Umm..., @Guinea Pig Papa, washing your hands with antibacterial soap doesn't do anything except make more antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It's not nearly strong enough to kill anything on your hands. You'd do better with soap and water.
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Umm..., @Guinea Pig Papa, washing your hands with antibacterial soap doesn't do anything except make more antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It's not nearly strong enough to kill anything on your hands. You'd do better with soap and water.
Like bpatters said, two sneezes is nothing to worry about for her URI symptoms are more excessively sneezing/ a runny nose/ become lethargic/ or eating less. If you've been sick, I think the general conclusion is guinea pigs can't catch human viruses, but it's possible for them to catch bacteria/infections. I'm quite paranoid myself and handle my piggies food etc as little as possible, keep my face away from them, and wash my hands constantly when I'm sick.
When I first got my Robin Hood he was about 6 weeks old and kept sneezing a lot (5/6 times in a day) , and I was SO worried. He showed no other URI symptoms, and after a few days the sneezes stopped. He's been the picture of health ever since!
We figured out what was causing may have been a mix of adjusting stress and this: when he drank from his guinea pig water bottle, his mouth was so little he'd end up getting a nose full of water as well, poor baby! lol We added a hamster sized one next to the guinea pig sized one, and he'd choose it instead; it stopped the accidental nose full of water.
Heat is much bigger danger than cold to piggies, the temps of your house sound like no problem at all. I use carefresh type paper bedding as well and it's never caused my piggies issues.
That's great she's eating carrots and red leaf--- try mixing in little bits of bell pepper now! Nearly all piggies adore it, and vitamin c is so important for them. The extra vitamin c they offer would be a nice precaution against her sneezes, too
Guinea pigs originated in Andes mountains. We've had a pig on here that survived multiple nights in sub-freezing temperatures in a snow bank. My own house is set at 65 degrees in the winter. I seriously doubt that temps lower than 69-70 are going to bother your pigs. Unless they're skinnies, they're nothing but small balls of fat and fur, and higher temps are much more troublesome for them than lower ones.
i wouldn't worry about two sneezes. She may have just snuffled something up her nose. What you worry about are URI symptoms or the pig acting sick.
I think I might try the smaller bottle. She is at her 32oz water bottle a lot, but it only goes down a little bit. It is working right I’ve tested and tested it many times. It may be hard for her to push up the bigger metal balls, hence why she isn’t getting as much as she seems like she should be with all that work.
Still not not interested in peppers, but she would probably try to eat a whole bunch of leaf lettuce now if I let her. lol
Im sure it’s a matter of time most likely. The one I’m trying right now is orange. I wonder if the colors taste different? Maybe I should try a different color? Which do you have the best luck with?
Oh my goodness 8oz? My sweetie drinks maybe 1-2. And she spends a lot of time trying. It works for me, but maybe it’s just two heavy of balls for her. Should I take her to the vet ASAP? I thought of putting a water bowl in there. I know they aren’t the most sanitary, but obviously she doesn’t get the bottle. I’m very worried now.The amount of water guinea pigs drink depends on the piggy and varies by the day, much like people. I think the average is around 8 ounces. How much does the water level go down for her?
I have Happy Home water bottles, and with a light touch the water drips/flows out right away. I actually got them at Walmart, but they're BPA free and made in the USA.
If you're worried she isn't getting enough water, you can give her high water content veggies like lettuce and cucumber, or get any vegetable really wet before giving it to her. Also remember the more high water/wet veggies she eats the less water she'll drink, because she's already getting it from them
It took my Robin Hood a little time to warm up to eating bell peppers, too. I just kept mixing small pieces in with things he did eat. Mine both love yellow ones the most...and Robin Hood has a sweet tooth so he also loves the red ones. Red and orange are higher in sugar, so they can't have a lot of them constantly. But I give mine both yellow and green every day!