Allergies?

[xguineapigs]

My guinea pig has had labored breathing, stuffiness, and some wheezing for a while. Just yesterday both of his eyes started to become very watery. In the past he has been treated a few times with antibiotics for possible URI's. Currently, his only symptoms are labored breathing, watery eyes, and some stuffiness and wheezing. He usually is lethargic, but he's always been that way. Sometimes he makes hooting sounds. I called the vets today and the vet said it's most likely allergies. I didn't get any information on how to treat the allergies though.
Does this sound like my guinea pig has allergies, and how do I treat the allergies? Or should I actually bring my guinea pig in to the vets to get a checkup for something more serious? Thank you for your help.

 

[DM030819]

@xguineapigs It's always best to have him checked out by a vet so they can check whether it is an infection.

The past few times what antibiotics was given, and for how long? It could be that the infection never quite got dealt with.

However, I've not noticed that with my pigs, if they've had a number of URI's over the years then they tend to have breathing issues later. Piggies airways are tiny so an infection can damage them and cause issues later.

Have you tried putting a bowl of steaming water near to his cage, or putting him in a basket near him? See if that eases it a bit.

My boy ended up having a nebuliser which is something that could help your boy but it's best to rule out an infection first.

See the vet, see what they think and possibly mention the nebuliser.


Let us know how you get on and just give me a shout if you want any further info on the nebuliser.

 

[Tiamolly123]

Hi, I think any vet that diagnosed a piggy ailment is not a lot of good, I'd change your vet, I would have thought a nebuliser would help, but you need to get him seen by a good vet.

 

[Freela]

I would definitely want him seen to get a diagnosis, as just because the lungs were clear last time doesn't necessarily mean they are clear right now. It may be allergies, or changes from a previous infection that make his airways more sensitive now, but there's no way to know that from talking to you over the phone! What antibiotics was he given before and did the problem ever completely clear? Sometimes an antibiotic isn't a good match and will not completely wipe out an infection (we went through that with Hadley not long ago- hooting that improved with one antibiotic but recurred did clear completely with a change in antibiotics.) I think it's worth a visit and a trial of a different antibiotic if the vet is agreeable to that.