Coughing

[mls18]

Hi! My 6 month male guinea pig is making weird noises. Hes acting normal but he makes this weird cough (it's not a normal cough), and his squeaking is weird. The coughing started a few days ago but he's coughing more and more often. I don't use bedding (only for a tiny section) so i don't think it is dust. Does he have a cold? my other guinea pig isent caughing and i make sure to keep the temperature over 17 celsius (Its uasully a few ceclius more.). could it be from using his voice too much? When he squeaks it sounds like he's loosing his voice but i don't know why he's caughing. He squeeks verryyy often so i feel like that would be likely. Could someone please tell me what it could be?

 

[Siikibam]

I think your best bet would be to have him checked out at the vet.

 

[mls18]

I think your best bet would be to have him checked out at the vet.

Ok thanks! Its very hard to get a vet appointment where i am, how urgent do you think it is?

 

[Engel]

Personally I'd get him checked at the vets. I'm not 100% sure what it could be. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon with some ideas.

Honestly I'd get it checked asap. We can't say exactly what it is, but it could be respiratory related or something lodged in his throat?

 

[mls18]

Personally I'd get him checked at the vets. I'm not 100% sure what it could be. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon with some ideas.

Honestly I'd get it checked asap. We can't say exactly what it is, but it could be respiratory related or something lodged in his throat?

Is there any way a caugh could not require a vet check? or is there always something wrong? I think i will bring him but it's very expensive so i want to be sure.

 

[mls18]

I saw online that upper respiratory problems are common in newly adopted guiena pigs, does anyone know why that is?

 

[Engel]

I saw online that upper respiratory problems are common in newly adopted guiena pigs, does anyone know why that is?

I'd imagine stress.
I don't know if this is the same with guinea pigs but in rats they have a naturally occurring bacteria in their resp tract that can cause issues if the immune system goes down either because of other illness or stress.

Losing voice or hoarse voice is associated with URI so not something you can fix yourself.

Anything that concerns you ideally needs to go to be seen by a vet as we can not say what is wrong

 

[mls18]

Ok thank you so much!

I'd imagine stress.
I don't know if this is the same with guinea pigs but in rats they have a naturally occurring bacteria in their resp tract that can cause issues if the immune system goes down either because of other illness or stress.

Losing voice or hoarse voice is associated with URI so not something you can fix yourself.

Anything that concerns you ideally needs to go to be seen by a vet as we can not say what is wrong

 

[mls18]

If he has a URI could he be contagious?

 

[Engel]

If he has a URI could he be contagious?

Potentially, but in all honesty I don't know. I have no experience with resp issues with piggies, only rats, so I can't say. I believe that it depends on what is causing the URI. As I think (for the most part anyway) URIs in pigs are caused by bacteria like streptococcus and bordetella so can be transmitted to other piggies. But please don't take this as gospel as my knowledge on this is very limited.

I'm sure Wiebke will come along and shed some light on it and advise you further. But I'd definitely take him to see a vet.

 

[mls18]

Potentially, but in all honesty I don't know. I have no experience with resp issues with piggies, only rats, so I can't say. I believe that it depends on what is causing the URI. As I think (for the most part anyway) URIs in pigs are caused by bacteria like streptococcus and bordetella so can be transmitted to other piggies. But please don't take this as gospel as my knowledge on this is very limited.

I'm sure Wiebke will come along and shed some light on it and advise you further. But I'd definitely take him to see a vet.

Ok thank you so much for your help!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Guinea pigs don’t get viral colds. They can bacterial respiratory infections - URI is a broad term but can be caused by different bacteria.

Coughing can sometimes be because of hay or bedding dust, eating too fast or other environmental factors but it’s best to always see a vet first to rule out a medical issue. We obviously cannot judge why your piggy is coughing.

Yes URIs can be contagious but, depending on the bacteria in play, in a healthy companion piggy with a fully working immune system can fight it off. Its very common to see one piggy get a URI but the companion remains perfectly fine. Therefore, you do not usually need to separate them if one piggy has a URI

New environments, stress etc can cause a piggy to pick up a bacterial infection.

 

[mls18]

Guinea pigs don’t get viral colds. They can bacterial respiratory infections - URI is a broad term but can be caused by different bacteria.

Coughing can sometimes be because of hay or bedding dust, eating too fast or other environmental factors but it’s best to always see a vet first to rule out a medical issue. We obviously cannot judge why your piggy is coughing.

Yes URIs can be contagious but, depending on the bacteria in play, in a healthy companion piggy with a fully working immune system can fight it off. Its very common to see one piggy get a URI but the companion remains perfectly fine. Therefore, you do not usually need to separate them if one piggy has a URI

New environments, stress etc can cause a piggy to pick up a bacterial infection.

Ok thank you so much! What if i have a senior guinea pig, should i seperate them? I dont want to risk him getting sick since his immune system isent the best due to his age.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok thank you so much! What if i have a senior guinea pig, should i seperate them? I dont want to risk him getting sick since his immune system isent the best due to his age.

I would get him checked by a vet and take it from there. There is always a bit of a balance as you don’t want to separate piggies unnecessarily - separating them causes them stress which in turn can lower the immune system further. Generally speaking, you don’t separate piggies at all when one is ill. If your young piggy does have something, then your older piggy has already been exposed to it.
If you were to carry out a medical separation, while most well bonded piggies would go back together again (you’d have to go through the neutral territory reintroduction process again), sometimes it can cause tensions which breaks the bond.

 

[mls18]

I would get him checked by a vet and take it from there. There is always a bit of a balance as you don’t want to separate piggies unnecessarily - separating them causes them stress which in turn can lower the immune system further. Generally speaking, you don’t separate piggies at all when one is ill. If your young piggy does have something, then your older piggy has already been exposed to it.
If you were to carry out a medical separation, while most well bonded piggies would go back together again (you’d have to go through the neutral territory reintroduction process again), sometimes it can cause tensions which breaks the bond.

Oh ok thank you so much! I have them seperated right now so ill put them back together.

 

[mls18]

Hes doing fine now. I think I was just worried for no reason! I'm pretty sure the coughing was just from dust or something because it stopped now. Thanks everyone for all the help I really appreciate it!