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Hooting

Sibo

Sibo

New Born Pup
Joined
Nov 11, 2018
Messages
41
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Points
190
Location
Dorset
Hi everyone,

One of my girls bailey has just started making a very weird hooting like sound. She doesn’t do it all the time just every now and then, she seems fine in herself and not off food or behaving strangely.
 
she started doing it once I had put fresh hay in this morning. But we have had the same bag open for a while.
 
maybe you should take her to the vet. Mine cough & Hiccup if they eat to quickly that's threw there dinner & after but it's only a guess, perhaps the Hay is dusty. We always find the quality of hay is variable. I'm not a expert so i'd probably say vet. Definitely is she is ill in herself.
 
2 of mine hoot, they have narrow airways from having short noses. But hooting can be a sign of heart issues which causes fluid to build up in the lungs, so it's worth having her checked over by a vet to be on the safe side! It's most likely that they're snuffling up hay dust while eating, but better safe than sorry.
 
We are going to get her booked in to see the vet. Hopefully it’s just dust from the hay.
 
Sibo said:
Hi everyone,

One of my girls bailey has just started making a very weird hooting like sound. She doesn’t do it all the time just every now and then, she seems fine in herself and not off food or behaving strangely.
Click to expand...

Hi

Guinea pig airways are very narrow; they can also not breathe through their mouths. That is why you can hear every little obstruction in them very easily. It is usually even more noticeable when they are eating.

Some piggies can become more sensitive to the drier air caused by increased heating in the current cold spell in the UK or by increased air con in the Australian heatwave. See whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage eases the symptoms. In the heat, the evaporating moisture from a dampened sheet between the air con and the cage can additionally cool the surrounding air.

Most of these obstructions go away after a few hours, often after an almighty sneeze. If symptoms persist/recur over more than a day or get worse, please have her vet checked. In the first case, regular opening hours will do, in the second one, see a vet promptly if you notice more symptoms of an advancing URI (A list of symptoms in ascending order of severity in this link here under URI: What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)).

In most cases hooting is simply a temporary noise made in a slightly blocked nose (usually by some hay dust) that will disappear on its own after a few hours.
 
That’s interesting you say about the dry air and the heating being on. What you have said about it lasting a few hours and ending with a big sneeze is exactly what happened.
I have got her booked in to see the vet so hopefully it’s nothing serious.
 
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