Guinea pig ill

Question
Hello there,

For the past 3 days my 5 month old guinea pig has been unwell. I first noticed he wasn't chirping away as usual so picked him up and he seemed very still and was almost falling to one side, when I put him on a pillow he seems to keep laying on this side. He is eating small amounts and is still drinking. He also makes a strange noise like there is something in his nose or chest.He is still able to walk and even climbed on his house yesterday, but he seems clumsy.

I took him to the vet who said it could be stress, the heat, chest infection or even a minor stroke and has given him antibiotics and said to see how he is in a few days

I have moved his hutch into the house away from the sun, I personally dont think he could be stressed as he has a friend, we give him a lot of time and he has a run, one day he was chirpy and happy, the next he was sick.

I am so worried about him and will be absolutely gutted if we lose him.

He is 5 months old and is black with a bit of white and brown.

Thank you for taking the time to help.

Lisa Storey, and little Patrick

Answer
Although guinea pigs can handle very cold weather they are extremely susceptible to heat. They get heat stressed very quickly if exposed to the hot sun for more than a very short time. If it's over 80 degrees outside and he's unable to get out of the direct sun he would die withink 20 minutes. The vet may have been speaking of heat stress (or heat stroke) rather than being stressed emotionally.

Sadly they succumb to heat exposure very quickly. The fact that he didn't want to move is a bad sign that he may be suffering from heat stroke. The kidneys shut down quickly and the poor creatures usually die within hours.

At this point antibiotics will probably have no impact. The sound in the chest may have been fluid in the lungs from his body systems shutting down.

I know this isn't what you want to hear and I hope he does snap out of this. My fear is that by the time you get this message he may well be gone. I'm so sorry to hear he is ill.