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Soft stools and coughing

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Shellza

Shellza

Adult Guinea Pig
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I've noticed one of my girls coughing the last couple of days. I found out it was Lexi this morning and have noticed there are a lot of soft poos in the cage. I don't know if this could be linked or whether I've just been feeding too much lettuce, but she does seem a bit lethargic this morning. Could this be serious? Should I get her checked out?
I did look into URI, but she doesn't have any of the other symptoms. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Michelle
 
Guinea pigs do coughing from time to time.

Is there anything dusty about? hay? shavings? etc

Your guinea pig hasn't been in contact with another animal that may of had kennel cough as they can catch it.

Check to see whether she is wheezy as there would indicate a possible URI which can be very serious.

Keep off the veg and fruit until her droppings return to normal.

I would go to the vets if problems persist - to be safe.
 
Shellza, can you tell if she is able to eat well? Is she eating her hay as normal?

My initial thought is that there is something going on which has affected the amount (and perhaps the type of foods) she is eating, leading to the soft poops. Unless you have fed much more lettuce than normal, I wouldn't suspect that, it would lead to soft poops but it would not lead to lethargy.
 
I've just given them grass and she's eating that, but I haven't seen her eat anything else yet this morning. She didn't seem to be eating as much hay yesterday either. She was looking a bit puffed up earlier too, but seems normal now.
There are on fleece bedding and the hay doesn't seem particularly dusty.

Thanks for your replies :)
 
Puffed up is a sign of feeling unwell. From previous experience with URI's, that is one of the things that they tend to do.
 
I'm a bit concerned as Lexi is still coughing quite regularly. Her stools are back to normal now, but the cough is quite persistent and none of the other 2 have it. It's not continuous and throughout the day it will go away, she seems to cough more in the mornings. The thing is, she seems well in herself so I don't know if I'm just worrying about nothing, but just want to make sure there isn't anything I should or shouldn't do.
 
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