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Do guineas snore?

Pinki

Pinki

Junior Guinea Pig
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So just back from the vets- a very experienced guinea pig specialist vet- because we thought Amla might have a heart condition/pneumonia as 3 days ago she seemed to have fluid on her lungs and indeed again last night. But is it? Our vet took a good listen and found her lungs clear and no URI.
So 3 hours later at home and after evening food- she starts to gurgle again....but it seems to happen only in certain positions when she is flat out or sleeping.

She is eating food and generally OK though she did suffer from head tilt recently for which she had sulfatrim and panacur.

Do guineas snore or is there any other reason for gurgling that is not pneumonia?

She did have a URI about 6 months ago but fully recovered. She is 4.5 yrs old.

Thanks
 
Pinki said:
So just back from the vets- a very experienced guinea pig specialist vet- because we thought Amla might have a heart condition/pneumonia as 3 days ago she seemed to have fluid on her lungs and indeed again last night. But is it? Our vet took a good listen and found her lungs clear and no URI.
So 3 hours later at home and after evening food- she starts to gurgle again....but it seems to happen only in certain positions when she is flat out or sleeping.

She is eating food and generally OK though she did suffer from head tilt recently for which she had sulfatrim and panacur.

Do guineas snore or is there any other reason for gurgling that is not pneumonia?

She did have a URI about 6 months ago but fully recovered. She is 4.5 yrs old.

Thanks
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Where can you hear the gurgling sound?
 
Mmm good question- as soon as I pick her up it goes so it's hard to say. I know the sound of pneumonia so I'm associating it with that i.e lungs.
Thanks.
I did just see this thread:
Spike - no diagnosis - difficult decisions
with many similar stories to mine which is interesting.
 
I would say any repisratory sound is normaly crackly, pneumonia from my experience is colicky and crackly
 
All I can offer you really is my support in a difficult situation. You have done what you should do and taken her to an experienced vet. Spike is still making the noise and is still his old self, it bothers us more than him. Spike's noise is in the upper airway, I think nose. For us it's now a watch and wait position.
 
Good descriptions! I don't think it's pneumonia or URI to be honest. I think it's as Spike has, whatever that is!
 
piggieminder said:
All I can offer you really is my support in a difficult situation. You have done what you should do and taken her to an experienced vet. Spike is still making the noise and is still his old self, it bothers us more than him. Spike's noise is in the upper airway, I think nose. For us it's now a watch and wait position.
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I think I have mentioned something on this subject before. I had a boar before from age 2 to 6, he had a crackly nose for 4 years, never did know what is was, but lived fine like it, it bothered us more than him. Still ate, still ran about. He did get pneumonia when he was about 4, and you will certainly know about It if you see it. He was flopped over my lap, lifeless, not interested in anything, and his abdominal area was going in and out very fast and deeply. He survived by me catching it early enough
 
piggieminder said:
All I can offer you really is my support in a difficult situation. You have done what you should do and taken her to an experienced vet. Spike is still making the noise and is still his old self, it bothers us more than him. Spike's noise is in the upper airway, I think nose. For us it's now a watch and wait position.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

I so agree with what you are saying about 'it bothers us more than him'

Maybe it's all OK.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
I think I have mentioned something on this subject before. I had a boar before from age 2 to 6, he had a crackly nose for 4 years, never did know what is was, but lived fine like it, it bothered us more than him. Still ate, still ran about. He did get pneumonia when he was about 4, and you will certainly know about It if you see it. He was flopped over my lap, lifeless, not interested in anything, and his abdominal area was going in and out very fast and deeply. He survived by me catching it early enough
Click to expand...

Yes I saw your post in Spike's thread which is a real help. Ah OK to what you say about pneumonia...I didn't know that, that helps again ...thanks :)
 
Pinki said:
Yes I saw your post in Spike's thread which is a real help.
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A vet did tell me, it was likely permanent damage to something in his nasal area, which causes the noise to come. I can't remember what he said, it was a long time ago. I know rats suffer from this alot
 
Sorry if I butted in with a conversation here, I just didn't wanna hold back if I can help someone out👍
 
The thing is when I was a newbie guinea pig owner we seemed to loose a lot of guineas to heart failure which manifested as a flooding of the lungs in the final stages ( just like humans really) ...or... to URI, which as we know, can be a nasty killer unless treated properly-, and nowadays whenever I hear even the slightest breathing realted anything I do tend to go into fear mode.
 
Pinki said:
The thing is when I was a newbie guinea pig owner we seemed to loose a lot of guineas to heart failure which manifested as a flooding of the lungs in the final stages ( just like humans really) ...or... to URI, which as we know, can be a nasty killer unless treated properly-, and nowadays whenever I hear even the slightest breathing realted anything I do tend to go into fear mode.
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I kniw what you mean, past experiences can make you over worry, I'm like it with our new car at the moment, thinking the same thing is going to go wrong again lol
 
If you are worried @Pinki it would be worth getting another opinion. I was worried it was an infection that was going to go onto Spike's lungs or something wrong with his heart. My problem is I pick things up really early and sometimes have to go back again as it's too soon for vets to diagnose the problem so I was worried I was doing that again.
 
I think it’s normal to worry about any sort of noisy breathing, hooting etc. It may be worth getting a second opinion if you just need further reassurance. Is it worth asking for an X-ray or scan to check for enlarged heart or other fluid?
 
VickiA said:
I think it’s normal to worry about any sort of noisy breathing, hooting etc. It may be worth getting a second opinion if you just need further reassurance. Is it worth asking for an X-ray or scan to check for enlarged heart or other fluid?
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Yes I think it might...we were going to do that yesterday but the x-ray machine was malfunctioning. Today Amla very happy to be home and with family.
 
An update: Amla is fully better now though still has a bit of a head tilt. Breathing is back to normal and weight is on the up. We decided it was not a heart condition so did not giver her the heart meds and we have Frusol on standby if any there is any more reoccurrence..and at that point we will reconsider the heart med. She is on Panacur still..28days course. Strange it's so long!
Anyhow ..all good!
 
Pinki said:
So just back from the vets- a very experienced guinea pig specialist vet- because we thought Amla might have a heart condition/pneumonia as 3 days ago she seemed to have fluid on her lungs and indeed again last night. But is it? Our vet took a good listen and found her lungs clear and no URI.
So 3 hours later at home and after evening food- she starts to gurgle again....but it seems to happen only in certain positions when she is flat out or sleeping.

She is eating food and generally OK though she did suffer from head tilt recently for which she had sulfatrim and panacur.

Do guineas snore or is there any other reason for gurgling that is not pneumonia?

She did have a URI about 6 months ago but fully recovered. She is 4.5 yrs old.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi!

Some older piggies can suffer from narrowed airways and can snore, especially in those that have had previous respiratory issues.
It is important that you make sure that the airways are clear before coming to that conclusion - which you have done. :tu:

You may want to see whether a bowl of steaming water close by can help; if it does, then a daily nebulising session may be the way forward.
Please be aware that nebulising is not an all-heal and can be counterproductive if used without ensuring first that is actually of benefit; hence the bowl trial before you consider it. Don't pursue it if there is no improvement. Changes in humidity in the room can also play a role.
 
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