• 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

misty is making a strange noise :S

Status
Not open for further replies.
XbeccaX

XbeccaX

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
578
Reaction score
367
Points
475
Location
York
its really hard to describe, me and mum call it rattling. it sounds like (sorry for the TERRIBLE description!) when you have water in your mouth and you swish it around, although it sounds kind of throaty. she's being doing it for about a year now (not non stop, just occasionally). it happens when shes just sat there, then when we pick her up it gets slightly worse. the last time it happened was in about june, and it normally lasts for a few days then goes away. my sister noticed her doing it on monday morning.

i'm wondering if it is a cold? they normally live outdoors, but are in the garrage at the moment with it being cold/fireworks.

any advice? forgot to say she is still eating ok :) please reply if anyone has any ideas :)
 
Have her checked for URI (Upper respiratory tract infection).
 
Hi Becca,

Does it sound like this?
http://www.guinealynx.info/records/viewtopic.php?t=42

I tend to consider the environment when any of mine start hooting. I have some pigs who I have no reason (at present) to consider as heart pigs (hooting is a common pointer to heart problems), so I look at what might be irritating their respiratory tracts - allergies. I've found those of mine that hoot usually do so when the cage is due a clean. I don't let my cages get horrendously messy or stinky, but so much hair can build up on the fleece and the paper gets peed on to a certain extent - if I miss the full fleece clean out by a day, you can be sure one of mine will have a slight hoot.

Something else to consider is whether hooting develops when fresh bedding is put in; in the cases of fleece/Vetbed users, maybe the detergent hasn't rinsed from the fabric effectively and is bothering the pig. For those using traditional bedding, perhaps the Megazorb/Carefresh/Aubiose etc. doesn't suit that pig.

The hay may be 'dusty', even those specifically labelled Dust Extracted are not usually that dust free. The only hay I have found thus far to be truly free of dust, is Dust Free Hay, no amount of shaking it out leaves plumes of dust in the air. Even Oxbow can be a little dusty. It's a worthwhile habit to get into to shake each handful out inside a big cardboard box, get as much off as possible before feeding to piggie.

Other things I look at is temperature and humidity - I find when the central heating is switched on after being off for a while (either for the first time after summer, or after being off for a few hours), some of mine seem susceptible to hooting. Some just seem to have more sensitive respiratory tracts than others.

Of course I also had Gwenny who was a heart pig, she had many symptoms aside from hooting, thankfully I did not hear a peep from her on the hooting once she stabilised on her heart meds. Both Elijah and Errol also experienced some hooting when they had their systemic fungal problem.

If you can build up a picture of what was happening around Misty when she hoots, it may help you and the vet determine if it is more likely to be allergy/sensitivity to something specific, or something more random. Details I would list include:

Date
Time
Temperature
Humidity (if known)
Pollen count (if known)
How long since last full cage clean
How long since you put fresh hay in
Whether the central heating has been on, if so how long for before hooting started
If the windows have been open
If any air freshener/aerosols were used in that room or the neighbouring room in the hour before hooting starting
If you did any dusting in the same room

I know it appears extensive but it covers many of the common allergens. Something may become apparent within a few entries. Keep with it for as long as you feel necessary i.e. until you have spotted and removed the irritant and the hooting stops, or if nothing obvious jumps out at you keep it up until you have a good few entries to look over.
 
Hi,

My boar makes this noise and listening to the videos I now know what it is called!

Yes a trip to the vets to rule out URI, I did this with my boar and the vet said he doesn't have a URI he could be allergic to the hay or other things.

I am guessing it may be the fleece to be honest, although it is changed every two days and spot cleaned twice daily perhaps I'm not rinsing properly.

Good luck:))
 
Hello :)

I think you need to think about Wiebke's advice first. Biscuit (our 6/7 month old boar) is prone to URIs and sometimes gets this sort of "hooting" which comes and goes. Some piggies are just that little bit more sensitive. Have you had a good listen to her chest? If it sounds like there's some crackling or chesty noises, it could be a URI.

Although URIs can be serious and sound awful, from experience they are so easily managed with anti-biotics that it's a relief to find out that's the cause sometimes!

Fingers and paws crossed for you here :)
 
My guinea pig made what I called a "rattling" noise which the vet called "ruttling" does is sound sort of like a grunting noise?

I had my piggie back a forth to the vets for months and due to an awful vet who said there was nothing wrong he didn't get the help he needed. I eventually saw a more experienced vet who said he had pneumonia. There was then question of whether Bob was a heart piggie and the noise was hooting. Like misty he did not make the noise all the time and we sadly lost him a couple of months ago.

Please get her to the vets, hope she is ok x
 
thanks for all the great advice guys :)
laura, it doesnt really sounds like hooting, its quite deep. theres not really any pattern to it, ie when the hutch was last cleaned. it could be the hay she is allergic to, but millie is fine with the hay and minnie was fine with it toobefore she passed away.
we're goin to book her into vets, we just need to find a time to go as mum is always at work! :( will let you know how everything goes, thanks again x
 
my dad and sister took misty to the vets today (i was at work) and they said there is some sort of an infection. it could be pneumonia (please not pneumonia, we lost minnie to pneumonia in may) but he gave her some antibiotics which we must give her twice a day. please keep fingers and paws crossed for her, and thanks again for all the advice :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top