• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Loud Breather

Julia Rafferty

Julia Rafferty

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
148
Reaction score
38
Points
180
i have a pig who is a bit of a loud breather. This is only really when he is around his cage. He does sneeze a lot though and kind of has a half sneeze half blowing out air noise. Idk but it sound kind of weird. He does not sound stuffy at all. My other pig is a sneezer. I talked to the vet my loud breather had stayed at while he had ringworm. She said that he had been a bit of a loud breather there too. I have about a month worth of Timothy hay left and I think it is the source. Do you think I should throw it away and get different hay? Which hay would you recommend? And also is there anything else I can do because the vet apparently thought it was normal. He is a bit fat if that has anything to with it. But my sneezey pig is super tiny. Any help needed.
 
What are your piggies bedded on?
 
Loud breathing suggests that something is affecting his airway. It could be an allergy to something, or it could be an infection.

Replacing the hay would be worth a try. Also if you use fleece you could try changing the washing tablets that your use.
 
Hi @Julia Rafferty ! Could you post a link to the bedding online so we can see what it is? I tried Googling it but it's just bringing up duvet sets.
 
Jaycey said:
Loud breathing suggests that something is affecting his airway. It could be an allergy to something, or it could be an infection.

Replacing the hay would be worth a try. Also if you use fleece you could try changing the washing tablets that your use.
Click to expand...
Today it sounded almost like he was whistling through his nose... kind of. It is hard to describe but it almost sounds like a panting dog. He has water but he does not drink that often as he is in love with cucumber and celery which are basically water. It is not slowing him down... he just raced down the hall and up the stairs so I know that for sure. This might be an odd question but could it have to do with him being fat? Idk he is three times the size of my other pig and they eat the same thing. I know lots of animals make a wheezing sound when they are out of shape. Thinking about it, it kind of does sound like wheezing a bit. Also the sound is coming from his nose and not his mouth. I thought it was his mouth but it wasn’t.
 
How much does he weigh @Julia Rafferty?

If he doesn't have any discharge from his nose then it could be an allergy. Have you tried using a different bedding?

Has he ever had breathing issues or an infection before? One of my boars had recurring URI's early in his life. He ended up with damage in his airways and he was always sensitive after that. Any bits of dust would set him off with loud breathing and even an open window in their room would affect him.
 
Jaycey said:
How much does he weigh @Julia Rafferty?

If he doesn't have any discharge from his nose then it could be an allergy. Have you tried using a different bedding?

Has he ever had breathing issues or an infection before? One of my boars had recurring URI's early in his life. He ended up with damage in his airways and he was always sensitive after that. Any bits of dust would set him off with loud breathing and even an open window in their room would affect him.
Click to expand...
Not really any discharge except that sometimes if he sneezes he gets snot on you. Only ever a really tiny bubble though. He weighs about 1.4 lbs at 2 months old. I have never tried different bedding but I definitely will. The only infection he has ever had was ringworm, although he was in-breed which we know because sadly some of his toes are messed up and he does have and extra one. It may be a URI but he just had a full check up at the vet, including lungs and they said it just sounded like a sneeze. My other pig that had URI was also not nearly as active or seemingly healthy as him. He has lots of muscle, eats, drinks, and poops fine. I obviously don’t know how to know if that is it but it seems like all the arrows are pointing in a different direction.
 
I wonder if he has poor airways due to his genetics @Julia Rafferty. I had a pig like that quite a few years ago.

If the change in bedding doesn't help then it might be worth trying a bowl of steam near his cage, maybe that might reduce any reaction to allergies. I have a nebuliser which really helped one of my pigs with allergies.

There is also the possibility of him needing a diuretic to try to reduce and handle any excess fluid in his airways. If he's blowing out little bits of snot it could be that it's collecting in his airways or lungs. I'd try the change in bedding and trying steam first before going down the route of diuretics.

It's great to hear that it doesn't stop him though. My boy was the same, he sounded awful some days but that never stopped him eating lots!
 
Jaycey said:
I wonder if he has poor airways due to his genetics @Julia Rafferty. I had a pig like that quite a few years ago.

If the change in bedding doesn't help then it might be worth trying a bowl of steam near his cage, maybe that might reduce any reaction to allergies. I have a nebuliser which really helped one of my pigs with allergies.

There is also the possibility of him needing a diuretic to try to reduce and handle any excess fluid in his airways. If he's blowing out little bits of snot it could be that it's collecting in his airways or lungs. I'd try the change in bedding and trying steam first before going down the route of diuretics.

It's great to hear that it doesn't stop him though. My boy was the same, he sounded awful some days but that never stopped him eating lots!
Click to expand...
Ok thank you. I will be sure to sue that. He is just so energetic that it is hard to believe that his genetics are even messed up.
 
It's fantastic how well they cope with some things isn't it! My Ace would never have won any beauty contests with all of his issues but he loved his food and he made sure I knew about it with his shouting!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top