Respitory problems

[barney]

Hi All
This is my first post on here so i hope i am posting in the right place:)

I sadly recently lost two of my male Guineapigs..Barney died with Pneoumonia at the good age of 8.5years old and was only sick for a day and sadly passed away at the vets.I then brought a rescue piggy for the lonely female Ruby so that she had company...sadly Fred died after 4weeks of us having him!I took him to the vet as he was breathing really quick and just did not seem right..he had a chest scan which revealed losts of fluid on his lungs and a possible tumour?From the scan it was not clear as the fluid was covering his lungs..after a weeks treatment at the vets he sadly passed away too:( Not had much luck and as i have had piggies for years i have never experienced so much illness.As it stands now i have two females living together and my other female Ruby has a new friend charlie who she loved.Sadly my female foxy has now also got pneoumonia after an xray today!!!She is on antibiotics and metacam and is going back in tendays time.I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this and did the piggie recover ok??All my piggies are kept indoors in the warm with no drafts ect.The problem i have is that all but one piggie are rescues and i am unsure of what they went through before i got them...Is there anything i can do to stop this happening again or is this just very bad luck?They are extremley well looked after and im at my witts end as to why this is happening.If anybody has experienced this sort of problem please let me know:)

Bit of a long shot sorry x

[Orlaith]

Unfortunately as you say, with rescues you really have no idea what rescues have gone through and what conditions they've been kept in. The only other thing I can think of is that you give your cage and all the accessories a really thorough clean with a pet-safe antibacterial cleaner or with white vinegar to be sure there are no lingering bacteria or anything. I doubt there would be with you doing your weekly cleans but it would do no harm.

[barney]

Thankyou:)
Yes we always clean every 3rd day with spray.I think it is just bad luck .
I just hope with the antibiotics Foxy will recover.

[Kayleigh]

Sometimes when taking on rescued animals its a sort of pot luck thing. we dont know if they have had the best start in life so arent sure of any previous problems.

I have several rescue pigs myself and was told they are "young" and i have lost 3 of them in this year alone. they appeared fine, no lumps, bumps, coughs or any visible illness. I just went to them one day and found them passed away. So all we can do is take as good care as possible of them.

When cleaning, ensure you are using a pet safe cleaning spray and drying the area properly. Dampness can cause problems but if your pigs are kept inside you shouldnt have this problem.

What sized cage are you using and what type is it? Cage bars, plastic topped ect. And how many pigs are in the area?

What bedding is being used?

Kayleigh

[barney]

HI
Yes we use a special g pig spray and always bone dry before we put them back in the cage.They are the biggest possible cage we could buy for them and the two females are together and male and female are together so only two per cage:) They are the plastic cages for indoor use as we keep them inside.FFoxy was apparently 2 when we got her a year ago but i have a feeling she may be older?Her teeth look fairly young i would say compared to my older girl...She has been on antibiotics since saturday and has another 7 days worth before she goes back to the vets.At the mo theres no improvement with the rocking with her breathing but in her self she shes fine,i guess i will have to wait and see!Sorry to hear of your losses:( so sad loosing any animal i know.I had Barney for 8.5years with no health problems ever but he was brought from pets at home and not from a rescue.He was a very special piggy to me:) Fingers crossed all will inprove.

[barney]

Sorry they are metal bar tops and they have newspaper and hey in the racks

[Kayleigh]

It could just be a bout of bad luck then. If the pigs are kept warm and dry and it sounds like you are doing everything correctly then im unsure what the problem could be.

Just a quick question, you say you have a male and female togeather? Are either of them de sexed? Or are you intentionally breeding them?

How are they doing now?

kayleigh