Upper respitory infection?

[Bubble64]

I have 4 board altogether living in 2 pairs. Sparky (aged 5) I have noticed a couple of things. He has a runny nose, I've noticed him sneezing and he is drinking way more water than usual. I' definitely going to book him a vet appointment ASAP but in thr meantime was wondering what this could be? His cage mate Jamie had an upper respitory infection a while ago but all we could hear was breathing difficulty. Any ideas on what it might be or if it will be as simple as a course of anti-biotics? Also, are these types of illnesses more common in older boys? My older 2 didnt experience anything like this when they were younger, and my younger 2 (aged 3 and 2) havent experienced anything like this either. I'm hoping Sparky will be all good soon!

 

[Wiebke]

I have 4 board altogether living in 2 pairs. Sparky (aged 5) I have noticed a couple of things. He has a runny nose, I've noticed him sneezing and he is drinking way more water than usual. I' definitely going to book him a vet appointment ASAP but in thr meantime was wondering what this could be? His cage mate Jamie had an upper respitory infection a while ago but all we could hear was breathing difficulty. Any ideas on what it might be or if it will be as simple as a course of anti-biotics? Also, are these types of illnesses more common in older boys? My older 2 didnt experience anything like this when they were younger, and my younger 2 (aged 3 and 2) havent experienced anything like this either. I'm hoping Sparky will be all good soon!

Hi

Is your boy sneezing constantly several times an hour over the course of hours or has he just had a major sneezing fit (i.e something stuck in his nose, pollen etc.)? Sneezing is not the most common sign for the onset of a respiratory infection. Have you trained a fan or air con unit directly onto the cage in recent hotter days?
Jumps in temperature and humidity can influence the water intake. Before you think illness, you always need to rule out/in climate related aspects; that also goes for heating coming on.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

Contains a list of illnesses related to persistently increased water intake:
All About Drinking, Bottles and Dehydration

Please switch to monitoring the food intake by weighing daily on your kitchen scales first thing in the morning. This guide explains the different health monitoring methods, what each does and cannot do and how to interpret any weight loss not by numbers but what it means individually to your piggy and when you need to step in with feeding support.
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support

 

[Bubble64]

Thank you. He hasnt been sneezing constantly which is a good sign but mainly the runny nose I am worried about. We have had a fan and made sure the temp has stayed pretty much the same. His weight is normal too which is good but yeah mainky the runny nose I am worried about.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. He hasnt been sneezing constantly which is a good sign but mainly the runny nose I am worried about. We have had a fan and made sure the temp has stayed pretty much the same. His weight is normal too which is good but yeah mainky the runny nose I am worried about.

Have you trained the fan directly on the cage?

 

[OM91]

Fans and air con have been a saving grace for our little one.

He had been hooting uncomfortably at home but every time we got him to the vet, he suddenly improved.

We realised that the air conditioning in the car and at the vet improved his symptoms. The heat indoors was likely to be causing the issue.

Our exotics vet suggested that the heat could be causing inflammation in his nose, hence the hooting.

As of this morning, with Metacam, Baytril and daily nebulisers upped to twice instead of once and an air conditioning unit, we haven't heard a single hoot.

Hope this helps your little one.