Lily Is Making Strange Noises

[Lily & Rose]

For a while now, Lily has been making strange noises. It's hard to describe, but it sounds slightly like a duck quacking. She had a mild respiratory infection in April and the noises started a few weeks after that cleared up, but she doesn't do it all the time. Sometimes a few weeks can go by and then it starts up again for a couple of days. She normally makes the noises while she is eating, but last night it was very loud and she appeared to be doing it while she was sleeping. She had a check up at the vets a few weeks ago and the vet couldn't see anything wrong with Lily's breathing and she listened to heart which sounded fine. I have been giving her Alfalfa King timothy hay, since around the time of her respiratory infection and I recently noticed how dusty this was, so I changed to Oxbow last weekend. I was wondering whether it's worth changing her meadow hay to dust-free hay, to see if hay is the problem, as she likes to spend a lot of time lying underneath a pile of hay? Lily also gets cystitis when stressed (after vet visits, new hutch etc) and she also suffers from a blocked tear duct and recently had a mild infection in the same eye. I have two videos of her making the noises in the links below.

This video I took last night. I didn't want to turn the light on, in case it startled her. The noise is louder after 1 min:

 

[Wiebke]

She sounds like she has a bit of a stuffy nose; this usually becomes more audible when a guinea pig is eating.

Please see a vet if in doubt. Also check for hay or bedding dust that can irritate the nose, pollen, dry air from heating or air conditioning, perfumes (scent sticks, air fresheners, scented human skin products that you are using).
Try and see whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage is easing the problem.

 

[Lily & Rose]

She sounds like she has a bit of a stuffy nose; this usually becomes more audible when a guinea pig is eating.

Please see a vet if in doubt. Also check for hay or bedding dust that can irritate the nose, pollen, dry air from heating or air conditioning, perfumes (scent sticks, air fresheners, scented human skin products that you are using).
Try and see whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage is easing the problem.

Thank you Wiebke. I used Bisolvon last week for a few days. I'm not sure if it helped at all. The noises stopped for a few days then came back yesterday. I regularly put drops of eucalyptus or vicks vapour on a tissue near the hutch when she is making the noises. I will put a bowl of steaming water near the cage today. I have a nebuliser from when my other guinea pig was ill. Do you think it's worth me trying that with her for when she is making the noises a lot?