Guinea Pig making a hooting noise, almost like an owl.

[HumanWithFurryPotats]

One of my guinea pigs (don’t know who) is making a hooting noise and it’s scaring me a bit.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Hooting could be a breathing thing (like either hay bits stuck up their nose, or the start of a respiratory infection) or it could be chirping which is a mystery noise that some piggies do when they are on high alert about something?
Impossible to say without hearing it but if it carries on maybe give all your puggies a quick health check and if you find out who is doing it and it carries on more than a few hours take them to a vet?
We have 2 greedy pigs who sometimes hoot if they've eaten hay too fast but it stops within half an hour. Then we had a hoot-whistle-quack noise from one pig that went on for a couple of days that was a respiratory infection and needed antibiotics from the vet. And we've had chirping once or twice for no reason we could see, once from our boar when a lady barbered his whiskers off, and once or twice from other piggies trying to alert us that one of their friends was ill with a bloaty tummy.
If it goes on more than an hour I'd get them all out and check their fur, feet, eyes, bums and tummies, and listen to their breathing, and see if you can figure out who has the problem and if they need a vet!
Its very tricky with a herd, we have a main herd of 6 and finding the mystery hooter/chirper means lying on the floor by the cage listening and watching them for an hour because the noise always stops when they know you are watching or you get them out of the cage!

 

[HumanWithFurryPotats]

I found out who was hooting and checked her nose, and then she gave out a big sneeze. I was relieved, until she started doing it again. I think I will check on her in an hour or so. If she is doing it tomorrow then I will take her to the vet.

 

[HumanWithFurryPotats]

Here is a video of her hooting while eating hay

 

[HumanWithFurryPotats]

Never mind can’t upload it

 

[HumanWithFurryPotats]

Ok so she stopped hooting

 

[Wiebke]

One of my guinea pigs (don’t know who) is making a hooting noise and it’s scaring me a bit.

Hi!

Hooting is generally the sign of a mildly blocked nose; most often from a little hay dust that has got into the nose. It generally disappears after a good sneeze or a few hours.

Guinea pig airways are very small and narrow; they can also not breathe through their mouths. This means that even the tiniest blockage is very audible and can cause funny sounds.

Any crackling or rasping, especially if it doesn't disappear rather quickly again but is getting worse is generally a symptom of a respiration infection further down the airways and should be seen promptly by a vet; as a life/death emergency if it is combined with loss of appetite, lethargy and heaving breathing.