Can guinea pigs get hayfever?

[Elephonty]

Woody has recently started getting an irritated nose after laying/ eating his hay which is the same stuff he's had for a year or more. (I changed the hay over to a different type and the same thing happened) He does a couple of big sneezes and then he's completely fine.

Can guinea pigs be allergic to hay? It's not constant like a Uri, he used to have this a lot when he was younger so my vet showed me how to listen to his chest to check and he has no wheezing.

I am wondering if it may be to do with his nasal passages or whether it is hay itself i.e. hayfever that may be the issue. It doesn't seem so affect him at all just seems to irritate him for a couple of seconds when he has to sneeze!

 

[piggl]

I am not sure about hay fever, but it sounds like when he’s digging in his hay he is getting some hay dust or some sort of irritant stuck in his nasal canal. It is a good sign that this doesn’t continue for long and he is able to clear it himself.
Is there any other irritants nearby, such as candles or perfumes. If you use scented detergents they have also been known to upset the guinea pigs sensitive noses, if your piggies are on fleece.

Guinea pigs have very narrow airways, and I have a boy who’s struggles with the same thing you mention. We switched to fleece and double checked our hay was dust extracted, which it was and most is, and his bouts of this are much less frequent.

Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, so most people affected will find this extra difficult in the spring/summer months, but I doubt this would be the issue for your boy.
Does it only happen when he’s digging about in hay?

 

[Elephonty]

I am not sure about hay fever, but it sounds like when he’s digging in his hay he is getting some hay dust or some sort of irritant stuck in his nasal canal. It is a good sign that this doesn’t continue for long and he is able to clear it himself.
Is there any other irritants nearby, such as candles or perfumes. If you use scented detergents they have also been known to upset the guinea pigs sensitive noses, if your piggies are on fleece.

Guinea pigs have very narrow airways, and I have a boy who’s struggles with the same thing you mention. We switched to fleece and double checked our hay was dust extracted, which it was and most is, and his bouts of this are much less frequent.

Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, so most people affected will find this extra difficult in the spring/summer months, but I doubt this would be the issue for your boy.
Does it only happen when he’s digging about in hay?

Yes I suspect it's just where he dives head first into the hay so it gets stuck up his nose .

All scented candles, wax melts etc have been banned as he has scarring on his lungs from a respiratory infection that wasn't treated before he got adopted .

I get my hay from healthy Herby which comes dust extracted but I always shake before adding to the cage to get rid of the small bits and his fleece is washed in non bio which is unscented.

I guess it's just woody being silly with the hay but it does make me panic on occasion as it sounds like he is choking . He loves to lay sandwiched in between the hay with some underneath and some on top which is where the problem lies as he is going straight through the hay to get there