Sick URIs in two piglets

[HDPigletMommy]

Hi there. This is the first time I've had a sick piggy. Now I have two with URIs. I haven't changed anything in the house or in their diet, pen, etc. But our weather at home has really changed. That being said, I really think it is just "one of those things" and I just need to deal with it.

I noticed on Sunday evening (two weeks ago) that Daisy Mae was sneezing a bit. Patches wasn't, really, but I decided to get them both into the vet first thing Monday morning. I figured it wouldn't hurt to take Patches along, just get her checked out. I don't care what it costs for the vet, a healthy piglet is priceless to me.

They said Patches just had the "sniffles" and it was only in her "head". Daisy had more of an issue in her chest/lungs and they were more worried for her. They were both put on antibiotics (I can't remember the name of the first med they took, I know it had to be mixed at a regular pharmacy and it was flavored). Daisy was on it for two days when I noticed her breathing seemed a tiny bit labored. Patches was seeming to be fine.

I called the vet right away and they put her on Baytril twice a day. The following Monday I noticed Patches sneezing some - and I didn't like that it wasn't cleared up. I was debating calling the vet when - low and behold - I dropped and spilled ALL but ONE DOSE of Daisy's Baytril. Yep - all of it soaked into my jeans... I had exactly enough to put in the syringe to give her that one dose that morning. For whatever reason my vet gave it to me in a vile. Well I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, so my hands don't work well in the morning, one minute I was holding it, the next... I just wasn't.

I believe that I spilled it because I needed a push in the correct direction to get Patches on the Baytril as well, since she wasn't getting better fast enough. I was going to wait another day or two to call them about her. But, now that I needed more meds for Daisy, I called about Patches as well and she was put on the Baytril too.

That was last week. I ran out of Baytril Sunday night this week. (I thought I had enough through Monday morning but I mismeasured). So I called the vet this past Monday and they gave me another 7 days for both of them, twice a day, 2 mls.

All that is leading up to my question... they are still sniffling. Not once have they stopped eating or drinking. They have not stopped playing or snuggling. They never had yucky eyes or noses and they are going the bathroom like they always have. I was told I caught it very early and that it was a very good thing. Which is all fine and dandy but here is my big question:

Why aren't they better yet and how long should I expect it to take for them to be better? Is the little bit of sniffles they have normal? They aren't sneezing BIG sneezes like they were - just little baby ones every once in a great while. Their breathing sounds fine, not labored at all. They are eating like the hungry little piglets they are. If I am ever unsure all I have to do is put a TP tube of hay in for them (which is their very favorite toy - even though they have unlimited hay) and they eat it ALL immediately - they wait at the side of the pen for me to put it in, wheeking and popcorning!

If you could please just help me with a bit of a time line? Is everything ok with them still? Shouldn't they be all better by now or am I just pushing it? One person told me the hardest part is the waiting for that LAST sneeze...

I don't want to become lax in watching and caring for them as sick piggies, but maybe I'm just hovering a bit too much?

In addition, next Friday they will be going to my mom's for the weekend, my husband and I are going away for three days. Do you think they will be better by then? I hate to send sick piggies to my mom - she's piggy-sat but never had any of her own to care for.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[Owned by cavy]

I don't have an answer for this one. I just wanted to say that Daisy Mae and Patches are in my prayers and I hope that they're doing well! Good luck!

 

[HDPigletMommy]

Thank you, we really do appreciate it. It's just very scary since they "hide" being sick. Mine have never complained (except when I try to give them meds) I just noticed a tiny change in them and picked up on it. Scary! Makes me watch them like a hawk, that's for sure!

 

[HDPigletMommy]

No one has an answer for this? I'm really hoping to get some input here. I'm scared for them.

 

[bpatters]

If it was an infection, and the Baytril was working, you should have seen improvement within just a day or so, and it should have cleared things up within 4-5 days. Occasionally, when a pig has a really stubborn infection, it can take two or three 10-day courses of Baytril to clear it. But those pigs are usually much sicker when they start the medicine than yours sound to be.

It may be that the Baytril is ineffective for what they've got. It may be that they have a fungal infection, which would require a totally different medication. It may be that they don't have any infection at all, but instead have something in their environment that's making their noses run. There's really no way for us to know.

I think that if mine had sniffles, didn't have crusty eyes, had a full course of Baytril, and were eating/drinking/peeing/pooping/playing normally, I'd probably stop the Baytril when it runs out. But I'd watch them like the proverbial hawk, weigh them daily at the same of day to record their weights, and get them back to the vet at any sign of illness or just being "off."

 

[HDPigletMommy]

Thank you! That is the kind of answer I was looking for.

Here is what I saw this morning. Daisy Mae was fine, walked over to a batch of fresh hay on the ground and sniffed it, digging at it. She started sneezing up a storm. BIG sneezes! then little sneezes. So I went down and picked her up. She sniffed then sneezed two more times. I held her for about an hour and she was fine after that.

I am almost at the bottom of the bag of hay, so it's kind of dusty. I think that is allergies.

Does anyone have any input in that?

Thank you so much!

 

[HDPigletMommy]

I hope I get some help here, I'm a bit scared. I know I said they seem fine - just sneezing and that's still true. BUT Daisy is doing this thing again that she was doing before when she wasn't well. She kind of sighs. It's like a "rough" or deep inhale then a sigh? It's not often and usually only when she's snuggling up to me and almost asleep. I can't hear anything in her chest but she's sneezing up a storm again.

I got them new hay (fresh, not powdery like the bottom of the bag sometimes gets). I am not wearing any perfume or powder - that really seems to bother her. Patches seems good. She actually spit her meds out at me this morning - that little bugger! She's my ornery chipmunk.

I have a call into the vet. MY vet is not in today, so there is one other person in there that will look at my chart and call me back. He's not in until this afternoon. I'm not with them now, I'm at work. But my heart and thoughts are at home.

I lost my kitty (she was 17 and had diabetes for about 8 years - shots twice a day) I lost her about a little over a month ago. So maybe I'm just being over protective of Daisy Mae and Patches But I'm SOOOOO scared.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Please? I haven't really gotten any responses and I could really use some feedback... Even if you don't know and can just tell me your experiences?? Please?

 

[Owned by cavy]

What kind of bedding do you have them on?

 

[HDPigletMommy]

Fleece with padding under it. Washed in free and clear laundry detergent but I do use fabric softener - it's very mild, but I think it may smell a tiny bit.

Does it even need a scent for it to make them sneeze?

My husband said maybe it has fuzziness that bothers her? Like how it gets kind of in our noses?

 

[scruffytufty]

it could well be that sneezing too much from the hay has gotten daisy a little fed up, my guineas used to sneeze at the detergent, i notice that when my boyfriend washes the bedding accidentally in biological it sets them of! i hope they are okay, i know what you are going through, i lost a pig and was convinced it was a uri so put my 2 on a 2 week course of baytril and they still sneezed! i would just weigh them and watch them closely, if you notice that they are off food, water or hay or there poos are weird, or even if eyes and nose become crusty then vets straight away!

 

[HDPigletMommy]

Thank you. They are eating VERY well, weight is fine, pooing and peeing perfectly fine, drinking like normal - I refill that daily and see they are drinking. They are playing! Snuggling. They are talking and happy. They come out with us and play and snuggle. They seem PERFECTLY fine, except for the sneezing... So frustrating!

Oh and no yucky eyes or noses. I did see Daisy rubbing her nose the other day (SO darned cute) but it's not normal either. Eyes, ears, noses seem perfectly clear.

oh and hay? They eat SO much hay! All I have to do to see if they are eating is give them hay in a TP tube - they eat it all. They run over to the side wheeking and popcorning until I get it in the pen.

 

[Cavylier]

Fleece with padding under it. Washed in free and clear laundry detergent but I do use fabric softener - it's very mild, but I think it may smell a tiny bit.

Does it even need a scent for it to make them sneeze?

My husband said maybe it has fuzziness that bothers her? Like how it gets kind of in our noses?

I would stop using the fabric softener if it has any smell - if you check the ingredients list on the back and it says 'fragrance' it's generally not safe for piggies. Their sense of smell is much better than ours (proved by the fact that they know when we've been veggie shopping when we're feet away from their cage ) and even if it doesn't actually have much of a smell it's still quite strong for them.

I haven't used fleece yet but I thought fabric softener was bad for wicking. Most people on here just use a little vinegar in their wash.

 

[HDPigletMommy]

I have read about the vinegar and think I'll try that. I think I'll go home tonight and rewash everything I have of theirs in vinegar and see if that helps.

Here is another thing I forgot to mention - they both have TeePee style tents to sleep in that have cuddle cups under (inside) them. They go in there at night and actually (oh so cute) pull the flaps closed to sleep. I launder that in the same thing. Maybe, with them in there and the flaps closed, it is causing the sneezing?

 

[Cavylier]

Oh and no yucky eyes or noses. I did see Daisy rubbing her nose the other day (SO darned cute) but it's not normal either. Eyes, ears, noses seem perfectly clear.

oh and hay? They eat SO much hay! All I have to do to see if they are eating is give them hay in a TP tube - they eat it all. They run over to the side wheeking and popcorning until I get it in the pen.

Also, have you changed the fleece since you changed out the hay? Dust from hay/bedding can really stick to fleece, unless you're using a kitchen area (not sure what your cage set-up is). That might be causing a little allergic thing.

But if they're being treated for a URI, it's important that they have an allergen-free area because it can take much longer for them to recover if their respiratory tract keeps getting irritated again and again despite the medicine doing its job.

 

[HDPigletMommy]

Also, have you changed the fleece since you changed out the hay? Dust from hay/bedding can really stick to fleece, unless you're using a kitchen area (not sure what your cage set-up is). That might be causing a little allergic thing.

But if they're being treated for a URI, it's important that they have an allergen-free area because it can take much longer for them to recover if their respiratory tract keeps getting irritated again and again despite the medicine doing its job.

No, I didn't changed the bedding. I haven't changed it for about 3 days - I change it twice a week. I didn't even consider the hay dust getting into the blanket.

you know what - I have a nice hanging hay bag, they NORMALLY use that but I have been giving them the TP with hay in it and putting it on the blanket sometimes, just to be sure they are eating and getting enough. That is NEW. Maybe the hay dust is getting into the blanket and that's bothering them?!

Does anyone else lay hay on the blanket? I mean they pull it out of the TP and I vacuum it up every day (sometimes morning and night) but I'm sure the vacuum doesn't get it all...

 

[HDPigletMommy]

I looked online, the fabric softener I use says 100% fragrance free, no masking agents. So I don't think it's that?

 

[Cavylier]

You mentioned that your piggy rubbed her nose - my piggies used to do that when they had this really dusty hay. They clean their noses to remove whatever particle is causing them to sneeze, so maybe it's the hay particles.

Even if you do vacuum it, they do pull it out again and again and the fleece just gets dusty again and stays that way all day till you vacuum the next time. With naughty pigs, nothing must be expected to remain clean!

Don't worry about putting it on their blanket to make sure that they get enough - there is nothing pigs enjoy like hay and they'll have it whenever they want to unless there's food-guarding/bullying going on (which I doubt there is).

Most people on here use kitchen areas because hay really sticks to fleece. Usually it's not a problem if you have fresh hay and vacuum regularly - but you did say that you had reached the end of the bag AND your pigs were suffering from a URI so it must be aggravating them more than normal.

I'd keep the hay away from anything it can stick to till they recover fully.

 

[Owned by cavy]

Ok. So what you should try is washing everything with the free and clear detergent and then running an extra rinse cycle at the end with one cup of white vinegar. The vinegar will remove any soap residue from the fleece. That way if it is something from the detergent/fabric softner is should be washed right out. Now keep in mind, if it is your fabric softner or something then your clothes are likely affect them too. So I would suggest that you do that and see what happens.

 

[Owned by cavy]

Oh! And when you run them through the dryer, no dryer sheets!

 

[HDPigletMommy]

You mentioned that your piggy rubbed her nose - my piggies used to do that when they had this really dusty hay. They clean their noses to remove whatever particle is causing them to sneeze, so maybe it's the hay particles.

Even if you do vacuum it, they do pull it out again and again and the fleece just gets dusty again and stays that way all day till you vacuum the next time. With naughty pigs, nothing must be expected to remain clean!

Don't worry about putting it on their blanket to make sure that they get enough - there is nothing pigs enjoy like hay and they'll have it whenever they want to unless there's food-guarding/bullying going on (which I doubt there is).

Most people on here use kitchen areas because hay really sticks to fleece. Usually it's not a problem if you have fresh hay and vacuum regularly - but you did say that you had reached the end of the bag AND your pigs were suffering from a URI so it must be aggravating them more than normal.

I'd keep the hay away from anything it can stick to till they recover fully.

That makes a lot of sense. They have a "kitchen area" in the one corner with a big bag of hay that they have full access to all the time. There isn't any issues with bulling at all, they get along very well.

It makes sense that the vacuum isn't picking up all the hay. they are in it all the time and as soon as their bedding is perfectly clean and I turn my back it's a bit of a mess again. ;0) But I would never begrudge them their fun - they enjoy the hay and playing in it so much!

they did both have URIs, I think. They got MUCH better then started sneezing again. I was at the bottom of a hay back and threw it out last night, giving them new hay last night. I noticed the new hay is pretty clean, long pieces, the way I try to buy it.

The more information I'm getting here, the more I'm agreeing it may be an allergen that is related to the hay and maybe what I've been laundering their stuff in. I'm going to re-launder all their bedding, etc tonight and replace any old hay still in the bag with the new stuff and see how that goes.

I really appreciate all the information I have been giving on here and I feel like my heart isn't aching as much. I was so scared this morning and last night. When she was sneezing last night I grabbed her out of her pen and she was fine for about the half hour I had her. I was crying, SO worried about her. They, truly, are my babies and I would do anything for them. I don't want to do anything wrong. So if there is anything else I have said that seems wrong, please let me know!