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hayfever or uri?

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biscandmatt

biscandmatt

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i posted a week ago because chesney was making a strange noise, kind of breathing in normally, but then on the breath out he would make like a weird squeak, like he had a blocked nose.

anyway, he only did it a few times, and then yesterday he did it just the once and he has just done it again now, but this time it almost sounded like a wheezy wimpering type noise. :{ i listened to his breathing and on one side it sounds normal, but the other side sounded wheezy, almost like the echo from his breathing inside him. he has a wheezy noise when you listen near his nostrils aswell. he was breathing harder though because i had picked him up to check him over.

when he does this, it is always after i have changed the bedding (i do this every night) and it has been a week since i first heard it, he had a sniff of olbas oil last night and tonight.

my question i guess is if it has been a week since he did it for the first time, and then he hasn't done it since then, would this point more towards it being hayfever/allergy type thing rather than an uri? would i uri have made him worse by now if it was?

just before he did it, he was popcorning round and he was excited because i switched things round in the cage and him and maisie were getting all excited exploring round. x)
 
Hi sweetie sorry to hear about Chesney :(
When you clean out is he near you at the time, just wondering if he's getting a whiff of dust particles?
You know i'd go to the vets and get them to listen to his breathing he could have the starts of an URI.
Sending lots of wheeeeeeeeeks and mini kisses from the girls and I
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
yes, they stay in the cage when i clean them out. they have 3/4 of the cage with profleece and a pet blanket and the 1/4 is hay. when i change the hay they go to the other side and wait and get excited when i put new hay in, and then burrow in that when i change the other side.

do you think maybe cleaning them out at night doesn't help? because then the windows are closed and i suppose there would be more dust etc in the air, and the air will be different?
 
forgot to say - maisie has a kind of whistle through her nostrils, but when she is picked up and nervous, but yesterday she did it aswell when in the cage. :{
 
he's stopped now. seems like when the cleanings done and everything settles again it stops. there is never anything wrong in the day either, always at night.

i'm going to check whether his breathing is the same in the morning and if it isn't then it probably is just the cleaning routine etc. if it is i'll take them to the vets. it isn't worth the risk of leaving it just incase.
 
How about the next time you clean out, take them out and put in another room and let the hay etc.... settle down. It maybe just the bits that could irritate him. Our boy Sully became that way as well, we couldn't find anything wrong so shifted him off the hay it really seemed to improve his breathing.
Yeah you're so right, it always happens at night or on the weekend :{

More of these for Chesney xoxoxoxoxoxo
With Maisey maybe it's the same? have a listen into her little sides as well.
For Maisey too xoxoxoxoxoxo
 
they didn't make any noise again after everything had settled down. today i cleaned them out whilst the windows were open and took them out whilst i did, let the cage settle and then put them back and there was no problem and when i checked them over, both had normal breathing. they have been fine all day, very hyper today actually! i hung a tissue up above the cage with some olbas oil on and they seem fine now. :)
 
It sounds like a reaction to their environment, so an allergy of sorts is likely - although you are very right to question the possibility of URI. Weight loss and loss of appetite are two major signs of a URI, neither of which Chesney or Maisie have, and if it was a URI the symptoms would not have reduced or disappeared themselves; they would get more frequent and more severe.

Just keep an eye on them, keep making a conscious effort to let the hay settle a bit before letting them have it and see how things go. :)
 
There can be also a reduced appetite and subsequent weight loss resulting from a chronic allergic response.
 
today i cleaned in the day again whilst there was fresh air circulating, i put them in their run whilst i cleaned, then put all the fresh bedding in, and then whilst that was settling i had my daily cuddles and check over of them, and then they went back into a clean cage and haven't made any wheezy noises again.

both are definitely not off their food! :)) and also their weights are stable aswell.

:)
 
just noticed now that chesney has a watery eye and it is crusty aswell underneath, it is just one eye. i have checked for anything in the eye, but he has also coughed a few times aswell, and with me posting this thread i think it is now likely they do have the start of an uri.

my problem now is that the vets i use are shut. they are the only vets i am happy to use because they ae specialists in small animals/exotics etc.

the only vets open now are the emergency one which i don't like and i don't trust the vets there at all.

my options are the emergency one anyway, or phone the proper specialist vets when they open at 8.30am and get an appointment.

chesney and maisie are still running around and eating and toiletting normally. ches gives off an occasional cough and his eye is a little crusty.

what does everyone think?
 
Lotta was coughing last night and I waited and saw the vet this morning.

The metacam he gave her has stopped her coughing all night - she's just started now again so going to give her some more. Personally if you trust the vet tomorrow get in there tomorrow morning as soon as you can.

I hope your babies are okay. It's such a worry isn't it?
 
ok, thanks.

i'm going to ring up the specialist vets in the morning, but if it isn't the vet i want to see there, then i have found another specialist vets open not too far away so i will see if i can get in there.

i just want to avoid the emergency vets because i don't trust them at all. i have a vets literally 5 minutes away from me open tomorrow but they aren't small animal vets and i don't want to go there either.

it is really worrying. can't wait to get to the vets tomorrow. :(
 
just gave my rabbits some of the soft hay that the piggies have, and it was a new sack that i opened last night, and both my rabbits started sneeazing...alot! also, ches has only sneezed once since i posted, and he isn't off his food, and i am now wondering if it is that sack of hay. it has made me a bit wheezy too.

i'm going to the vets anyway but i suppose it could be that.

also, i was told before that chesney, or his brother, they can't remember which, had a watery eye once and ended up at the vets and had eye drops for it. so if it was ches it could be that that is back.

really want to get to the vets so i know.

ches and maisie seem ok, although maisie has a slight whistle sometimes to her breathing, and i heard it in her chest when i listened, and then a click sound, although it was at the same time she chattered her teeth at me (sh doesn't like sitting on my shoulder for her breathing checks!) so could it have been that?

so fed up, really don't want them to be ill. :(
 
can anyone tell me what i should be expecting the vet to give them if they do have a uri?
 
ok, managed to get an appointment at 11.15am, so can't wait to get there and get them sorted.

going to the vets i haven't been to before, so i hope they are ok. they seem nice and are small animal/exotic vets so should be ok.

i'm a bit nervous though. always get nervous at new places, and even going out at all..........!
 
hi just been reading your thread. I hope it went ok at the vets for you and ches.xoxo
 
the vets went well. it's a really lovely vets and lovely staff etc.

chesney has got drops for his eyes. once a day for eight days.

as for their breathing, she couldn't hear anything wrong with it. everything was ok, and nice heartbeats!

she thinks chesney could have a viral infection rather than a bacterial one, but it also could be the start of an uri for both chesney and maisie but she didn't want to prescribe any antibiotics as apart from chesneys watery eyes, there weren't any other symptoms that she could find. so i just have to keep a very close eye on them, and if they seem to be getting worse, then i have to take them back asap for treatment.

also, rather embarrassingly, she said that chesney is too big for his frame and does need to lose some weight. i feel really bad now that he is too fat. but at least now i know and can just try and get his weight down a bit.

so eye drops for ches and keep an eye on them and see.
 
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