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Coughing Pigs

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Treaclelove

Treaclelove

Junior Guinea Pig
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I have 2 boars who are roughly 7 months old and I noticed they have been coughing a bit it is often after taking them out of their cage and putting them back in they give a little cough it is not raspy and at first I mistook it for sneezing but it kept happening and it does not happen when they eat like I have heard about before. They both do it. Some days it will seem a bit worse and happen about 3 times in the space of 10 minutes other times I hardly notice it at all. Am I just being paranoid
 
Treaclelove said:
I have 2 boars who are roughly 7 months old and I noticed they have been coughing a bit it is often after taking them out of their cage and putting them back in they give a little cough it is not raspy and at first I mistook it for sneezing but it kept happening and it does not happen when they eat like I have heard about before. They both do it. Some days it will seem a bit worse and happen about 3 times in the space of 10 minutes other times I hardly notice it at all. Am I just being paranoid
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Can you check whether there is a lot of dust in the cage (hay) or whether the cage is near a radiator, which could make the air more dry?
 
Wiebke said:
Can you check whether there is a lot of dust in the cage (hay) or whether the cage is near a radiator, which could make the air more dry?
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They have 3/4 of the cage as fleece and the other quarter is full of dust extracted hay they live in our shed though which recently had lighting and a ceramic heater put in to keep them warm and bright in the winter the ceramic heater is very drying but it is not on unless I am in the shed which is about 2-3 hours per day. The shed as a whole can be a bit dusty but I'm not sure how you would stop that
 
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As they are only coughing when they going back to their cage, it is likely something either that you are carrying (a scent/scented product?) or something around the cage. You could try a bowl of steaming water next to their cage and see whether that makes a difference.

It does certainly not sound like a URI/respiratory infection and it sounds like something minor.
 
I was wondering if it could be linked to a heart condition as I heard Random coughing could be a symptom is this possible?
 
Treaclelove said:
I was wondering if it could be linked to a heart condition as I heard Random coughing could be a symptom is this possible?
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No, it isn't. For that, the coughing needs to be much more persistent and pronounced, and you are most likely to also notice other symptoms that might point towards a heart condition, none of which you have mentioned. ;)
 
Thank you That's taken a weight off my mind sorry if it seemed a bit petty but I'm still quite new to Guinea pig ownership and don't want anything to go wrong.
 
Treaclelove said:
Thank you That's taken a weight off my mind sorry if it seemed a bit petty but I'm still quite new to Guinea pig ownership and don't want anything to go wrong.
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We are here to help you work out what is normal and what needs to be seen by a vet. it is better that you ask too much than the other way round. ;)
 
I'm not sure whether this is useful information for you but I had a GP that coughed quite a lot, but only closer observation I realised it was only after he'd had a drink. He was fine.
 
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