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On and off wheezing

tatals

tatals

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hey, guys! It's been some time.

I need your advice. One of my boys, Shoyu, started a loud wheezing on Saturday. The alarm went off in my head, I was suddenly worried about a URI. I kept observing him, and after a while he sneezed and the wheezing disappeared. Since he presented no other symptoms, I just thought it was maybe something stuck in his nose. Life moved on, no changes.

But, yesterday night, around 3 or 4 am, there he was wheezing again. It disappeared after a while. No noises until now: it's back again, on and off (- it's 12:44AM here.)

He has absolutely no other symptoms. Eats and drinks properly. Poops are fine. Regular breathing. No sneezing (just that once). No coughing. No crusty eyes. No discharge. Eyes completely normal. Coat is shining, and he's been grooming as usual. No lethargy.

We will have to see a vet, but the ones we have here are not cavy savy, so I'm taking all the information I can. In your experience, can it be some kind of allergy? Their bedding consists of pee pads and fleece. Their hay is grown locally, and they are finishing a bale they have been eating for a few months, so it's nothing new. I don't smoke, and there is absolutely nothing scented around.

Any thoughts are appreciated.
 
I've uploaded a few short videos I made yesterday and before to YouTube just so you can see his general condition.

The first one shows a bit of the wheezing (- I wasn't able to get more than that, sorry) from the day before yesterday.


The other two are just me having fun looking at them while cleaning the cage, but they show his general behavior:

 
Hi!

Please check for possible irritants in your house and change the hay bag or brand, in case it is hay dust sensitivity.
True allergies are rare, but a few piggies can also be sensitive to pollen.
If they have been outside/on the lawn in recent days or have been in a draft, then there is a chance of a URI.

Have your boy vet checked if possible if these symptoms continue but please be aware that he is likely going to suppress any symptoms when out of his comfort zone at the vet's. My own have pulled this trick on me often enough!

You can check yourself with your ear whether the sound is coming from the nose, the throat or the chest/lungs. Guinea pig airways are very narrow and small, so that the least obstruction anywhere is very audible. Anything originating from the throat or chest should be seen by a vet.
 
Thank you, @Wiebke. All the irritants I could think of were the ones I mentioned in the OP. :( Any idea what else could be causing this? There isn't much around them that could trigger an allergy, I think, but you never know... I'm not a very creative investigator, haha. The hay doesn't come in bags, I buy the whole bale from a local farm. They're finishing one right now.

I'll do what you said and check where the sound comes from, that's a great idea! Right now the noise is gone again, just like before. I'll take him to the vet if it happens again.
 
tatals said:
Thank you, @Wiebke. All the irritants I could think of were the ones I mentioned in the OP. :( Any idea what else could be causing this? There isn't much around them that could trigger an allergy, I think, but you never know... I'm not a very creative investigator, haha. The hay doesn't come in bags, I buy the whole bale from a local farm. They're finishing one right now.

I'll do what you said and check where the sound comes from, that's a great idea! Right now the noise is gone again, just like before. I'll take him to the vet if it happens again.
Click to expand...

Unless it is a full-out URI it always difficult to pin down. It can be anything from an irritation, sensitivity to a reservoir of URI.

What you can try is to see whether a bowl of steaming water next to the cage can help during an acute episode. If it does, then mair moisturising may work for you.

It took me 2 years of repeated unsuccessful vet trips and finally a very experienced vet's top notch stethoscope to finally diagnose upper and lower lung disease caused by a not fully healed out URI before she came to me.
PS: Ffraid lived another 2 years without any treatment needed and died not all that far off her estimated 8th birthday.
 
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