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Crackling sound - vet can't find anything wrong

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SpiritedAway

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My piggy (4.5 years) has been making a weird crackling noise for about 6 days. 3 days ago I took her to the vets but obviously as soon as I was in the building she stopped 🙄 and the started again the next day. The vet did a full check up and said her lungs sounded healthy, teeth and ears looked good, couldn't feel any bladder stones,no nasal congestion etc she's eating as normal, drinking enough, and poo is normal. She gave her some injections just in case and the day after the crackling sounded better but now it's back to how it was 6 days ago. Besides this she seems completely fine.
I'm probably more worried as her cage mate died 4 days ago and she went from absolutely fine, no visible issues, to having had a stroke whilst I was at work and died a few hours later - I didn't even get time to get her to a vet.

Has anyone come across this before with crackling sounds but nothing else seems to be wrong?
 
Sometimes piggies get dust from hay or bedding into the nose and make crackling sounds for a while.
Does she make these sounds all the time or just from time to time? When eating?
Do you trust your vet to be experienced with guinea pigs?

One of my girls makes crackling sounds from time to time as well. The vet didn't find anything except that he thinks that her nose is a bit short. He is very experienced with guinea pigs and I trust him.
But crackling breathing can also be the sign of an infection. So if you don't trust your vet completely, mabe you could get a second opinion.
 
I have one guinea pig who regularly gets snuffly/crackly but there’s no underlying cause - just narrowed airways. Are you weighing once a day at the same time? That would be a good way to check if she’s eating enough.
 
She's definitely eating enough as I'm putting the same amount of dry/hay/veg down as when I had 2 and she's eating it all.
I trust this vet as it's an exotic animal vets but I am tempted to take her back Monday but these responses are helping.
We have some lovely weather today so put her in her run outside and the noise stopped.
 
my 2yo sow has this too. she also pretended everything was fine once at the vets, lol! turns out she just has a cold and now her sister has caught it :/. all the vet did was give me vitamin c powder so she can fight it off herself, you can buy it on amazon I'm pretty sure. do you have a video of her making this sound? ill see if i can find the video of mine doing it as it may be similar.
 
If you lift her to your ear, you can sometimes decipher whether the sound is coming from the nose or from the chest.
It’s not totally conclusive but if it is coming from the nose it can often be just an obstruction which is cleared by a sneeze.
Is that clearing by a sneeze ever occurring with her?
As i say it’s not conclusive as a blocked nose from a respiratory infection will also cause audible breathing

As hay has to be provided in unlimited amounts, hay intake can never be gauged by eye - the only way to monitor hay intake is via the routine weekly weight checks, then switching to daily when there are health concerns.
 
bagel said:
my 2yo sow has this too. she also pretended everything was fine once at the vets, lol! turns out she just has a cold and now her sister has caught it :/. all the vet did was give me vitamin c powder so she can fight it off herself, you can buy it on amazon I'm pretty sure. do you have a video of her making this sound? ill see if i can find the video of mine doing it as it may be similar.
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Guinea pigs do not get colds - rather concerning that a vet had told you that it is a cold.
They get bacterial respiratory infections that can often require antibiotics. An untreated or under-treated URI can become a problem with long term effects.
Just something to keep a very close eye on.

Vitamin c should only ever be given in a short two week course to boost the immune system. Vitamin c should not be supplemented for any longer than this due to the issues it can cause (then needing to be weaned off vit c very carefully so as to not cause health issues).
 
Thank you all. I weighed her this morning and will keep weighing her for a while to double check, but fingers crossed I think it's passed whatever it was. Since she went out in the garden yesterday she's stopped and it's not come back. I've read up on URI though and if I notice anything I'll take her back to the vets.
I've just introduced her new cage mate and they are currently popcorning around the living room and seems in good spirits today ❤️
 
SpiritedAway said:
Thank you all. I weighed her this morning and will keep weighing her for a while to double check, but fingers crossed I think it's passed whatever it was. Since she went out in the garden yesterday she's stopped and it's not come back. I've read up on URI though and if I notice anything I'll take her back to the vets.
I've just introduced her new cage mate and they are currently popcorning around the living room and seems in good spirits today ❤️
Click to expand...
that’s wonderful to hear, glad she’s okay 🙏🏻😁
 
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