Whole Body Moves When Breathing

[Disaidra]

I've had my two guinea pigs about 3 and a half weeks. I noticed early on that Ruby's whole body sort of bobs as she breathes, and her sides move too. She's done this since we got her, and I thought it was just how she was, but now I'm worried. This is a stark contrast to Luna who is almost entirely still most of the time apart from a slight nose wiggle. She was 8 weeks old when we got her. We got them from a rescue, so I assumed if she had any obvious health issues when we got her the rescue would have spotted them. All the mentions of the bobbing online seem to be due to illness though, and I've got myself all worked up about it.

She's the more hyperactive of my two pigs. She's not off her food and she's certainly not lethargic since she spends a lot of time shooting around the cage. I thought she had a snotty nose during the first week, but her nose is definitely clear now, and there's no weeping eyes either. Her weight seems within a reasonable range too. She was hooting/wheezing for a bit yesterday, but I think it was just some dust or hay because it eventually went away and hasn't come back (I've been in the house near them most of the day). That was also the first time we'd heard her have any sort of obstruction. They were on paper bedding for the first week but they're now on p@h dust extracted wood chips.

We're planning on taking them both to the vets next week, just for a general check up, but I wonder if she needs more immediate checking out.

 

[Wiebke]

If she is fine in herself, eating well and active, then you can wait until next week.
Here is our recommended vets locator: Guinea Pig Vet Locator

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

If she's just been running around I'm sure she's fine, but worth checking like you say

Also I would recommend switching from woodshavings as it's a bit too dusty for small animals and can cause respiratory issues. There are some great threads on here for alternative substrate and bedding that might be able to help

 

[Disaidra]

If she's just been running around I'm sure she's fine, but worth checking like you say

Also I would recommend switching from woodshavings as it's a bit too dusty for small animals and can cause respiratory issues. There are some great threads on here for alternative substrate and bedding that might be able to help

Yeah, I'm looking at either fleece or aubiose at the moment. The shavings are mostly just a stop gap.

 

[Charlotte behan]

One of my piggies was having this bobbing issue last week, however, unlike yours Jackson wasn't eating as much and was very inactive. When I took him to the vets it was due to constipation.

I'm sure whatever is wrong with yours will be nothing serious. If theyre eating drinking and running around then thats a good sign so dont get too worked up.

also to do with the wood shavings, I switched to using 20% wood shavings and 80% 'easichick', and ive noticed a difference in their breathing.