Hooting noise, possible pneumonia, please help

[Gameofguineapigs]

Yesterday my boar sadly passed away, he was happy and popcorning, zooming around the day before. Yesterday he seemed a bit lethargic, it was around the time he usually naps though so I wasn't worried. Later on he started making a strange breathing noise, almost like a wheezing and then a sort of shout of pain every couple of minutes. 20 minutes after he started doing this I rushed him to the exotic vets and he passed within hours. The vet said it could have been stress (new years eve fireworks were going off and very loud, nothing else was out of the ordinary), a lung condition or infection. Anyway, my sow started hooting about an hour ago. She was eating fast so I thought it could be that. She was running around, all fine, eating fine, drinking etc. About half an hour ago the hooting became extreme and I noticed her poos from the last hour were darker, wetter, smaller and misshapen compared to the ones from 2 hours ago. She has a history of URI and also a tilty head- she was a rescue girl living in awful conditions. My boar who passed was her bonded partner, I'm wondering if the two are linked, but the vet says she is fine? Her hooting noise sounds very similar to videos I've found of guinea pigs who have had pneumonia, and my boars symptoms were very similar to pneumonia or heart issues.
If anyone has any information or advice I'd be so grateful, I dont know if I'm just panicking and overthinking.

 

[Siikibam]

I would get her to the vet for a check. I don’t know if its linked though.

Please add your location to your profile - state/county or country - so information can be tailored to suit you where possible.

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Definitely get her to the vet ASAP. Respiratory problems can escalate very quickly. Thinking of you both and hope she will be ok

 

[Gameofguineapigs]

For reference we live in England
As I wrote the post she was already at the emergency vets with my partner (covid restrictions only allow one of us), the vet said she seems okay and doesn't need any treatment and to come back if she gets any worse. She's back home now and her poops are still abnormal and a little clumpy, shes eating well and interacting well and the hooting has calmed down. I think its just a matter of waiting for any more symptoms now

 

[Siikibam]

Stop any veg and fresh grass until her poos are back to normal for at least 24 hours. Then you can re-introduce veg slowly. Start with a sprig of coriander then you can introduce a small slice of pepper after a few days. If odd poos persist then you’ll need to take her in again.

PS please add Uk as your location.

 

[Siikibam]

I’m not sure about dust in the air. But every circumstance is different. It may or may not be anything.

 

[VickiA]

hooting comes from dust in the air getting in the nose only..it sounds scary but jts harmless..my boy does it twice a day and vet said xray that took was clear..so its nothing to worry about

@tennisman42282 I’m glad to hear that your piggy has been vet checked for this, and all is well with him, but please be aware that this is not the case for all piggies. As you are a new member, we don’t know much about you or your pigs yet, but it’s certainly not the case that all hooting is nothing to worry about. In general it is a sign that the piggy needs to see a vet. Please do not advise otherwise on this forum, as in accordance with our laws, only a vet can diagnose and only after examination.

 

[VickiA]

he said he went to the vet.besides hooting is not heart related and it comes from dust getting into the nose..thats all..My boy does it once or twice a day ..he went to the vet and they did an xray and said his heart and lungs are clear so its not something to be concerned about

Please don’t generalise. Just because in the case of your pig the hooting wasn’t heart related or pneumonia, doesn’t mean that is the case for every pig that hoots. Our forum stance is always to recommend vet visits for examination and diagnosis.

 

[PigglePuggle]

@tennisman42282 this is an old thread from January and I'm not sure why you resurrected it now, but as stated above hooting may be allergies or dust but in most cases is caused by some type of bacterial respiratory infection. Our hooting piggy had Chlamydia pneumonia for example.

To say hooting is always dust related in piggies would be the same as saying coughs and wheezing in humans is always dust... obviously sometimes it is, or, it could be the person has asthma, covid, a cold, flu, a throat infection, pneumonia, TB...

You see my point- one should never dismiss respiratory symptoms, they most often indicate a health condition that in guinea pigs is usually a bacterial infection of some type, and respiratory symptoms always require veterinary investigation.

The H&I area of the forum is carefully monitored by experienced contributors to ensure correct and timely advice is given to those who need it, and although we encourage other members to share similar experiences and offer support, nobody should be diagnosing online, or directly contradicting established veterinary research.

If you have a respiratory issue you wish to discuss with us please start your own thread so we can reply to you directly rather than resurrecting an old thread started by someone else.