Heaving Hiccups for Over Ten Minutes

[GPMomandPop]

Hi,

Thankfully Eddie is now OK, having had some parsley [medicine] and a clean-up.

However, it was very distressing for him and us, so we're really interested to hear people's thoughts and whether anyone else has experienced their piggie having heaving hiccups for such a long period of time like this.

They were proper heaves, which made his whole body double up or fall to the side. It lasted well over ten minutes and was very regular, almost like human hiccups. Then they ended abruptly with a little cough but we didn't see anything come out - although there was some chewing going on!

Does this sound like a normal blockage that just took a long while to clear, or should we be exploring this further at the vets? Has anyone else experienced this type of hiccuping?

Thanks!

 

[teddy2011]

When my piggy was pregnant she did this a couple of times,it was a really harsh hiccup - her whole body was just jumping - it never lasted as long as ten minutes.
And nothing ever came up!I dont think it can - I know that guinea pigs don't vomit.
I think they just do this to clear a blockage and once it has cleared they stop!

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/heavinghiccups.htm

Hope this helped!

 

[claremw92]

Hi,

Thankfully Eddie is now OK, having had some parsley [medicine] and a clean-up.

However, it was very distressing for him and us, so we're really interested to hear people's thoughts and whether anyone else has experienced their piggie having heaving hiccups for such a long period of time like this.

They were proper heaves, which made his whole body double up or fall to the side. It lasted well over ten minutes and was very regular, almost like human hiccups. Then they ended abruptly with a little cough but we didn't see anything come out - although there was some chewing going on!

Does this sound like a normal blockage that just took a long while to clear, or should we be exploring this further at the vets? Has anyone else experienced this type of hiccuping?

Thanks!

my marley does this...!
i became very distressed...
he does it on a regular basis and some times they can last a very long time...
i think its because he has some food stuck in his throat and thats there way of clearing it out... becuase litterally once hes cleared his throat he goes straight back to eating...!
i think its just something some of them do...!
x

 

[Pebble]

10 minutes is a long time...but as you say, once he'd got whatever it was back up it stopped so as a one off is probably nothing to worry about. ..(says she who has only experienced 1minute bouts and even that freaks me out )


some guineas are just such greedy guts that they wolf their food down so fast they often have to cough a few times to get things going down the right way - I call this gobbling guinea syndrome and I have two gobblers in my herd)

However if your piggie suddenly starts becoming prone to hiccoughs or starts coughing/choking frequently when eating then this change in behaviour could be an early warning sign of developing teeth issues so worth keeping an eye on if the situation recurs

HTH
x

 

[GPMomandPop]

my marley does this...!
i became very distressed...
he does it on a regular basis and some times they can last a very long time...
i think its because he has some food stuck in his throat and thats there way of clearing it out... becuase litterally once hes cleared his throat he goes straight back to eating...!
i think its just something some of them do...!
x

Thanks! That's very reassuring to here...in a way! Does Marley bring up lots of saliva as he is doing it? We took Eddie to the vet today, just to be safe, and heart, lungs and teeth all 'perfect', so we're very pleased! He's been absolutely fine since so hopefully just a case of GGS (Greedy Guinea Syndrome).

 

[claremw92]

Thanks! That's very reassuring to here...in a way! Does Marley bring up lots of saliva as he is doing it? We took Eddie to the vet today, just to be safe, and heart, lungs and teeth all 'perfect', so we're very pleased! He's been absolutely fine since so hopefully just a case of GGS (Greedy Guinea Syndrome).

yes... he is a dribbler...
i was convinced he had teeth problems... and i was shocked to find out his were fine...
like pebble said... some guineas are greedy and dont chew there food....!
with marley he chokes when eating on a regular basis...
him and oliver do it... boys eh....rolleyes
x