Should I take her to the vet for this?!

[Pumpkin_RIP]

I know that pigs sneeze every now and then, but my new pig sneezes very often, and rubs her nose a lot. She also makes a faint clicky-sounding noise, almost something that is getting unstuck againa and again. it seems to be in time with her breathing. She doesn't do this all the time but about 90% of the time. help!

BTW, I hope this is in the correct forum, I didn't think it was exactly an emergency and since I couldn't find a medical forum I thought it would fit here.

I could just be over reacting, she is perky and eating well, so I don't know.

 

[clotho]

Yes, you should take her to the vet right away. It sounds like she has a URI

Guinea Lynx :: URI

Guinea pigs hide their illnesses very well, but they go downhill fast once you start to notice symptoms. You need a cavy savy vet who will prescribe you safe antibiotics.

Guinea Lynx :: Antibiotics

You can also post on guinealynx and get great medical advice there as well.

Make sure you get a scale and start weighing her. Weight loss is usually your first sign that something is wrong. Make sure she is maintaining her weight. You should be prepared to handfeed her if she stops eating:

Guinea Lynx :: Hand Feeding

Good luck with her and please let us know how it goes at the vet! I hope you have a vet who knows a lot about guinea pigs, because they can be tough to find. Here is a list of cavy savy vets recommended by members of guinea lynx. Hopefully you can find one near you:

Veterinarians - The GLX-Files

 

[SerpentineSylph]

I definitely agree. It sounds like the beginnings of a URI, VERY deadly for our little piggy friends. Please take her to the vet ASAP! :yawn:

 

[newpiggiemommy]

I agree! Clotho pretty much covered it! I would take her to a good vet as soon as you can!

 

[Char-x]

Yeah as the others have said I would take her to the vet aswell. I know some pigs sneeze but with the clicking it sounds worrying. My piggy Tallulah sneezes and rubs her nose but thats because of when her long fringe gets in her face, once I cut it she stopped lol!

 

[Pumpkin_RIP]

thanks everyone, but what exactly is URI?? Also when I picked her up this morning after I posted this, I noticed she had some dried boogers on her nose. I'm super worried about her now, seeing as she's just a little baby. Is URI contagious? I don't have many vets around here, but I'm definitely going to look at the websites clotho gave me. Thanks so much for the help!

-Nevermind, I read up on URI. I'm so panicked now! My mom is at work and can't schedule a vet right now, so I'm really freaking out. Not too mention she has been like this for the two days that I have had her, and she probably has had it longer. hmy:

 

[Pumpkin_RIP]

By the way, is URI contagious?

 

[fourboys4now]

In my phone book here there is phone numbers for emergency vets that are open on weekends and holidays. From what I've read on here, the fastest treatment possible is better for an uri. Hope your baby is better soon.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

URI's can be contagious to other pigs but usually not to humans.

 

[Pumpkin_RIP]

ok, I just took her to the vets. The vet knew something was wrong right away, and then held her up to her ear. Then she held my pig up to my ear. I could hear I strange crackling sound.The vet said she probably does have URI and is going to start her on anit-biotics immediately. Because she is just a little baby, she's going to have to stay over night. The vet said she cannot garuntee that she will make it, because she is a baby with a weak immune system. But she also said that I caught it early, so she may have a chance. I'm so scared. I really hope she makes it. I'm going to go clean out her cage and everything she touched really well so if she does get better and comes home, she can't get sick again. Just another lesson to why you should quarantine your pigs. Well, wish Savannah(my baby pig) luck. I'm going to pray for her. And thanks to everyone here, you guys helped me catch the disease. I have never had a sick pig before, and I probably wouldn't have done the right thing if it wasn't for you guys. Thanks.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Do you know what antibiotics they are going to give her? There are only so many safe ones for pigs. The rest are all dangerous.

 

[Pumpkin_RIP]

no, I think she may have said but they were complicated names that I don't remember. :ashamed:

 

[wiggley_narco]

Well, I sure hope your vet knows what she is doing. I'll keep you and your lil piggy in my thoughts.

Where did you get the new little one?

 

[Astrantia]

In my opinion it is always better to be safe than sorry! Good on you for taking her to the vet. I'm sorry to hear she's poorly.

If you have a good vet and they discover nothing wrong with an animal, they may well not charge for the consultation. This has happened to me when taking my dog to my vet and my small animals (hamsters) in the past.

 

[Pumpkin_RIP]

I got her from someone in my neighborhood. The other pig seemed fine that she was living with, but who knows. I'll tell her to check her guinea pig of any signs of a health problem.
Hopefully nothing is wrong, but I'm pretty sure something is. Her breathing was funny, she didn't drink hardly any water, seemed very lethargic in her cage(though on floor time she was energetic) and when you listened to her lungs you could hear a strange crackling sound. I won't find out till tuesday how she's doing. I don't know how I'll be able to pay attention in school till then.

 

[pigsforlife]

Buttercup in particular has had her fair share of URIs. URIs are quick moving, and by the time you notice the pig is sick s/he is often alot worse.

The vet needs to culture the discharge to work out which antibiotic your pig needs. Is the vet cavvy savvy?

 

[Pumpkin_RIP]

the vet said she," works on all animals that can come from a petstore" so I'm assuming that's a yes. Did Buttercup do ok? or is she still recovering?

-I'm not exactly sure if the vet is the best vet, but she's the only one I could find that was open today, and I wanted to get Savannah(my pig) to a vet ASAP.

 

[pigsforlife]

Buttercup has had ongoing URIs ever since I got her. She has recovered from each one so far. The fact that she has had re-occuring URIs, plus a few other symptoms leads me to believe that she could possibly be a heart pig, although I am yet to convince my vet this. She is actually have an operation tomorrow to amputate a toe.

 

[Char-x]

Wishing you're pig the best of luck X