Sneezing guinea pig.

Dr. Marie replied:

It sounds like poor little Caramel has been through a lot lately.

I'll start with the stones that she had. When a guinea pig has bladder stones I generally don't do anything unless there are clinical signs. With dogs and cats we can often dissolve stones by feeding a special food but with guinea pigs we can't. Sometimes a piggie will pass a stone on their own but otherwise the only way to get rid of the stones is to do surgery.

I can see the vet's point that the previous radiographs wouldn't really tell us too much about how to treat her today. Let's say the xray shows some obvious stones. Well, if she has no symptoms today then it means that the stones are either not bothering her or she has passed them. In either case, there really isn't much that we would do.

Now, if she starts to develop signs of discomfort when urinating again then we could consider surgery or putting her on antibiotics. It's possible that the stones that are there could cause repeated urinary tract infections.

I'm more concerned about her respiratory signs though, especially because she is doing more sneezing and has more nasal discharge now. There are a few things that can cause these symptoms in guinea pigs. Guinea pigs can commonly get bacterial infections in their upper respiratory tract. Often the culprit is something called Bordetella or a type of Staph or Pasteurella. The best way to find out if this is what is happening is to have your vet do a culture and see what is growing there and which antibiotic would be best to use. However, some guinea pigs never seem to fully get rid of an upper respiratory tract infection. Vitamin C supplementation sometimes helps with these types of problems.

There are other things that can cause respiratory symptoms in Guinea pigs such as heart disease or a lung problem. But neither of these would be expected to cause sneezing or nasal discharge. Also, it is true that a clicking sound could mean a number of different things in a guinea pig. It doesn't really point to anything specific.

If this were my case I would likely base what I do on how your little girl is doing. If she is continuing to lose weight and we keep seeing sneezing and nasal discharge then I would likely do a culture and start her on some antibiotics. Sometimes guinea pigs with an upper respiratory tract infection can have dental problems as well, so I would maybe consider some xrays to look at her teeth.

If she didn't have worsening symptoms (i.e. her weight was staying the same and there wasn't too much nasal discharge) then I would make sure she has a good vitamin C supplement and just keep an eye on her.

If you think that she is getting worse then it's not a bad idea to have another vet take a look at her. But, it does sound like the vet is doing all of the same things I would.

I hope she does well!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

I definitely don't mind looking at the xray, but legally I'm limited in what I can say. I can't give you a diagnosis over the internet. If you've got a digital copy/photograph you can email it to me at photos@askavetquestion.com.

Thanks!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

OK, thanks for the photos. I've reposted them here:





These photos do show the bladder stones. They kind of look like they are in the urethra which means they could get passed.

However, the chest is hard to assess. On the second photo the heart shape looks normal to me. It's really hard to say if there is fluid though.

Again, an upper respiratory infection is the most likely culprit here. I think a second opinion would really be a great idea. I really hope things improve!

Dr. Marie