Allergies

[Lorcan]

Is there a specific way that allergies show in guinea pigs? Comet's started hooting again tonight in a big way, for the first time since before his vet visit on Wednesday. Tonight, their dinner involved coriander. I did wonder originally if that might be the culprit, but I don't have any experience of allergies in guinea pigs.

 

[Wiebke]

Is there a specific way that allergies show in guinea pigs? Comet's started hooting again tonight in a big way, for the first time since before his vet visit on Wednesday. Tonight, their dinner involved coriander. I did wonder originally if that might be the culprit, but I don't have any experience of allergies in guinea pigs.

Hooting is usually down to small obstruction in the nasal airways, so it is most likely caused by something like hay dust or pollen.

 

[Lorcan]

I don't believe it's pollen only because he's indoors. Dust is possible but he's doing it at the strangest times if it is - like hours after they get a new hay pile or in this case, two days after new bedding went down.

For him to have not done this since before the antibiotics were started and that was three days ago, I'm just not convinced it's a uri and to be fair the vet wasn't convinced either. But trying to narrow down what's causing it feels impossible

 

[piggieminder]

Have you changed your hay - type? brand? recently.
My OH is allergic to Timothy Hay much more than medow, I know he's not a guinea pig but could be something similar for Comet.

 

[Lorcan]

I generally always get the Burgess timothy hay with dandelion and marigold. I know the latest bag I've opened is far crunchier than it used to be and nowhere near as soft, but wouldn't the softer hay be more prone to dust anyway?

 

[piggieminder]

I'm thinking flowers and pollen? The Timothy I bought had dandelion heads in it.

 

[Lorcan]

Do you know, that didn't even occur to me. Duh, Lorcán. He only started doing it after I switched to that hay too.

Good grief I'm an eejit, how the hell did I miss that?!

 

[piggieminder]

I think it's going to be a case trial for you, but it could be that. I just bought a new bag of this Timothy when we decided that was causing a problem so I'm saving it until they go in the garden and they can have it in their hut.

 

[Lorcan]

I'll have to shop around. Dang it, they both eat the Burgess stuff, finding something else they both like won't go anywhere near as smoothly I bet. Seriously though thank you, I'd never even considered that could be the problem. Consequences of growing up with zero hayfever problems, I guess.

 

[Freela]

We are having issues with Hadley hooting too, it can be very difficult to find the culprit. She has also had some hooting even on antibiotics, though nowhere near as frequently. Initially I thought it was a dustier bag of hay, but it persisted even after I cleaned the cage thoroughly and opened a new bag. Based on the persistence and the fact that her elderly cagemate very suddenly sickened and passed away a week or so after it began, we are treating it as a hard-to-shift respiratory infection, although she doesn't seem to be much affected by it. She is presently on antibiotics and a vitamin C supplement for at least another 10 days. I would definitely continue the meds just in case, but hopefully you can pinpoint it to an environmental allergy. We've not been able to do so with Hadley thus far.

 

[Lorcan]

Aside from hooting he has zero other symptoms, his appetite is as voracious as ever and he's generally very alert, and I can only hear him breathing if he is right next to my ear. The vet said that the two of them sounded very similar on Wednesday, albeit breathing a little faster, but that could be put down to the stress of a vet visit.

He's sneezed twice since he started hooting tonight and now he's stopped, and is bust stuffing his face again. If the hay is the trigger I'll be annoyed at myself but at least I'll know the answer.