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Guinea Pig has intermittent cough

katc

katc

New Born Pup
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Apr 28, 2019
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Hi all,

My 1.5 yo piggy, Pippi has a cough that he's doing every now and again. I've just noticed it this evening. Took them both out of their pen and gave it a good clean in case the hay was irritating Pippi (I use fleece, but hay from their rack does find it's way onto the floor of the pen). He's still coughing every now and again. Eyes look clear - not crusty. Everything else (appetite, playfulness etc) appears normal. I know URI's can be fast-moving and deadly so rang the vets straight away but their only appointment is 9am Saturday morn (its thurs eve now) - is this going to be okay or should I find a different vet?

Thanks!
 
Does there seem to be a particular time when he does this? ie is it when he is eating? Always best to get him checked out but in the meantime switch from weekly weigh ins to daily at the same time each day. Any large weight loss 50g or more or if there is deterioration/new symptoms of Uri then call the vet and tell them it is an emergency
 
Erm not really - well I only noticed it this evening - they were munching on hay as usual but I hadn't yet fed them their evening veggies and pellets. I've fed them those now as well and he's still coughing every now and again but I don't think the eating is necessarily correlating to the coughing. Have weighed him just now and he is the same as last week - will keep checking daily and monitor new symptoms. Rang back the vets and said I was concerned and they've managed to squeeze me in tomorrow evening instead of Sat so hopefully that should be okay?
 
That will be fine tomorrow if he is acting okay eating and drinking. Any sudden downturn not eating lying around then get him in as emergency but as you stand tomorrow evening will be fine. They will give a listen to his chest and make sure no crackle there.
Please let us know how he gets on
 
I asked as sometimes a greedy piggy can be eating too fast which causes a cough style reaction. If there is no weight loss so far then tomorrow will be fine. With URI's the need to eat comes third after the need to breath and drink so weight loss usually happens fairly quick. Fingers crossed you get a clean bill of health but it is always best to be safe than sorry
 
Thank you both! He hasn't lost any weight today either and is still eating and drinking well / winding up his best pal Pumpkin. Will let you know what the vet says!
 
Went to the vet on Fri - he had a wee bit of hay stuck in his throat irritating him - all sorted now! phew!
 
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