hi there,
i was just wondering what could be wrong with ronald as he has been sneezing a bit for the past few days:{
i was just wondering what could be wrong with ronald as he has been sneezing a bit for the past few days:{
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sneezing
- Thread starter happypiggy
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If he was a lot outside in the warm weather lately, it can well be hayfever.
Keep an eye on him and see whether his breathing stays OK.
Keep an eye on him and see whether his breathing stays OK.
i will keep an eye on him, but do guinea pigs have a regular heart beat because it seems to be iregular:{, its difficult to tell with his happy noises lol
do they have to be wormed?
do they have to be wormed?
I don't worm mine, but you can worm them. It's something to keep in mind when they lose weight without a reason or have been freshly rescued from bad conditions.
You need to be alert when a piggy's breathing sounds crackly (you can't mistake the sound when you hear it, but it is quite upsetting) and take it to the vet within a day, as URI (respitatory infections) can kill quickly!
As far as I know they have a higher heart rate and temperature. They are prey animals, so the smallest bit of stress can send their heart beat up!
You need to be alert when a piggy's breathing sounds crackly (you can't mistake the sound when you hear it, but it is quite upsetting) and take it to the vet within a day, as URI (respitatory infections) can kill quickly!
As far as I know they have a higher heart rate and temperature. They are prey animals, so the smallest bit of stress can send their heart beat up!
Laura-CCC4
Senior Guinea Pig
How often is Ronald sneezing? Is he otherwise healthy? Does he do it when he's burrowing in his hay, or does it seem very random?
Guinea pigs do have a very fast heart rate. An irregular heartbeat is not normal, but due to the speed at which the heart beats it can be relatively "easy" to mistake the normal changes in speed of the heart (increasing when scared, decreasing when relaxed/relieved etc.) for an irregular beat. An experienced vet or rodentologist would need to have a careful listen to him with a stethoscope in order to determine if a heart problem is present.
Worming (or more accurately, the treatment or prevention of intestinal parasites and worms) is generally not considered essential; it is still very much a personal thing. Some people choose to worm with a herbal anti-parasitic (Four Seasons Anti-Parasitic) once a month, others give Ivomec and Panacur every three months, others do nothing. Personally I recommend that guinea pigs who graze outdoors are wormed, and guineas whose fresh vegetables and fruits are not rinsed/washed before feeding. I worm my piggies with Ivomec and Panacur; both very small amounts, just four times a year. I had a number of cases, prior to routinely worming, where some of my pigs lost weight and were unable to maintain weight for no apparent reason. In one case, one of my sows (Jasmine) had been losing around 2oz a week for three weeks; a total loss of around 6oz. At a loss for what to do - she was eating normally, she was healthy, had no symptoms at all other than the weight loss - I decided to give her a single, one-off dose of Panacur. This was enough to stop any more weight loss, and allowed her to gain the weight back that she had lost - whether she had some parasite in her system I'm not sure, but I have no doubt the Panacur solved the problem.
Guinea pigs do have a very fast heart rate. An irregular heartbeat is not normal, but due to the speed at which the heart beats it can be relatively "easy" to mistake the normal changes in speed of the heart (increasing when scared, decreasing when relaxed/relieved etc.) for an irregular beat. An experienced vet or rodentologist would need to have a careful listen to him with a stethoscope in order to determine if a heart problem is present.
Worming (or more accurately, the treatment or prevention of intestinal parasites and worms) is generally not considered essential; it is still very much a personal thing. Some people choose to worm with a herbal anti-parasitic (Four Seasons Anti-Parasitic) once a month, others give Ivomec and Panacur every three months, others do nothing. Personally I recommend that guinea pigs who graze outdoors are wormed, and guineas whose fresh vegetables and fruits are not rinsed/washed before feeding. I worm my piggies with Ivomec and Panacur; both very small amounts, just four times a year. I had a number of cases, prior to routinely worming, where some of my pigs lost weight and were unable to maintain weight for no apparent reason. In one case, one of my sows (Jasmine) had been losing around 2oz a week for three weeks; a total loss of around 6oz. At a loss for what to do - she was eating normally, she was healthy, had no symptoms at all other than the weight loss - I decided to give her a single, one-off dose of Panacur. This was enough to stop any more weight loss, and allowed her to gain the weight back that she had lost - whether she had some parasite in her system I'm not sure, but I have no doubt the Panacur solved the problem.
MrsM
Senior Guinea Pig
According to one of the vets at my surgery (one who seems to know what she's talking about), the heart beat of a guineapig is fast enough that you can just about keep up with it if you count. So, like CCC4 said, it's quite fast.
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he is a healthy piggie, he is still putting on weight, not much but is still putting on weight, he is sneezing very randomly when i hold him.
thanks everyonexxx
thanks everyonexxx
Laura-CCC4
Senior Guinea Pig
Might seem like an odd question - but do you wear perfumes/body sprays? Is there anything on your clothes that might irritate his nose?
alcesterpigs
Adult Guinea Pig
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200 beats per minute. A normal speed, unfortunately, does not always mean a healthy heart.
shazbo
Adult Guinea Pig
i was wondering if they can get hay fever i let mine out other day and bas did a couple of sneezes oh bless my little bas^)^)
Laura-CCC4
Senior Guinea Pig
Shaz - piggies can get hayfever, yes. There is a sticky in this Health section about hayfever explaining symptoms, relief etc. 
C
Cavy_Queen
My piggies both started sneezing when I switched from aspen bedding to Carefresh. Then I switched to Carefresh Ultra and the sneezing stopped. Some piggies are very sensitive to the dust in some brands of bedding, so if the sneezing doesn't go away (and the vet has ruled out a URI) then I'd suggest trying a different bedding as they might be allergic to something in their cage.
I also just had a piggy with a mild URI and she had to be put on antibiotics for two weeks - she was not a happy piggy!
Hope this helps!
Keira
I also just had a piggy with a mild URI and she had to be put on antibiotics for two weeks - she was not a happy piggy!
Hope this helps!
Keira
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