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Guinea pig huffing noise.

A

Aussay

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Hey! I'm a bit new here so please bare with me!
My young guinea pig recently has started making a sort of huffing noise, I've been wanting to take her to the vet and likely will just for a check up next week when I'm paid but I just wanted some answers more so for some peace of mind!
When I add hay to her cage she often tends to make a sort of huffing noise for the first day or two of the hay being in the cage. She'll bury her face into the hay (Which she has only started recently doing!) and burrow into it quite frequently.
I presume it's just from her burrowing and needing to get hay out of her nose. Her nose looks clear and she seems healthy otherwise. I only got her very recently so she's still learning to trust me right now, so it's quite hard to get her to sit still for her checks.
Luckily for me I do have an exotic vet within a reasonable distance of me who I have gone to for a check up of her cage mate before (which went well!) so I will bring this up with her.
Just to add, I have ordered them a new cage and will be switching to a fleece bedding C&C cage.
Sorry if this is a bit of a silly question, I'm not very knowledgeable with guinea pigs and have been learning step by step as this was NOT a planned parenthood (Wont get into it!)
 
Welcome to the forum

Piggies have narrow airways and any bit of hay dust can cause an obstruction and noisy breathing
from the nose. (Noises from the chest is of concern)
A sneeze usually clears it out.
If you have issues with particularly dusty hay, then it may be worth looking for an alternative source.

It is always a good idea to have a vet check done though
 
Her chest sounds fine from what I know. Thanks for answering so quick by the way. Interesting to know that too. I'll have a look at alternate hay sources tomorrow as I've recently put them to bed. She's very active and lively so I hadn't really thought of this as an issue, she eats very well and very often and drinks well too. Very excitable and loves interaction despite being so new.
 
Hey, just a little update to this. We had a bit of a heat wave recently, very hot. I think it was about 32c followed by 36c. She and her cage mate have been a little tired ever since but they've sprung back up today. Again, will be taking her to the vet to get her check. The sneezing seems to go up and down. Some days she'll only do it a handful of times, some days she'll do it more.
The only thing I'm curious about now is that I've seen her itching herself pretty frequently, although she was treated for mites recently and her cage mate isn't doing the same..? She seems fine and doesn't have any hair loss or sores or anything though. I'm thinking it's just the hay?
 
Aussay said:
Hey, just a little update to this. We had a bit of a heat wave recently, very hot. I think it was about 32c followed by 36c. She and her cage mate have been a little tired ever since but they've sprung back up today. Again, will be taking her to the vet to get her check. The sneezing seems to go up and down. Some days she'll only do it a handful of times, some days she'll do it more.
The only thing I'm curious about now is that I've seen her itching herself pretty frequently, although she was treated for mites recently and her cage mate isn't doing the same..? She seems fine and doesn't have any hair loss or sores or anything though. I'm thinking it's just the hay?
Click to expand...

What mite treatment was used?
 
I'm not quite sure! I got them very VERY recently but was told they had been treated. I'll see if I can find out exactly what treatment they received tomorrow.
 
Aussay said:
I'm not quite sure! I got them very VERY recently but was told they had been treated. I'll see if I can find out exactly what treatment they received tomorrow.
Click to expand...

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

We tend to get prescribed Xeno which is an ivermectin treatment. It requires three separate treatments with two weeks between each treatment. The treatment only killing mites, not the eggs, so the multiple treatments are needed to catch the mites which were eggs at the first treatment and were therefore unaffected by the first treatment.

I would definitely get them checked by the vet for the sneezing but also to check if they may have mites.
 
Alright, thanks again for the help :). I'll continue to monitor her until her vet date. This isn't too much of a surprise to me though as I got them from a person who didn't want to commit very VERY early on.
 
Update! She's been to the vet and is perfectly healthy. Vet has just told me that its likely her hay as she can't find anything wrong! My little piggy is happy now, thanks so much :)
 
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