Sick Treating URI?

[Alliyah]

So I bought a baby guinea pig from petsmart ( dumb Ik) in hopes of giving him a better home. Long story short he was malnourished & sold to me sick and ended up dying in 10 days after I spent over $300 in vet care. Rip red. In those 10 days before fully noticing he was sick, I exposed my other guinea pig to him ( Jeffrey) who’s an adult... Jeffrey now has some weird things going on and I’m concerned. He was getting slight crust around his eyes about a week ago and was sneezing along with a runny nose which has now stopped... the last time I witnessed him sneezing he let out some clear snot and seemed fine after. The only thing that’s still seems weird is when he makes his rumblestrutting sound , it sounds muted Almost like internal congestion and tiny clicking noises like once a day. I was wondering since it seem to be clearing on its own should I just pump him with vitamin c lots of greens & good fluids for a few days to see if it continues, or can I possibly give him one of the two medicines I got when I was treating his late friend.

 

[Soecara]

It is unlikely you have enough of any medication for a full course of treatment, unless you happen to have a full bottle, as even the dosages needed for him will be different than for the baby you had due to their difference in weight. For some medications, such as antibiotics, giving an incomplete course can do more harm than good, as not having the full course can have unwanted affects. In the case of antibiotics you risk the bacteria in question becoming resistant to the antibiotic if you do not do a full course at the recommended dose, and antibiotic resistant bacteria are really bad news as you may not be able to identify another effective antibiotic in time.

Guinea pigs generally don't recover from an infection without intervention, I would be concerned that the tiny clicking noises could mean the infection may have just moved deeper into his lungs. A good exotics vet should be able to have a good listen to his breathing and see if they are concerned and if he requires antibiotics. I understand finances may be an issue but getting treatment quickly can really make the difference for a guinea pig.

It would also be a good idea to monitor his weight closely. A guinea pig who is unwell is at risk of going off of their food and rapidly losing weight. If you weigh him every day at roughly the same time, just before you feed vegetables is generally a good time, you will be able to tell if he is losing weight or not. If he does start losing weight you may have to step in and start supplemental force feeding him, guinea pigs who are under eating or who stop eating entirely are likely to develop additional and potentially fatal digestive issues (such as bloat, or GI stasis) which would be the last thing he needs.

 

[bpatters]

Do take him to see an exotic vet. Guinea pigs can go from first symptom to dead in 24 hours or less, so don't wait around.

And in case you get another pig, any new pig should be quarantined for at least three weeks before putting them with another pig. That means another room, with you caring for your first pig first, then the new one, and then changing clothes before going back to your first pig. That will prevent any spread of infection from a new pig.