possible allergy or ???

Question
Hello,

I just got my little piggy Pepe about a week and a half ago. Yesterday i noticed he had crusty eyes and his breathing is loud. I use carefree bedding on top of newspaper. His diet is the GP pellet food along with hay. I don't want to wait and see if he gets better on his own. Is there anything i can do at home to avoid a high vet bill? I appreciate your help.

Dawn

Answer
This is a tough one. When you say his breathing is loud, do you mean it sounds labored? Are you able to hear it without picking him up or are you listening to his chest.

Most pigs sound wheezy when you put their chest to your ear. You should not be able to hear him when you're not holding him. The crusty eyes could be from dust, or it also could mean he's got a respiratory issue.

It's possible he's allergic to the Carefresh bedding. It's relatively dust free and is made from paper products but there are some pigs who don't tolerate it for the same reason. I would suggest you wipe the eyes with a cotton ball dipped in water and see if they continue to crust up. If they do there is a problem.

Is he a baby or a grown pig? Sometimes the babies that are shipped to the large chain stores go through a bit of stress in the transport and are easily susceptible to respiratory problems. If you got him from a pet store I would call them and ask what their policy is regarding quickly acquired health problems. Some will give you a 14 day turnaround time and will either refund your money or give you another pig.  That's an individual thing from one store to the other.

It's very hard to say whether he's showing signs of allergy or illness but if he's eating okay and drinking normally he may be just reacting to the bedding. I hope that's the case. It's very disheartening when you purchase a pet and then lose it from illness in such a short time.

As far as vet bills you are right, they are costly. Guinea pigs don't always respond well to antibiotics and many times have more complications from the medications than anything. They cannot take any form of penicillin as it destroys the normal good bacteria in the digestive system and they die from a secondary infection.  They can take Bactrim or Baytril, but that's pretty much it.

Hopefully this ill pass quickly and not need vet care. I hope that's the case. I don't know if this is really helpful to you and I'll keep my fingers crossed that whatever it is will resolve itself.