Shop bought guinea pigs sick

Peggy0628

Sorry for the long post.
We recently bough 2 baby guinea pigs from a well known chain pet store.

Shortly after purchase, we noticed one was coughing, sneezing and breathing loudly. A week later, the other developed scabs on his ear. We took them both to a vet, the sneezing one was prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds (he's better now) and the other was diagnosed with ringworm (and given meds for that, he's got a check up next week and vet will decide if he needs another lot of meds then). We were told to separate them to stop the ringworm spreading to the other pig.

We now found scabs that look like ringworm on the sneezing pig as well (ringworm has a incubation period of 1-3 weeks so the first pig was already infected when we bought them) meaning he was already infected when we separated them. We'll be taking him to the vets tomorrow.

We now fear than our other pets (cat and dog) will get it too as the pigs are kept in a cage in our living room and both cat and dog have access to the room (incubation period is up to 3 weeks so they could be infected already but not showing any symptoms yet). Only our dog is insured (but excess is £65).

So far the vet bills are £150 for the pigs (but will be more after tomorrow's visit to the vet, I'm estimating another £40-50 for the ringworm meds for the sneezing pig). We bought the pigs less than 4 weeks ago and the vet costs are getting out of control (and if our cat/dog gets it, who know how much that's gonna be...). Can we claim the vet bills from the pet store? Both pigs were showing signs of illness less than a week after purchase and the vet bills are creeping up (so far 3 visits and 4 different meds).

Obviously we do not have this sort of money lying around (esp so close to Xmas) and had we known we were going to have these problems we wouldn't have bought the pigs in the first place. Also, is the pet shop liable for the vet bills for our cat and dog (if they tun out to have it)? We love the pigs and want to keep them but don't think it's fair having to pay large vet bills for treatment of illnesses/infection they had (but weren't showing signs of) when bought. The bills are now several times more than the purchase price of the pigs.

Thank you for your advice.

TBagpuss

I think it would come down to whether the pet shop would, or reasonably should, have known that the guinea pigs were infected when they sold them to you.

If they did, they may be negligent, in which case they could potentially be liable.

If they didn't know , or couldn't reasonably be expected to know , they might be liable for selling you 'faulty goods' but I think in that case they would be limited to offering a refund or replacement.

That said, have you spoken to the shop yet? They may be willing to assist . For instance, they my sell ringworm treatment and be prepared to offer free or discounted.

Fire_Fox

Harsh as it sounds, legally you may be deemed to have purchased faulty "goods". The buyer has to give the seller the chance to rectify the situation. Replace or agree a repair would be the usual outcome for faults developed or noticed soon after purchase.

There is occasionally a case for claiming for emergency veterinary treatment from a breeder or reseller, but not for claiming ongoing non emergency or discretionary veterinary costs. You have not informed the pet shop of any "faults" (ie. symptoms), nor allowed them to inspect the "goods" (ie. consult their own vet). Given the costs the shop may well have PTS.

You can report the situation to the RSPCA and local newspapers to help protect their other "stock". Please in future use a specialist rescue or reputable breeder. Pet shops stock farmed/ intensively bred furries simply because they brings in customers and their £££.

awtech83

Unfortunately, I do have to agree with others comments... I don't think the shop can be held liable, but if you go to them nicely they may be willing to help out in some way (ex. free or discounted ringworm medicine).

I hope your little pigs are on the mend soon, and that your other animals are free of contamination.

Wannabe2018

Hi. Were they from Pets at Home?

If so, they are usually really good and will provide you with the treatment for the guinea pigs for free, just go in (or call) and explain. They may ask you to take the pigs in.

I am not sure how contagious it is between other species..

GwylimT

Guinea pigs are very prone to ringworm, especially when stressed, it is very common for them to suffer it when moving home due to stress.

Guinea pigs are also very susceptible to breathing issues, URI’s etc, usually caused by innapropriate bedding or damp. What bedding are you using?

Guinea pig treatment is very costly, they really aren’t a cheap pet to care for.