Respiratory issues last night but appears fine today. Should I still see a vet?

[Arizona]

About twelve hours ago, my 4.7 year old guinea pig started making crackling noises and continued for over four hours. It was coming from her nose and got worse whenever she moved around. She barely ate or drank anything during that time. I picked her up and could feel her breathing rate was rapid and irregular.

I searched that this could be an early URI and needs vet attention, but nothing was open at the time so I had to wait until morning. I changed her blankets and went to bed. I wake up and she has stopped making the noise. There are little to no poops, but she has been eating and drinking this past hour I’ve been awake. She seemed to be a bit down last night, but now she is acting normal.

I am not sure what to do. I want to go see a vet, but I feel like I have nothing to show them since she is not making the noise anymore and there is virtually no other evidence. How are they supposed to make any diagnosis? I don’t want to spend $200 to not be told whether or not she’s okay.

Please offer suggestions. Should I wait to see if the noise starts up again? Maybe wait and see if she starts pooping now that she has recently eaten? She lost her cage mate a few years ago to a URI and GI stasis happening concurrently — I know how quickly these things can progress.

Thank you.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I would advise you to step in with some support feeding. Poops are 1-2 days behind food intake so no poops last night may well have been reducing hay intake for longer than just last night.
for longer than you think.
It means any food from today won’t produce poops until tomorrow or the next day and by then if she still isn’t eating enough you would have lost days in assisting her.

I would also advise you to switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh her each morning so you can monitor her hay intake and any syringe feeding more closely. Hay intake cannot be monitored by eye. You are looking to ensure she is kept stable each day.

Noises coming from the nose can generally be attributed to an obstruction which often clears with a sneeze. Personally in this case I would not rely on that given the seeming lack of appetite also and would indeed go to the vet.

I hope she is ok

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