Coughing Or Retching?

[PirateZelda]

We were just about to leave the flat today when we heard Artemis making an odd sound. Look round and he's jerking his head forward and making a sound like someone trying to be sick. I know guineas can't actually be sick and it ends up in their lungs (heard from someone - please correct if wrong), but I also wonder if he just ate too fast and started coughing instead? It was only for about a minute and when I took him out in a concerned panic he's stopped and hasn't started again in the last 5-10 minutes. Should I be concerned and take him to the vet or should I just monitor and see if it was a one off?

Included a photo of him here because he's beautiful ❤

Thanks so much for the help in advance

Rachel x

 

[Hoppity.K]

Hello, what a handsome chap Artemis is . My 3 girls eat so fast that sometimes it makes them cough but I've never seen them jerk their head. I’m not very experienced I’m afraid (sorry). Have you heard this only the once & is he otherwise well? Are his poops ok? Maybe monitor him especially when he’s eating. I wish I could tell my piggies that there’s no need to rush or be greedy when they eat! Hope this helps a little. He’s a lovely chap & lucky to have such a caring piggy slave x

 

[PirateZelda]

Hello, what a handsome chap Artemis is . My 3 girls eat so fast that sometimes it makes them cough but I've never seen them jerk their head. I’m not very experienced I’m afraid (sorry). Have you heard this only the once & is he otherwise well? Are his poops ok? Maybe monitor him especially when he’s eating. I wish I could tell my piggies that there’s no need to rush or be greedy when they eat! Hope this helps a little. He’s a lovely chap & lucky to have such a caring piggy slave x

So far it's just the one time. He's been fine ever since. Poops are completely normal, eating normally, acting normally. He's munching on some hay right now. Can't describe the head movement properly - it wasn't so much that he was pushing his head forward, more that when he coughed it made his body jutter a little and his head went forward a bit. Not an active movement.

Thanks for saying he's handsome do love him. His brother is very short haired so I love the tuft Artemis has on his head x

 

[Lady Kelly]

Piggies have a reflex that, when they are being greedy and eating too fast, makes them make a coughing noise. Usually its just once or twice but I have witnessed with my very greedy Daisy where the sound has been persistent and continuous. I checked her mouth to make sure nothing was stuck and then syringed a very small amount of water to help if anything was stuck at the back. It calmed down a lot and I checked her breathing etc the next day and she was perfectly fine. I don't think she's scoffed food as quick since so probably learnt her lesson. Keep an eye on him, how well he is eating and have a good listen to his breathing but hopefully it was just a bit of food going down to quick

 

[PirateZelda]

Piggies have a reflex that, when they are being greedy and eating too fast, makes them make a coughing noise. Usually its just once or twice but I have witnessed with my very greedy Daisy where the sound has been persistent and continuous. I checked her mouth to make sure nothing was stuck and then syringed a very small amount of water to help if anything was stuck at the back. It calmed down a lot and I checked her breathing etc the next day and she was perfectly fine. I don't think she's scoffed food as quick since so probably learnt her lesson. Keep an eye on him, how well he is eating and have a good listen to his breathing but hopefully it was just a bit of food going down to quick

Thanks so much for this info. I'll keep an eye on him but it's been a few hours now and he's been great sleeping and eating like he normally does x

 

[VickiA]

Sounds like us over stuffed himself. One of my piggies is so greedy and eats so fast that she often sounds like she is choking. I’m used to it now, just wish she would slow down in her eating.

 

[PirateZelda]

Sounds like us over stuffed himself. One of my piggies is so greedy and eats so fast that she often sounds like she is choking. I’m used to it now, just wish she would slow down in her eating.

Thank you for telling me this. The more I hear it, the more I relax about it x

 

[flowerfairy]

Jingle does this when she eats fast, no head jerking though. Caramel did it the other day too.

 

[DM030819]

@PirateZelda My Jon Snow does it. It sounds and looks like a dog does when they're going to be sick.

Jon has a digestive issue and some foods make him do it. He can't eat dill or tomato. It's nothing to panic about, it's worth keeping an eye on to see if it happens again but it doesn't need a rush to the vet.

Hopefully it was just him eating too fast and it doesn't happen again.

 

[Merab]

I can add nothing to the advice given but just wanted to say that is one handsome piggy

 

[PirateZelda]

I can add nothing to the advice given but just wanted to say that is one handsome piggy

Thank you of the two he's definitely the mummy's boy as well haha x

 

[PirateZelda]

@PirateZelda My Jon Snow does it. It sounds and looks like a dog does when they're going to be sick.

Jon has a digestive issue and some foods make him do it. He can't eat dill or tomato. It's nothing to panic about, it's worth keeping an eye on to see if it happens again but it doesn't need a rush to the vet.

Hopefully it was just him eating too fast and it doesn't happen again.

Yeah that was exactly what it reminded me of - a dog being sick. Seems to have been a one off though so I'm relaxing a lot more. Thanks for the info on this x

 

[PirateZelda]

Jingle does this when she eats fast, no head jerking though. Caramel did it the other day too.

Think describing it as "head jerking" wasn't the best on my part as someone below you said, it's more like how a dog acts when they're being sick. But glad to hear other piggies do this and it's just eating too fast. I worry so much when anything seems strange x

 

[flowerfairy]

Thought of this thread this morning. Caramel gave an almighty cough when he was sitting under his ikea dolls bed chillin' hopefully he had just eaten something.