Help, unknown what is killing my Guineas! :(

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malibukid71

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 8:23 am


We have had Guinea Pigs for 2 years now with nothing more than 2 having ringworm so they have been very healthy. We had 11 ranging from 3 years to about 9 months. All but 3 we have had since only a few months old. Out of no where we lost our first pig (2 yeara old) about 4 weeks ago. We lost our second (3 years old) about 2 weeks ago the day after an emergency trip to the vet. We lost the third last night (our 9 month old baby) They seem to stop eating and pooping, and staying in one place mostly in a house before dying after only a day of us noticing the symptoms. We have a 4th we are keeping an eye on. We separated the one that dyed last night and the other we are watching from each other and the group. We also separated the remaining into pairs after losing the 2nd pig. We have fed the 2 previous who died and the one we are watching critical care. The one that died last night was also on baytrll from a previous vet appointment for wheezing. We have started them all on vitamin c tabs too help boost them all. Our vet saw the second pig the day before she died and was clueless. We are taking the one we are watching to a new vet today. Can anyone help? We are at a loss, 3 of our babies in a matter of 4 weeks! We can't handle the loss of this 3rd one, the thought of losing anymore is beyond horrifying. Nothing had changed for them in the past 6 months. Sorry for the long post, thanks for any help.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:47 am


I am so sorry for your losses. Did all 3 piggies have the same symptoms? May they RIP reunited with each-other. Run free and popcorn in paradise. Eat the fresh green grass forever young.

It is hard to know what got to your piggies with out an autopsy done to know for sure. I tried to look up Belleville to see where it is but when Googled there appeared at least 5 of them including one here in Australia I never knew about.

Have a look at the GL vet list and see if one of them is near you. https://www.guinealynx.info/vetlist.html Or if you let people know where you are maybe a GL member can recommend a vet for you.

Sending big hugs to you and your remaining piggies, will keep you in my prayers and pray you lose no more piggies for a long time to come!

malibukid71

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 10:29 am


Thanks Daisymay. We are in Belleville, IL in the US. We just noticed another one of our pigs breathing odd. I made a quick video of her. i don't know if it will work on this site but that is the URL.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:10 am


I'm so sorry for all your losses.

Are you seeing an exotic vet? Small animal vet means dogs and cats, and they get no training in the care of exotics.

malibukid71

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 11:15 am


That say that can see exotics but I don't realy know how they can say that.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 12:07 pm


Dr. Staehle of Best Friends Animal Hospital has exotic experience.

malibukid71

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:02 pm


He is the one that has seen 2 of the ones who have died and we just lost the one that had an appointment today on the table at the vet. :( I'm at a loss! We still have the one in the video isolated from the others.

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:32 pm


I am so sorry you lost another piggy. I would take all you piggies in to see the vet and have them all checked over. I would wash bedding, scrub cage and wash all bowls, bottles and toys.

I would watch the others closely and weigh regularly for any signs of weight lost. https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html and maybe this one will also help you. https://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html And lastly https://www.guinealynx.info/heart.html You could always get a second opinion concerning your piggies. NO-ONE knows them better than you!

Strange breathing is sometimes associated with heart conditions hence the reason I included the last link. We lost Jemma in January 2015 and Jupiter, and Jasmine in February 2017 all with rapid breathing. Vet was as thick as a brick and did nothing but prescribe Baytril and with in one day to 10 days we lost them. It was like they were hyperventilating and couldn't get enough air into their lungs.

Really hoping you find out what is killing your piggies before you lose anymore! Like you are 3 piggies ranged in age from 2 years to 6 and a half. Sending big hugs and healing vibes your way.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 3:12 pm


I am so terribly sorry for your loss.

I hope the vet suggested doing a necropsy to try to find out what happened?

malibukid71

Post   » Mon Aug 14, 2017 10:43 pm


The vet said it looks like pneumonia. We have her on pink medicine. She is still eating and pooping just not as much as normal. It will be a bumpy next few days and we are going to keep a close eyes on our other girls. It is so hard to loss so many so quick. We had 11, 3 weeks later we have 7 and one is not out of the woods yet. :(

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