Noisy, Rattly/congested Sound While Breathing?

[Sarah Hall]

Hi everyone! Last December, I got my two guinea pig boys, Meeko and Teemo. They've been perfectly good with no health problems, and they're the lights of my life!

Tonight I came home and went to pick up my boys, and reached my hands in to pick them up, I noticed that Teemo was making kind of a weird, rattly noise and it sounded like it was either coming from his noise or his throat. I picked him up and put him on my lap, and he seems fine other than the weird noises and has seemed fine all day. He's been drinking, eating hay, eating lettuce, going around the cage, pooping, all the normal stuff. Since he's been on my lap, he's wandered around me and the chair, pooped on me, played with Meeko, bit me and my clothing (he's a naughty one!). His eyes look bright and he looks very alert and he's paying attention to everything.

He did one tiny sneeze (they do occasionally sneeze from time to time because of hay dust), and then I noticed a few minutes after, he coughed and that seemed to stop the noise for a bit, so I'm wondering if he might have a bit of hay or something stuck in his throat?! The cage was a bit dirty today so I don't know if he could've been bothered by dust or just got some hay or lettuce stuck?! Because every time he coughs or sniffles, it seems to settle it a bit?

I immediately thought of a URI and started crying (I'm a huge baby and a worrier), but my parents and my girlfriend both think that it's a piece of hay or something stuck in his throat and not a URI, because other than the weird noise, he's acting as he usually does and shows no other symptoms?! It's currently past midnight here so I can't call the vet for an opinion until the morning.

Any advice on what to do would be most appreciated! I'm on the verge of a panic attack from worrying so much, and I don't know if I need to be worried or if it is just a bit of hay/dust caught in his nose or mouth. Help! ;~;

 

[Sarah Hall]

Update: I cleaned the cage and put him and Meeko back in the cage, and they both popcorned around, and Teemo started eating hay, and he drank a fair bit of water (he doesn't normally drink TOO often) which makes me think that he might have a bit of hay or dust stuck in his throat and he's trying to clear it? He's behaving as usual other than the noise. Any opinions would be really helpful!

 

[Swissgreys]

I would get him to a vet asap.
I don't want to worry you, but I think URI's can escalate quite quickly.

On the plus side it sounds like you are very on the ball and ave caught things at an early stage, so if it is an URI then your boy has a great chance of recovering well.
And if it does turn out to be something in his throat then at least you have peace of mind knowing he was checked and isn't suddenly going to deteriorate at the worst possible moment (when all the local vets are closed!).

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

 

[Veggies Galore]

one of my sows was like this last weekend. She was seen by a vet and responded well to antibiotics and anti inflammatey medication.

 

[helen105281]

I agree that he needs the vet to rule out a URI.

 

[Sarah Hall]

Just a quick update! Teemo seems perfect today! No noisy breathing at all, still behaving normally, and he's currently having a big munch on some lettuce! I guess it was just some hay or dust in his nose, and I'm thinking he must have done a big sneeze overnight which cleared it!

I'm going to be keeping a close eye on him just in case, but everything seems good now.

 

[Sue_P]

Pretty Fat used to have sessions of noisy breathing, either loud or quietly wheezy and then would clear it with a cough eventually (it would usually last less than an hour).

I’ve had her a few years now but she’s gone proper downhill, for most of the last 24 hours she’s sounded like she’s going to die and I can see by looking at her chest/belly that she’s struggling to breath in and out, she’s putting in a lot of effort. She had an injection of Loxicom last night and 0.2ml of Baytril last night and this morning but she sounds as bad now as she did yesterday although she had a few hours early this morning when she sounded quiet. Do you think she’s on the right meds? The vet didn’t seem very rodent-savy and he said he didn’t have any other suitable meds in stock. I’ve had a quick browse of old threads on here and some people are saying Baytril made no difference and they switched to other stuff after a few days.

 

[Sue_P]

Up-date on my rodent: - After just over a day and a half after getting her Loxicom injection and starting on the Baytril she seems absolutely fine now. Are they supposed to improve like that? Go from sounding like they're dying to looking perfectly healthy? I'd have expected the noise to get quieter over a longer period, not just vanish.