Sick Sick pig again!

[KristenMatejka]

My female Zelda is sick AGAIN! she has been coughing alot lately now, no eye crusties and her nose is clear as well but now the front of her neck and chest is wet almost as if she were sweating. I call an emergency after hour exotic vet and they said it might be because of her drooling but I checked her mouth and teeth and everything appears to be fine. She is still active and eatign normally and hasnt had any weight loss? Any ideas? I have seperated her so I can more closely monitor her eating and when she pees and poops. She is also peeing and pooping alot, almost like she cannot control her bowels.

 

[KristenMatejka]

And I just noticed that in her seperate cage she is tending to sit in the food dish and pee all in the food! I have no idea why she would be doing this!!

 

[bpatters]

Drooling implies something wrong in the mouth. You can't check a guinea pigs teeth at home -- even some vets can't do it. They usually "whiff" the pig under with a mild anesthetic so they can thoroughly check the molars.

If she's coughing with no other signs of an URI, she might have something stuck in her throat. I think I'd take her to an exotic vet for a good check up. Better to do it before the holidays than to get stuck during the long weekend with no medical care.

 

[KristenMatejka]

But I don't think she is drooling. Just seems like she is sweating. What should I watch for?

 

[bpatters]

I don't think guinea pigs sweat. Could she just be playing with her water bottle?

 

[KristenMatejka]

Since i have had her seperated I havent seen her play with it and she isnt wet anymore so that might be the case. But I also took her off of the bedding and she isnt coughing anymore. I think she might be allergic to the bedding. But I am going to wait longer to see just in case because I took them off bedding but only in half the cage

 

[KristenMatejka]

Any ideas of what I could do? I dont want to keep her seperated but the other pigs love their bedding! I might have to make her a cage by herself and maybe get her a new friend from a rescue or craigslist? Only problem is that my boyfriends' parents (whom we are living with until we can get on our feet) will flip out if I get anymore. I just don't know what to do and I'm freaking out because I don't want any of my piggies to be unhappy.
Sorry if I seem too freaked out about it. My grandfather passed away three days ago and since I have super freaked out about even the little things.

 

[bpatters]

Maybe put another one of the pigs in with her so she'll have a buddy? That'll give you a few days to figure things out.

Sorry to hear about your grandfather.

 

[KristenMatejka]

If I shredded some paper as bedding could i use that? Or would that have alot of dust? She isn't coughing as much as she was but she has coughed twice. I am going to build a larger cage so I can put one of the girls in with her while she's seperated but I have had her out for about 20 minutes every hour or so, so she won't get too bored or lonely.

And thank you, I miss him alot but he is in a better place now. He had been fighting that battle for 25+ years. He is finally at peace now.

 

[bpatters]

Shredded paper doesn't absorb very well. Can you get some other bedding or even a piece of fleece? You could clip it to towels.

 

[KristenMatejka]

I may be able to get some fleece. I am to use something to may it more cushiony what should I put inbetween two layers of fleece?

 

[KristenMatejka]

Here is the poor baby

 

[Roxymarie365]

Aww she's so cute. If you think that she is allergic to the bedding then why don't you buy a different brand? There are many types of brands of bedding out there. This way your bedding lovers and your sick one both get what they want/need. You'll have the best of both worlds!

 

[KristenMatejka]

I have tried several different kinds of bedding and they don't seem to care as long as its bedding but its been affecting her too much. Any other good kinds to try other than aspen or kiln dried pine?

 

[bpatters]

You don't even need two layers of fleece. Just fold the fleece over a couple of towels and clip them together -- that'll do long enough for you to see if the bedding is her problem. If it is, and you wind up having to switch to fleece for her, you can work out a more permanent solution.