some guidance instead of a lecture because I bought mine instead of adopting. I can tell already that, unless you ADOPT or RESCUE your cavy, you are not welcome here. Just because I am a "newbie" doesn't mean i haven't researched throughly and talked to other cavy owners. I am going to another message board where newbies are not talked to like we are idiots.

[fouprincesse]

Thank you guys sooo so so much for the info! I'm making an appointment tonight, hopefully I can find out what it is! I'm worried sick :(

[SurfingPigs]

I agree, a vet visit would be a good choice. Don't worry yourself sick... you are doing the right thing and your pig should be fine with the right care. If you aren't sure of which vet to use, there is a great link at the top of the website that says "find vets". Best of luck, sending good vibes your way.

And no, licking of the legs isn't a sign of URI.

[fouprincesse]

I agree, a vet visit would be a good choice. Don't worry yourself sick... you are doing the right thing and your pig should be fine with the right care. If you aren't sure of which vet to use, there is a great link at the top of the website that says "find vets". Best of luck, sending good vibes your way.

And no, licking of the legs isn't a sign of URI.

Thank you!! I actually used that to find the vet clinic I'm calling! :) So useful! I found a place and I can't wait to get her looked at it will, at the very least, give me some peace of mind.

[bpatters]

I heard that from another guniea owner, but thank you for talking to me like I am stupid. Newbies need some guidance instead of a lecture because I bought mine instead of adopting. I can tell already that, unless you ADOPT or RESCUE your cavy, you are not welcome here. Just because I am a "newbie" doesn't mean i haven't researched throughly and talked to other cavy owners. I am going to another message board where newbies are not talked to like we are idiots.

Sandra, no one here has talked to you as if you're stupid. I merely asked you for the source of your information. If it's correct, then I'm giving incomplete information to people whose pigs have URIs, because I never heard that of leg-licking as a symptom. If it's incorrect, then it needs to be corrected so it doesn't get passed on.

You may have researched your information thoroughly. I didn't question that. You just didn't say where you got it. And that's all I was asking.

I didn't post that because you're new, or because you bought your pigs (in fact, not a soul has said a thing to you about buying pigs). I said it because we try very hard to give correct information here, and if there are conflicting views, as there often are, we either give the source or we clarify by stating that it's our own experience or opinion. It hasn't been more than just a few days that I asked a clarification question of a member who's been here longer than I have, and I have no idea where she got her pigs.

It's certainly not a board policy to talk to newbies like they're idiots, nor do I think that happens very often. There are a lot of us on here, moderators and members alike, who spend a lot of time answering questions that newbies ask. It's one of the functions of the forum. As was recently said on another thread, if you can show us where someone spoke to you as if you were an idiot, please PM one the mods or the admins, and the issue will be addressed.

[sarah0712]

My girl's sneeze sometimes and sometimes before they do, their weeking or breathing becomes a bit raspy. But they are fine afterwards. In usually happens at night and not that often. I figured it was quite normal seeing as humans sneeze too!

[kourt1313]

From what I know a slight amount of sneezing is normal (like, I'd say, 1 every other day is what I personally consider normal and that's only my personal experience, not fact). But if you notice (again, in MY opinion) 3+ a day, that should raise an eyebrow. I don't really know if there's an "ok average" in sneezing pigs but if someone knows please post!

Sandra, I have to agree with bpatters, no one is attacking you. I'm very new here also and have found nothing but informative and helpful information. That's just how bpatters posts, you get used to it =) Some of the most helpful information I have received have been from bpatters and SurfingPigs. I encourage you to stick around.

[spy9doc]

Sorry, but I agree with Billie. Can't imagine a connection with licking the legs and a URI?

It is incumbent upon us all to not accept what some other owner tells us, but to research things for ourselves. We all know that there is a world of misinformation on the Internet as well and one must critically look at what we read.

Why not research that particular "statement" and get back to us instead of getting angry? We all learn from each other.

[nibbler100]

id take her to a vet, seeing buggers isn't a good sign. the only way a guinea pig can breath well is through there nose and if it gets clogged she cant breath.

P.S Bpatters is one of the people on hear that i notice has never talked "down" on me or any one in the post. there are other people out there that get carried away with certain subjects but certainly not over this. :s juuussstt saying.

[fouprincesse]

OKay so, just got back from the vet with some good and bad news. Bad news is she has Uri, good news is he gave me Albon fluid for her to take to get better. :)

[Wildcavy]

@Sandra4677 , I tend to be one of the more, ah, sensitive forum members and I really do see @bpatters question about citing a source as non-confrontational. I think it's critical when something is stated as fact, that we be able to back it up with a reference, particularly when it comes to something medical or dietary. (I won't get into my feelings about feelings, promise).

Any of the outcomes on that question are good: we have to put aside the statement as untrue, which stops us from causing harm; we find the citation, which has a lot to back it up, and we learn something new; or we find a few random references to it on questionable sites, in which case we are reminded that some sites are dodgy.

I did look into this online, and based on my reading, my suspicion is that people are mistaking a cavy rubbing at its nose because of an allergy for it licking its legs. So a piggy with an allergy (and therefore respiratory symptoms) is pawing its nose because it's uncomfortable or itchy or grooming. Somebody draws the conclusion (erroneously) that the piggy is licking its leg and it's a symptom of a URI. But it's neither a URI nor leg licking.

Just as an example of the nose wiping / allergy reference, the commentary by "Lexa:"

Guinea Pigs - Cutiecavies Guinea Pig Forum - Symptoms of URI's and Enteritis