Strange Wheezing And Head Twitches

[Auster]

Hey all, could really use some advice!
My boy guinea, Ralis, was making some strange sounds last night while eating his lettuce, and again this afternoon while eating his treats. It is like a wheezing sound and comes in really short irregular bursts. Last night he was twitching his head strangely while eating the lettuce too, like sudden jerks. He has also seemed more agitated than normal. He is still pooping and peeing, and eating quite happily, but with possibly a little less enthusiasm than before.
He was a rescue piggy and the RSPCA had no idea how old he was, but he has always had a slight wheezy chest that two different vets have cleared as being nothing to worry about so we just thought it was a hallmark of what he had been through previously (he is covered in scars and has clearly had a rough past but is a perfect sweet little gentleman), like scar tissue on the lungs from old illnesses.
We are taking him to the vets in a couple of hours, but could really use some second opinions on what could be going on.

Thanks!

(P.S. no, I'm not mistaking popcorning for this. I know his popcorns and these aren't them)

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry for your worries. Have you considered placing a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that helps to ease the wheeziness, especially in this cold spell when the radiators dry out the indoors air even more than usual? Guinea pig airways are very small for their body size. The wheeziness can be the result of long term damage from a pre-rescue not or undertreated URI (I had one piggy with that that took two years and a very good vet with a VERY good stethoscope to diagnose) or it can be a result of dry air, air refreshers, hay dust etc.

Please brace yourself that your piggy may hold its breath at the vets and not show any symptoms; I've played that game with above mentioned Fraid and some other piggies that were mildly affected, like yours. But it is good that you are checking in case there is an issue. Please also ask your vet to the check the ears as well as the heart (the latter they are usually doing). it may just be as a very observant owner that there is not yet enough for a vet to diagnose on.

 

[Auster]

I am very sorry for your worries. Have you considered placing a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that helps to ease the wheeziness, especially in this cold spell when the radiators dry out the indoors air even more than usual? Guinea pig airways are very small for their body size. The wheeziness can be the result of long term damage from a pre-rescue not or undertreated URI (I had one piggy with that that took two years and a very good vet with a VERY good stethoscope to diagnose) or it can be a result of dry air, air refreshers, hay dust etc.

Please brace yourself that your piggy may hold its breath at the vets and not show any symptoms; I've played that game with above mentioned Fraid and some other piggies that were mildly affected, like yours. But it is good that you are checking in case there is an issue. Please also ask your vet to the check the ears as well as the heart (the latter they are usually doing). it may just be as a very observant owner that there is not yet enough for a vet to diagnose on.

Thank you for the advice! We're back from the vets now. She checked his breathing and heart (he DID hold his breath haha but luckily she was prepared for it and knew to wait/encourage him to breathe by giving him something to sniff at) and couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. She felt all down his body and tummy and again didn't find anything of concern. I also asked her to check his ears on your advice and there's nothing down there but a bit of normal wax. All in all she couldn't find anything worrying but has given us some Metacam to give him in small doses for a few days, which will hopefully calm any kind of inflammation he has that we couldn't find. If he doesn't improve or gets worse we're to take him back in 2/3 days.

We do suspect he has lasting damage in his airways due to previous infections so I've always kept a really close eye on him in case it caused problems later. Hopefully he'll respond to the Metacam and be fine without another vet trip. Putting a bowl of steaming water nearby is a good idea actually! We try to keep the temperature pretty constant in the house for them, and we don't use much fragrance/air fresheners at all, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a go.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for the advice! We're back from the vets now. She checked his breathing and heart (he DID hold his breath haha but luckily she was prepared for it and knew to wait/encourage him to breathe by giving him something to sniff at) and couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. She felt all down his body and tummy and again didn't find anything of concern. I also asked her to check his ears on your advice and there's nothing down there but a bit of normal wax. All in all she couldn't find anything worrying but has given us some Metacam to give him in small doses for a few days, which will hopefully calm any kind of inflammation he has that we couldn't find. If he doesn't improve or gets worse we're to take him back in 2/3 days.

We do suspect he has lasting damage in his airways due to previous infections so I've always kept a really close eye on him in case it caused problems later. Hopefully he'll respond to the Metacam and be fine without another vet trip. Putting a bowl of steaming water nearby is a good idea actually! We try to keep the temperature pretty constant in the house for them, and we don't use much fragrance/air fresheners at all, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a go.

See whether the steam is easing his breathing. If yes, then you may be looking at eventually using a nebuliser as he gets older and the wheezing breathing becomes more frequent and worse. It is not quite uncommon in piggies, especially those that have suffered untreated or undertreated respiratory infections earlier in life. Until, then a humidifier or even a just bowl of steaming water can make a real difference.