Urgent Help Required !

[Coco&Cookie99]

My Guinea pig is making a strange breathing noise. It's 1am and the vets want £450 just to see him. Appointment booked for 08.30am don't know what to do !

 

[Truffolo]

Welcome to the forum That is a very high vet fee. Why is your vet charging so much?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this

Given you mention it was 1am, was it an out of hours vet you called? It is normal for them to have very high consultation charges.

In terms of caring for your piggy, switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him every morning so you can gauge hay intake more closely. Step in with syringe feeding if he has lost weight.

I’ve added our emergency care guides below

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck at the vets today.

 

[sam1]

Hope the vets goes well!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

I sincerely hope that it was just a mild temporary obstruction in the very narrow nasal passages and not in the chest.

In an emergency situation at difficult times, you can always hold your ear against the side of the face/nose, then the throat and lastly against the chest to see where the noise is coming from.

Nasal passages are very narrow and small, so even a tiny speck of hay dust or pollen can cause some rather wild breathing noises. But if the noise is coming from the nose, it is not an emergency. Usually it stops after a while/a few hours at most, often with a good old nose clearing sneeze.
Any rasping or crackling from the throat is a symptom of an upper respiratory infecting and should be seen by a vet during normal opening hours.
Any clicking from the chest could be an indication of pneumonia. This should be seen by an out-of-hours vet or (if you cannot afford the sky high fees plus medication these days) then please call your normal vet first thing in the morning. They usually have some emergency slots during the day and you want to bag one of them.

You may find these guides here very helpful in case of any issues - especially when you find a problem after hours and need answers quickly. You may want bookmark them so you can find them easily again whenever needed.
- First Aid: Immediate Care Measures and Non-medication Products
- Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
- Owners' Comprehensive Helpful and Supportive Information Collection

 

[Coco&Cookie99]

Hi

I sincerely hope that it was just a mild temporary obstruction in the very narrow nasal passages and not in the chest.

In an emergency situation at difficult times, you can always hold your ear against the side of the face/nose, then the throat and lastly against the chest to see where the noise is coming from.

Nasal passages are very narrow and small, so even a tiny speck of hay dust or pollen can cause some rather wild breathing noises. But if the noise is coming from the nose, it is not an emergency. Usually it stops after a while/a few hours at most, often with a good old nose clearing sneeze.
Any rasping or crackling from the throat is a symptom of an upper respiratory infecting and should be seen by a vet during normal opening hours.
Any clicking from the chest could be an indication of pneumonia. This should be seen by an out-of-hours vet or (if you cannot afford the sky high fees plus medication these days) then please call your normal vet first thing in the morning. They usually have some emergency slots during the day and you want to bag one of them.

You may find these guides here very helpful in case of any issues - especially when you find a problem after hours and need answers quickly. You may want bookmark them so you can find them easily again whenever needed.
- First Aid: Immediate Care Measures and Non-medication Products
- Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
- Owners' Comprehensive Helpful and Supportive Information Collection

 

[Coco&Cookie99]

Thank you for all your replies ! Happy to say Coco is safe and well respitory infection, given a course of antibiotics and anti inflamatries and on the mend nicely.

It's possible that a glade air freshner caused this ! ?
Has anyone else come accross pigs breathing problems when using air freshners in house ?
I've binned mine !

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m glad he is ok

Air fresheners, perfumes, essential oils, candles etc should never be used around guinea pigs as they can cause respiratory issues

 

[thewheakybeans]

Thank you for all your replies ! Happy to say Coco is safe and well respitory infection, given a course of antibiotics and anti inflamatries and on the mend nicely.

It's possible that a glade air freshner caused this ! ?
Has anyone else come accross pigs breathing problems when using air freshners in house ?
I've binned mine !

Yes, artificial scents in the home made my piggy Cino’s breathing worse (and mine!) so we got rid of all that toxic stuff! I only wash their fleece bedding with white vinegar too (not strong smelling washing powders and fabric conditioners).

 

[Merab]

Glad Coco is ok.
Hope you’re ok too after the fright you had, not to mention that vet bill