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Guinea Pig Hooting?

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Lisanjake

Lisanjake

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi Guys, its me again! lol I don't seem to have the best luck with my piggys :(
Anyway, my little one, Luna, was making a hooting sound this morning - my boyfriend got a video as hes got a day of work he luckily heard it!
he said she coughed then stopped making the noise.
she seems fine in herself, jumping around happily squeaking for food. what do you suggest? ive already spent £150 on my other pig this month so money is tight but if I need to take her to the vet I will. its a shame its £35 just for a 10 minute appointment...

 
I could only hear it once then ponies ! but it sounds like my Bella the Bullet ,

if she persists with the hooting perhaps ask your vet if a decongesteant might help
 
hi there poor Luna.
it may just be the start of a respiratory infection, possibly an allergic reaction (maybe to bedding or a dusty batch of hay, air freshener, deodorants, perfumes etc) ,
had she just been eating/drinking? as sometimes they can overindulge a little & something goes down the wrong way & the cough may have been enough just to shift the obstruction.
if it happens again i would get her checked out at the vets, once all of the above have been ruled out it may be worth getting her heart checked out as this can sometimes cause hooting followed by a cough, but don't worry this isn't as drastic as it sounds, there are a few guineas here who have long term meds keeping things under control & it is a manageable condition if treated properly. There are more experienced members than me who can be tagged to give you loads of information & other symptoms on this if that's what it turns out to be. but try the other options first.

I had Ellie an 8yr old heart pig who got raspy when the weather was humid she was given diuretics when needed.

do you have any olbas oil you could put on a cloth near (but out of reach of) the cage? if its an URI it will help clear her airways & assist her breathing.
might be worth giving her some red bell pepper too to up her vitamin c intake, this will help her if she has an URI.
sounds like she's happy enough & if she does it again i would seek a vets advice.

have you tried the vet locator at the top for alternative vets if you're not happy with your current one?

xx
 
Hi Thank you for your reply.
shes eating / drinking fine (she drinks quite a lot at times ive noticed)
As I'm worrying now ive booked her in for a late appointment as I'm busy on a course at work for the rest of the week unfortunately, so I don't want to leave it if it is something bad.

ive recently given her new hay which I haven't bought before - Timothy hay. Wonder if it could be a reaction to that? shes always been a very coughy, noisy kind of pig. but ive had her checked before and the vet said he heard a slight crackling sound but thought nothing of it. that was about 3/4 months ago.
she totally hates being picked up, ive been trying with her a lot more recently but she squeaks like shes in pain everytime I touch her so I feel bad for trying to handle her.
I do like my current one but I didn't ask if this was an exotic vet, as it was a squeezed in appointment I just wanted to take it.

8 years old! WOW that's one old piggy lol :)
ill keep you updated. xx
 
the nearest to me from the vet locator is 1 hour 15 mins away :(

Edit: was reading train times - its actually 40 mins drivex
 
Have you looked at Tiptree Veterinary Centre they have 6 qualifid vets :woot::drool:



sorry about the ponnies , sleep deprevation is kicking in :rant:
 
I am not saying it is but it CAN be a symptom of a heart issue. I would monitor for now and follow the advice above but if you notice any of the following, she will need her heart checking:

Laboured breathing (nodding when breathing)
Rapid breathing
Recurring URI
Blue tinge to nose, lips or ears
Difficult to rouse from sleep
Bumblefoot
Abdominal bloating
 
ahh its a shame its so far from me, tiptree is an hour away... I work in London so I already have to leave early as it takes door to door about 2 hours for me to get home.

cant say ive noticed her nodding when she breaths but ive asked my bf to go see what shes doing.
the only time ive noticed her breathing rapidly is when I catch her and she runs up my chest (to hide under my hair while scratching the hell out of me lol)
its a shame shes black as she has black ears/lips and nose. the only white she has is on her head cheek.
shes a lot smaller then my Bella, unfortunately I got her from a pet store (never again) and I know they are renowned for having problems
 
Lisanjake said:
Hi Thank you for your reply.
shes eating / drinking fine (she drinks quite a lot at times ive noticed)
As I'm worrying now ive booked her in for a late appointment as I'm busy on a course at work for the rest of the week unfortunately, so I don't want to leave it if it is something bad.

ive recently given her new hay which I haven't bought before - Timothy hay. Wonder if it could be a reaction to that? shes always been a very coughy, noisy kind of pig. but ive had her checked before and the vet said he heard a slight crackling sound but thought nothing of it. that was about 3/4 months ago.
she totally hates being picked up, ive been trying with her a lot more recently but she squeaks like shes in pain everytime I touch her so I feel bad for trying to handle her.
I do like my current one but I didn't ask if this was an exotic vet, as it was a squeezed in appointment I just wanted to take it.

8 years old! WOW that's one old piggy lol :)
ill keep you updated. xx
Click to expand...

no need to panic, especially if its only a periodic problem, you say you have some different hay, it may be worth shaking out the hay to get rid of any loose debris/dust & also have a good sniff of the hay- it should have a pleasant sweet kind of smell.
if it smells damp/mouldy/ off, or makes you cough when you inhale it- this could be the answer too dusty or mould spores in the hay. (just throw it out if it is this&get some new good quality hay)
i bought a batch of bad hay it was fine to start of with but as i got further into it, the worse it got, the middle of it must have got damp & one of mine had a URI which i'm sure was caused by the bad batch of hay.

try the olbas oil too if you can, or put a steaming bowl of water near the cage this will help clear her nasal passages if its a nasal problem. keep her warm enough & draught free. this will also help if it does turn out to be an URI.

i got two young'ish piggies that seem to rattle a bit when they breathe, the vet said he thinks that they had an infection before they came to me & the nasal passages have been damaged as they are healthy otherwise, they only get noisy breathing (inwards) when they are really relaxed & occasionally after food.

does she still squeak as though in pain if you pick her up in a tube or cosy? it may be a fear reaction to your hands if she's not used to you handling her much. some guineas love lap time, but are scared witless of the whole catching&holding process.

good luck with her &keep us updated.xx
 
Lisanjake said:
Hi Guys, its me again! lol I don't seem to have the best luck with my piggys :(
Anyway, my little one, Luna, was making a hooting sound this morning - my boyfriend got a video as hes got a day of work he luckily heard it!
he said she coughed then stopped making the noise.
she seems fine in herself, jumping around happily squeaking for food. what do you suggest? ive already spent £150 on my other pig this month so money is tight but if I need to take her to the vet I will. its a shame its £35 just for a 10 minute appointment...

Click to expand...

Guinea pigs with a partially blocked airpipe can make a hooting sound. If it ends with cough or a sneeze and doesn't come back, then there is nothing to worry about, as the blockage has quite obviously been cleared, whether that is a tiny morsel of food gone down the wrong way, a bit of hay dust in the nose or whatever.

Some guinea pigs with damage from a not totally healed off or a very severe URI earlier in their life can also hoot due to narrowed airways and/or lung disease. This was the case with my Ffraid, who was doing this off and on during the three years she lived with me. She died aged 7 years from another cause. It took me two years and a very experienced vet with a very good stethoscope to finally diagnose her problem. A fluid build-up in the chest cavity can also cause hooting (as with my Tegyd); there are several things that can cause it.

In order to make a link to a potential heart problem, you need have persistent/recurring hooting over a length of time plus ideally other symptoms. While it is always well worth having a guinea pig you are worried about thoroughly checked by a very experienced vet, it is by no means easy to diagnose a heart problem. So far, none of my own heart problem suspects with a minimum of three listed symptoms have ever checked out as such or reacted positively to a trial with heart medication.
 
Back from the vets. She's perfectly healthy! He listened to her chest etc and said there's nothing clearly wrong. It might have been something on her throat she just needed to clear! Thanks for all the advice though guys xx
 
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