My guinea pig has pneumonia and isn't eating. How can I save him?

unfortunately there is very little you can do at home to help him, this problem will require a diagnosis first and medications to treat it. all you can do to keep him comfortable is to make sure he is neither too hot nor too cold, keep him at a comfortable room temperature (usually cold is more of an issue when a guinea pig is unwell).

A [guinea pig](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-new-guinea-pig) that is not eating or drinking needs to be seen by an exotics species veterinarian ASAP. Your guinea pig is at risk of developing (or may already have) a medical condition called Gastrointestinal Stasis (GIS). Without treatment, this can be a fatal condition. GIS is a common condition in guinea pigs and rabbits. Gastrointestinal stasis occurs when the normal emptying of the stomach and passage of food through the intestinal tract slows or stops. Food, fur, and other ingesta then accumulates in the stomach. Without sufficient water intake, the stomach contents become dehydrated, making passage of the contents even more difficult. Anything that causes your guinea pig not to eat/drink, such as disease, dental disease, pain, stress, or starvation, can lead to gastrointestinal stasis. Be sure to have your vet check your guinea pig's teeth for overgrowth or misalignment. A guinea pig's teeth are constantly growing. He or she must chew constantly to keep them trimmed. If not they can quickly become overgrown which will affect the appetite. Until you can get to your veterinarian for treatment, it is important to encourage your guinea pig to eat and drink. Some guinea pigs will readily drink fruit-flavored electrolyte replacement solutions, such as PediaLyte or Gatorade, from a syringe. Offer your guinea pig a [balanced diet](https://www.petcoach.co/article/things-to-know-about-feeding-your-guinea-pig) including a large selection of fresh greens such as cilantro, romaine lettuce, parsley, carrot tops, dandelion greens, spinach, collard greens and good-quality grass hay. Don't forget to supplement with [Vitamin C](https://www.petcoach.co/article/guinea-pig-vitamin-c-requirements). Your vet may recommend syringe-feeding a special herbivore diet, such as [Oxbow Critical Care](https://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/our-products/professional-line/critical-care), or you can mix ground up pellets with fresh greens, vegetable baby foods, water, or juice to form a gruel. Introduce the syringe tip into the mouth behind the front incisors and depress the plunger slowly, giving your guinea pig time to swallow. If your guinea pig is still mobile, encourage exercise for at least 10–15 minutes every 6–8 hours, as activity promotes gastric motility.

Make sure his cage is clean and warm. Offer alfalfa pellets or soak pellets in warm water to make eating easier. A vitamin C supplement is also critical to good health. If he doesn't begin eating, have him examined by yoru veterinarina to diagnose illness or injury.

I am sorry to hear about your guinea pig. It sounds like she definitely needs veterinary attention. There could be many different causes for her symptoms, ranging from infections, GI stasis, and dental issues. I would get her to the vet as soon as possible. In the meantime you can soak some guinea pig pelleted food in water and blenderize it, then use an eye dropper or syringe without a needle to try to feed Caramel to provide some calories.

Hi and thank you for your question. Sorry to hear about Baxter. The timing (wrt getting him a friend) sounds coincidental, as one day is too short for most infectious disease to incubate. I'm afraid there is no over-the-counter medicine that I can recommend. It sounds like he has a respiratory infection, perhaps pneumonia, and this requires veterinary treatment ASAP. I know there are funding options that will allow you to pay for the treatment at a later date, I would suggest that you ask your vet about this. I agree that delaying it by 2 weeks is not an option. Regards

Based on what you are describing I would be concerned about a respiratory disease going on with Henry. It would be best if you could take him to be examined by your veterinarian because he will most likely need antibiotics and possibly an anti-inflammatory medication to help stop the cough. The veterinarian may also want to perform radiographs to assess the lungs and heart. I would also recommend you look at this article about nutrition and husbandry for guinea pigs to make sure Henry is getting all the nutrients he needs to stay healthy. https://www.petco.com/shop/PetcoContentDisplayView?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&path=/content/petco/PetcoStore/en_US/pet-services/resource-center/caresheets/guinea-pig.html I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any additional questions. Best of luck.

Make sure they check all of his teeth. The teeth can overgrown to the point that they can’t eat. If he hasn’t eaten for a while the intestines will stop moving and they will need medications for pain and also some to try and get them to start moving again. Hope they figure it out for you. Good luck