Frustrated Need experienced opinions - pneumonia

[Curiosity]

Hi All,

I am really frustrated with what we have going on. My girls wanted guinea pigs for Christmas. I kept saying no, no, no....but I was brewing up a surprise that went really well and quickly turned really bad. Let me say first that I know Petsmart is horrible, but we wanted to get babies and we needed them at the certain time. In a way, even though PM is horrible, I still felt like I was rescuing these poor babies.

I got 2 females from Petsmart on Dec 19. Brought them to my friend's house to keep them until Christmas Eve. She also has one pig 4 years old. We got the new babies to my house after kids are asleep and surprised them Christmas morning. They were named Emma and Cheerio. After a few days, I realized that Cheerio was acting very male-ish in behavior. So I checked and wouldn't you know, Cheerio was actually a BROTHER, not a sister. Shame on me for not double checking and thinking the idiots at PM had sexed them correctly.

Since we have one big cage and our intention was to have 2 pigs together as buddies, we decided to take him back. It was a tough decision and I suggested that maybe we just get him neutered but my daughter was adamant that he not go through a surgery. They didn't have any more females available at the time. So the next morning, Dec 29, we went to a different Petsmart and I let my daughter pick out a new baby, which we were darn sure was a female this time.

We brought her home, she was named Nugget. We put her in with Emma, they were fine together and we thought all was well again...until we noticed on the evening of Jan 2 that Nugget was not as active and was having labored breathing. No discharge and she was still eating/drinking pooing/peeing. I worked from home on the 3rd and observed them, I thought maybe Nugget was scared of Emma? It wasn't until about 2:00pm that I realized, no Emma was not bullying Nugget, Nugget was sick. If I had the money, I would have taken Nugget to a Vet, but we have 3 kids and not the kind of money to be sparing for high vet bills. I never even knew that G Pigs could suffer from pneumonia or that an illness from the start was a possibility. So I called Petsmart and they took Nugget that night, but no one qualified was there to attend to her until the next morning. I thought that since she was still eating and drinking that she would make it through the night. I got a call yesterday that she had passed away in the night. I realize now how fragile such a tiny baby is and that pneumonia can kill them fast. :sad:

Now on top of all this, my friend's Pig passed away today!!! He had been ill for a few days, not eating and labored breathing. She took him to the vet yesterday, he was put on Baytril and syringe fed, but it wasn't enough and he died this morning. He had been fine up until her keeping Emma and Cheerio before Christimas. Her ex-husband had 2 pigs, also about 4 years old and one passed away suddenly without warning on New Years Eve!

Nugget seemed fine until we got her home and put her in with Emma.

Is it possible that Emma and Cheerio are silent carriers of whatever organism is causing the pneumonia? We are not sure if Emma is pregnant from being together with Cheerio. They seemed too young to me, but I know they reach sexual maturity at very young ages. Emma is still acting fine, popcorning, running around and wheeking. I can't tell if she is pregnant yet and I can't afford to take her to a Vet about it.

Has anyone else experienced a virus or bacteria carrying pig (one who carries the organism but doesn't get sick from it) getting other pigs it comes in contact with ill?

Our plan is to lay low for a few weeks, see if Emma falls ill at all, and see if Emma is pregnant. And now my oldest daughter, the one who wanted the Guinea pig as a pet SO SO badly, is pigless. I never envisioned such drama with all of this and I'm so sad about it. Any advice would be appreciated! Please no flames for going to Petsmart. I know they suck.

 

[bpatters]

I'm sorry you've learned the hard way that pet stores suck. Their pigs are bred and raised in horrible conditions, and are very frequently sold sick, missexed, and with parasites. The baby sows are often pregnant. And no, you don't "rescue" a pig when you buy it from a pet store. The store just considers them a product to sell, and when you walk out the door with one or two, they just order more to replace them. Getting a pig from a rescue or shelter gives a needed home to a pig, and frees up a space for another unwanted pig.

If you don't have enough money for a vet, you don't have enough money for a guinea pig. Small animal (dog and cat) vets are not trained to treat them. They need an exotic vet, which are few and far between, even nonexistent is most places, and they can be more expensive than small animal vets. Providing medical care is just as much a part of responsible pet ownership as food, water, and housing. In addition, guinea pigs are prey animals, and as such, hide illnesses very well. They can go from first sign of illness to dead in 24 hours, so you can't just "wait it out" to see if they get better.

You can't tell if Emma is pregnant until she's several weeks along. If she is, she'll show sooner than an adult pig because of her small size, but it'll still take a while. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she for more information.

There's no way to tell who infected whom with what organism.

 

[Curiosity]

Ugh. Not wanting to be lectured about not being able to afford a $300+ vet bill but wanting to provide a loving home for guinea pigs. Like I said, I was not aware that they could even get these illnesses so easily, intention was to provide a loving home to them until they got old and passed from natural causes. I mean, let's get real, I have 30 bucks to buy the pigs for a Christmas gift and to afford food/hay/etc for them per year. But a high unexpected Vet bill is not in my budget. If I am just going to get "told how it is" here, I won't be back for advice. I am looking for help with the current situation and had already asked for no flames.

There is a way to tell which organism it is, with microscopy and cultures, but like I said, I can't afford it. I was just wanting to know if anyone had experience with having a silent carrier.

 

[Soecara]

I believe it is possible for a guinea pig to be a non-symptomatic carrier of Bordetella or Pasteurella, but it is very rare. Given she has come from a pet store there is no doubt it is possible she has been in close contact with a number of other animals, even of different species such as rabbits, any of which could carry a number of different illnesses (given the conditions pet store animals are typically bred and housed in).

It is also possible that she isn't carrying anything, and that it is just a coincidence your friends guinea pigs got ill (if they were housed in a different room at your friends house that brings the chances that they passed something to him drastically down). Or perhaps she did have some bacteria in/on her when she went to your friends house, but her system successfully fought it off before she got sick and she doesn't have any present anymore.

 

[katie95]

Ugh. Not wanting to be lectured about not being able to afford a $300+ vet bill but wanting to provide a loving home for guinea pigs. Like I said, I was not aware that they could even get these illnesses so easily, intention was to provide a loving home to them until they got old and passed from natural causes. I mean, let's get real, I have 30 bucks to buy the pigs for a Christmas gift and to afford food/hay/etc for them per year. But a high unexpected Vet bill is not in my budget. If I am just going to get "told how it is" here, I won't be back for advice. I am looking for help with the current situation and had already asked for no flames.

There is a way to tell which organism it is, with microscopy and cultures, but like I said, I can't afford it. I was just wanting to know if anyone had experience with having a silent carrier.

If you?re asking if there?s a way to tell if a pig is a carrier for a illness, there?s no way to tell unless you seek an exotic vet. What I would do is call around your area and get pricing information to see what fits into your budget. I live in the California Bay Area and my (exotic) vet will see my pigs for $50~ for a wellness check. Pigs are prey animals so they don?t usually show signs of illness until it?s too late.

That being said, I don?t want to sound harsh but this situation could?ve been avoided with research. Pigs are not cheap/easy animals and are prone to getting sick- especially coming from a pet store. We all want our pigs to be with us until they pass from old age but that?s just not a realistic way of thinking about it. You do need to be ready in case the worst happens. Like you would with any other animal. No one on this forum wants to ?flame? you, we just want to help educate you with our experience. Let?s be honest, you did something you probably shouldn?t have. Just learn from it. Main concern here is the piggy and it?s safety/well-being. hope all is well with them- please get them checked out as soon as you can!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spartan021]

Well here's what you do, when you bring a new pig into your house- no matter where you got it from- you should quarantine for at least 2 weeks to ensure that the pig is okay, so- not trying to be rude here- but your friend should have kept those two pigs in a room FAR away from their pig. To be honest I would return Emma and get some pigs off of Craigslist its way safer in my opinion because you don't have to deal with stupid pet stores, and the best pet stores for Guinea pigs are actually mom and pop pet stores not major pet stores like Petco and PETSMART.

 

[bpatters]

Actually, the best place to get guinea pigs is from rescues and shelters. You're giving an unwanted pig a home, and freeing up a space for another unwanted pig to be rescued.

The problem with pet stores, all of them, is that most of the breeders have no idea about the genetic diseases that guinea pigs can have. Nor do they care for their breeding sows properly. Pigs are inbred, the baby sows are often pregnant, they may be sick or have parasites or be missexed.

If you get a pig from a reputable rescue, you get one that's been quarantined, checked for diseases and parasites, and they'll usually be paired with another pig.

 

[Spartan021]

Agreed, except some pet stores-not saying all but location specific ones- sometimes get their guinea pigs from shelters for example the PECO near me, they get all their pigs from the humane society who bring them in their and put them in the cages and properly sex them-sometimes.