sick guinea pig

Question
Hi:
the piggy had not been eating at all for several hours, the sound was sort of a low cracking/wheezing sound,and the piggy stopped moving, just sat there. I did go to the emergency vet and a few hours later (and quite a bit of $$ later), the vet said he had an upper respiratory infection, possibly pneumonia and gave him a shot of Baytril and gave me a 2 week supply of the same oral antibiotic. This morning his eye has not crusted shut, he nibbled a little bit on some celery,he now makes the wheezing sound only every so often. Otherwise, he still sits there, does not drink or eat.
The other piggy looks fine. Sometimes he is making a low rattling sound and drags his behind on the floor, around the sick piggy, nudges him a little with his snout, or sort of tries to jump on it. I am not sure if this is some kind of male dominance behavior, it does not look threatening to me.??
Is there anything else I can do to make the sick piggy feel better and to keep the healthy one healthy? ( I still don't understand how the sick piggy got sick in the first place, I was careful about temperature, bedding, cleanliness, a.s.o.??)
Thank you so much for your help. I also hope this might help somebody else.
Thanks again, Stephanie

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Followup To
Question -
I brought home 2 young guinea pigs about 2  months ago. One is fine, the other one had its eye crusted shut (I washed it out with luke warm water), it makes a weird sound: it makes this sound constantly, at 1 second intervals), it's not very interetsed in food and does not run around as it used to. Please help asap!
Thanks!
Answer -
Hello -

A few questions for you:

How often is the pet eating ?
What type of food ?
Does he eat any treats ?
Has he eaten "part of the cage" ?
Has there been blood or mucous in the stool?
Is the other Guinea Pig threatening the one who is ill?
Does the noise sound like discomfort?
Does his eye still crust shut?

Please supply answers to these questions and I will get back to you with a reply.

Thanks
Sharon Hubbs, AHG
Certified Natural Health Consultant & Herbalist

Answer
Hello Stephanie -

Ok, definently sounds like Bordetella, a respiratory infection. I would seperate the piggies. They spread illness by nasal muscous, feces and urine. Although you may be keeping them clean, they are still eliminating waste by-products.

Antibiotics are the worst treatments for guinea pigs. There immune systems cannot handle the effects of antibiotics. You will need to add fruits and vegetables high in Vitamin C to his diet. Begin to supplement the sick piggies diet with fresh parsley (about .5 ounces per day), broccoli (1 ounce daily), oranges (2 ounces), cabbage (2 ounces), or turnip greens (.5 ounces). The actual requirement is for about 10mg daily. If you supplement by adding a Vitamin C pill or drops to their water, don't buy the drops made for children that include Vitamin D, or you may risk Vitamin D poisoning. Also remember to change the water daily. A good rule of thumb is to add about 250mg of Vitamin C ( a typical size tablet) per cup of water. There is not much more that you can do, continue the antibiotics but supplement with the above veggies/fruits.

The well piggy sounds like he is showing dominance. I wouldn't worry too much about him unless he begins to exhibit the same signs as the sick piggy. I make a tincture using herbs that you can give a piggy at the onset of symtpoms. If you are interested, email me at  wintersaurora@yahoo.com.

It is very possible, you could have brought home the illness. Piggies are known for harboring their illnesses and can easily hide them until the symtpoms get so bad that they cannot suppress them. That's why it will be best to seperate them just for safety reasons. Keep an eye on the sick piggies stool, if you see blood or heavy mucous contact your vet it may be just more then a respiratory infection.

You may contact me at anytime. If you are interested in natural health and herbal remedies for human and animal alike, contact me via email and I will send you a catalog.

I hope this information will help you with the care of your piggies. If you have further questions, I will be happy to answer them for you.

Thank you and best wishes to you and your pet.

Sincerely,
Sharon Hubbs, AHG
Certified Natural Health Consultant