Guinea pigs might have uri but still eating and drinking?

[reyn]

Both my male guinea pigs have hitched/labored breathing, they are also sneezing alot and making weird clicking noises when I pick them up. I looked it up and the closest thing that I found was, respiratory infection, it also mentions that they stop eating/drinking but mine are still eating a ton of food? They're also kinda lethargic but I've never really known them to be active. I tried talking my parents into taking them to the vet but they keep making excuses not to and its stressing me out. PLEASE help I don't want my guinea pigs to die

 

[reyn]

Both my male guinea pigs have hitched/labored breathing, they are also sneezing alot and making weird clicking noises. I looked it up and the closest thing that I found was, respiratory infection, it also mentions that they stop eating/drinking but mine are still eating a ton of food? They're also kinda lethargic but I've never really known them to be active. I tried talking my parents into taking them to the vet but they keep making excuses not to and its stressing me out. PLEASE help I don't want my guinea pigs to die

 

[VickiA]

Please urge your parents to take both piggies to the vets as a priority. I don't wish to alarm you but your parents need to understand that the piggies need to see a vet.
Please show them this post. Sneezing and clicking are definitely signs of URI as is laboured breathing. If you can see them breathing (ie their sides are moving or their noses are bobbing) then you DEFINITELY need to see a vet. Lethargy is also indicative of illness.
The fact they are eating and drinking is NOT a sign that all is well. Guinea pigs are prey animals and have to hide their illnesses so they "pretend" all is well by continuing to eat. Eventually they have to choose between eating and breathing. That is when the eating stops and by then it is too late. So never use the fact they are eating as a sign that all is well.
A competent vet will examine them, and if they have a noisy chest will provide antibiotics and most piggies recover quite quickly. The longer you leave it before taking them to a vet, the sicker they get, the more expensive it gets and the less chance of a good recovery.
I'm sorry that you are in this position.

 

[VickiA]

I have also merged your posts and moved to the correct location.

 

[Wiebke]

Both my male guinea pigs have hitched/labored breathing, they are also sneezing alot and making weird clicking noises. I looked it up and the closest thing that I found was, respiratory infection, it also mentions that they stop eating/drinking but mine are still eating a ton of food? They're also kinda lethargic but I've never really known them to be active. I tried talking my parents into taking them to the vet but they keep making excuses not to and its stressing me out. PLEASE help I don't want my guinea pigs to die

Audible/visible breathing and lethargy are a sign that something serious is underfoot.
Loss of appetite will be the next step if the URI is progressing. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. By the time a piggy loses its appetite, the URI is well advanced and set in.

Please place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that helps ease the breathing; this does not heal - URI is a bacterial infection and needs an antibiotic to heal.

PS: Have you recently started a new bag of hay that is a bit dusty?

 

[SweetJo]

My guinea pig had noisy breathing last week. It didn't seem laboured, and she seemed perfectly fine in herself but we took her to the vet. Turns out it was a URI and she's now on antibiotics.

Good luck on getting to the vets and I hope your piggies are ok xx