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Gentle sneezing - boars behaviour or poorly piggie?

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Teejay

Teejay

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi all, just wanted a bit of advice really. I've noticed the past day or two that Squeak x) seems to have developed a bit of a sneeze. He seems to be absolutely full of life and perfectly ok in all other ways, he's eating and playing as normal, and he isn't at all dull or 'unwell' looking. He's not sneezing all the time, in fact, the sneezes are very few and far between, but he's still sneezing.

I looked up 'sneezing' on this site, and I was reassured to learn that this can be normal boar behaviour.....Pudding & Squeak have been displaying some very typical boar behaviour lately......so I thought I'd just keep an eye on it.

I've been at home with the piggies for the last three days, so I've had more of a chance to observe them closely, and, from what I've seen, Squeak's sneezing doesn't seem to be directed towards Pudding.....for example, he does it when he's having a cuddle (i.e. when Pud's nowhere near him).

He does occasionally wipe his nose (for want of a better way of saying it!), and I've noticed that occasionally, his nose looks a bit wet.

Pud & Squeak are indoors, in a huge cage, and bedded on fleece/mattress protectors/towels on the lower level and Vetbed on the upper level of the cage. They have good quality dust-extracted hay (currently Burgess Excel 'fresh herbage' hay).

I have heard Pud sneeze once or twice, but Squeak seems to sneeze more often. Pud does seem to be displaying more 'boar like' behaviour, though, he's always rumble strutting and mounting poor old Squeak!

Should I be worried about this sneezing?
 
Can anyone advise? I'm happy to make a vet appointment if necessary, but don't want to waste the vet's time if this is normal behaviour.
 
i'm sorry i dont know, mine are a bit sneezy too of late... anyone?
 
Mine have been sneezing since I got them back in august. I thought it was an illness at first but after months and both of them still doing it -occasionally- I think its just something normal like when we sometimes sneeze...

But dont take my word on it... I'm only going from what I have seen with mine.
 
Thanks PiggiePal and Julesie. It's a relief to know that other people's piggies are sneezing. They really don't seem ill in the slightest; they're eating well, they're bright and inquisitive and they tear around the living room like things posessed when they have their floor time!

I'll just keep an eye on them, then. Tracey
 
Our pigs used to sneeze a lot and stopped since we changed the bedding.
Is it possible he's allergic to something? Perhaps a detergent you wash their bedding in? Try changing that and see if it makes a difference in a couple of weeks. I started using eco-friendly soap-based detergent for silk and wool that's got no smell.
 
I would keep an eye on him, but sneezing on its own is most often due to dust or hay. For URI you want to see at least two symptoms.
http://www.guinealynx.info/uri.html

However, if you are in any doubt, please see the vet. We can't see your piggies and can advise only on the basis of what you are telling us.
 
Wiebke said:
However, if you are in any doubt, please see the vet. We can't see your piggies and can advise only on the basis of what you are telling us.
Click to expand...

unfortunately, true... it's very hard to tell



Watch them carefully: they can get seriously ill very quickly and if he's sneezing, because he's got a URI, it has to be treated immediately.
Also, pigs just like us can catch it from each other.
 
In all the years i have had boars i've never had any of them sneeze at one another. :)
A pigs nose shouldn't be wet & you say you've seen him "wipe his nose" this could indicate something is brewing or it could be an allergy.
 
Hi all, thanks for the replies. I watched them both closely last night, and I noticed that they seemed to sneeze more when they were excited.....like when they were tearing round the living room floor or when the veggie tub came out.....:)) When they went back into their cage and settled down to sleeping or eating, I didn't hear a single sneeze for a couple of hours.

Squeak definitely has a clear wet discharge from his nose, Pudding doesn't, but both are sneezing (Squeak more so than Pud). As the nose discharge is clear (almost like water), and not crusting, would that indicate an infection? I would have thought the discharge would be yellowish/greenish if there was infection present.

I tried to listen to their breathing last night without much luck, but I didn't notice any obvious rattles/noises from their chests.

Hmmm.....not sure.......I guess it could be an allergy to the washing liquid......I use non-bio, but it's definitely perfumed. I seem to remember that the sneezing started around the time I swapped them over from newspaper to fleece, but then that could just be a complete coincidence. I'll get some fragrance free washing stuff later anyway.

I'll keep a close eye on them this evening......any signs that they're feeling under the weather and I'll get them to the vets tomorrow morning.

Thanks again.....I didn't have any grey hairs til I had these piggies!

Tracey
 
Ok, so Pud & Squeak both have a URI, and we are now armed with Baytril and a syringe.....hmmmm.....the vet makes it look sooooooo easy to give the medicine......let's see, shall we!

I'm relieved that I took them and that they're now on medication.

Let the syringing fun begin! LOL!
 
One of my boars sneezes occasionally ( I have four ) but it only seems to be when I change the hay in their boxes, have actually found the stuff a bit on the dusty side this time and it is not a cheap brand lol. Have found a place that delivers Timothy hay to your door (9kgs...) so am switching to that now.

Always good to get a vets advice if we're uncertain - I know what you mean about grey hairs as well and I'm sure they're laughing at me :))
 
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