Strange Wheezing Noise when Breathing

[Freya1234]

Hi, my three year old guinea pig Smokey has started wheezing when he is wandering around the cage (but it only appears when he is sniffing something not necessarily just breathing). I have previously noticed him wheezing a but it was when i pick him up and he is closer to my ear but when we took him to the vets and she checked his chest she said that she couldn’t hear anything so suspected that it could be upper respiratory so gave us some medicine and the problem didn‘t seem to get better but as it hadn’t got worse and i could only hear it when he was close to my ear and being held i thought that it could have been the way I was holding him. Today I came to check up on them and he came to see me at the bars trying to sniff me and I noticed the wheezing noise, and due to the circumstances at the moment not sure if he should be taken to the vet as they are only open for emergencies so thought i would ask here to see if anyone has any advice. He lives with one other male indoors(who has shown no sign of wheezing). I tried to attach a video but it appears that I can only attach photos, if anyone knows if there is a way i can attach the video from my device that would be helpful aswell.
Thank You in advance

 

[Piggies&buns]

You will need to upload your video to something like YouTube and then post a link to it here

How long ago did you take him to the vet when they said his chest sounded ok?

 

[Freya1234]

It was just before Christmas last year, so about 6 months ago. Thank you for the advice on the video I am going to see if I can upload it to youtube.

 

[Freya1234]

This is all the videos that I have taken of him wheezing and I have just put them into one video, hopefully the link works.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Thank you for uploading. I can't hear much in the way of breathing sounds, but I would recommend to have his lungs and heart checked as he is showing signs of diaphragmic breathing (very visible heaving breathing on the sides). This is usually a sign that he struggles with breathing.

 

[Freya1234]

Okay thank you, he is quite a big guinea pig (weighs about 1.2kg) and I have tried to cut down how much he eats but he just ends up stealing his cage mates food. Do you think his weight could be a factor with him struggling to breathe?

 

[Wiebke]

Okay thank you, he is quite a big guinea pig (weighs about 1.2kg) and I have tried to cut down how much he eats but he just ends up stealing his cage mates food. Do you think his weight could be a factor with him struggling to breathe?

He doesn't look grossly overweight to me. The average weight range for about 80% of pet guinea pigs is 800-1300g.

Here is our guide for how you can check on the individual BMI (size/weight ratio) of a guinea pig at any age; see the chapter about the 'heft': Weight - Monitoring and Management

Here is our comprehensive food guide that looks at all food groups in detail as many people tend to overfeed pellets and veg in the mistaken idea that they make the mainstay of the diet: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

My suspicion is that it could be either an untreated asymptomatic URI that is going on the lungs or problems with the heart (which would be genetic).

 

[Freya1234]

Thank you, I will try to get him to the vets to see if I can get his heart and lungs checked and will keep an eye on him as for some reason he has now stopped wheezing!?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, I will try to get him to the vets to see if I can get his heart and lungs checked and will keep an eye on him as for some reason he has now stopped wheezing!?

It is likely just a temporary little obstruction in the nose, like some hay dust etc. Guinea pig airways are very narrow and they don't use their mouth much for breathing so you even the tiniest blockage comes out as an often rather alarming noise.

It is more the flanks that concern me in your video than the breathing noise.

 

[Freya1234]

Thank you so much for your help, I wonder if the wheezing noise was related to the flanks as I looked back at the video and can see what you mean. However, since the wheezing has stopped he seems to not have the flanks and I can just see his side going in and out lightly. So maybe it was something like hay dust as you suggested but I will keep an eye on him and if it happens again or he seems to be having difficulty breathing, contact the vet.