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Hooting? Wheezing? Snoring?

Pearl and Zip

Pearl and Zip

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 4, 2017
Messages
574
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Points
450
Location
East Bay Area, California
Pearl is snoring while awake. At first it was just a quiet “hooting”. We thought it was just something cute that she did. But after a few days, it was getting louder and more frequent. It gets loudest when she’s most excited. I’ll try to send a video. It almost sounds like wheezing. She is 4 years old.
 
Dog Cow said:
Pearl is snoring while awake. At first it was just a quiet “hooting”. We thought it was just something cute that she did. But after a few days, it was getting louder and more frequent. It gets loudest when she’s most excited. I’ll try to send a video. It almost sounds like wheezing. She is 4 years old.
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Please see a vet for a potential respiratory infection.
 
Dog Cow said:
Okay. We’re calling the vet right now.

Thanks so much for the advice! We’ll visit the vet at 4:00 today.
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All the best!

Place a bowl of steaming water next to the cage to see whether that eases the breathing. The dry radiator heat can make breathing issues worse.
 
That sounds like a very poorly piggy to me. Please get her to a vet as soon as you can. In the meantime a humidifier or steaming water near the cage may help ease the symptoms but she needs to see a vet as soon as possible.
 
I fully agree with Vicki - she needs to be seen as soon as possible.

Please weigh her daily at the same time and step in with syringe feeding asap. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Piggies that struggle with their breathing generally stop eating and drinking. Be aware that 80% of the daily food intake is hay, but that you cannot control that. It is generally the food group that is drop soonest. It is vital to keep the guts going to get your girl to the vet and through the crisis until the meds have kicked in fully!
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding
 
VickiA said:
That sounds like a very poorly piggy to me. Please get her to a vet as soon as you can. In the meantime a humidifier or steaming water near the cage may help ease the symptoms but she needs to see a vet as soon as possible.
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Is it okay to go to the vet in 3 hours? That’s when we made the opointment.

She stopped hooting soon after we put the humidifier on.
 
Dog Cow said:
Is it okay to go to the vet in 3 hours? That’s when we made the opointment.

She stopped hooting soon after we put the humidifier on.
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She still needs to be seen; 3 hours is fine as long as she is being seen today! ;)
 
Wiebke said:
I fully agree with Vicki - she needs to be seen as soon as possible.

Please weigh her daily at the same time and step in with syringe feeding asap. The need to breathe comes before the need to drink and only thirdly the need to eat. Piggies that struggle with their breathing generally stop eating and drinking. Be aware that 80% of the daily food intake is hay, but that you cannot control that. It is generally the food group that is drop soonest. It is vital to keep the guts going to get your girl to the vet and through the crisis until the meds have kicked in fully!
Not Eating And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding
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Pearl is eating just fine. She was pulling hay from the hay rack and munching on pellets. She was drinking water, too.

We weighed Pearl yesterday and she was 1151 grams. We weigh both pigs 4 times a week.
 
Dog Cow said:
Pearl is eating just fine. She was pulling hay from the hay rack and munching on pellets. She was drinking water, too.

We weighed Pearl yesterday and she was 1151 grams. We weigh both pigs 4 times a week.
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That is good to hear. It is always difficult to judge from the breathing just how bad things are; you need to check the airways with a stethoscope.
 
Dog Cow said:
Is it okay to have floor time today? Pearl gets a little stressed out when being carried to floor time, so should I just not do it today?
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I’d keep her quiet and calm until you’ve seen the vet later today.
 
Dog Cow said:
Pearl is snoring while awake. At first it was just a quiet “hooting”. We thought it was just something cute that she did. But after a few days, it was getting louder and more frequent. It gets loudest when she’s most excited. I’ll try to send a video. It almost sounds like wheezing. She is 4 years old.
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Mine had the same thing and passed a week ago of a respiratory infection
 
Dog Cow said:
Oh. I’m sorry for your loss. I hope my piggy doesn’t die!
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I am sure it won’t just take him to the vet as soon as possible. I ignored it because I was a first time piggie owner but now that I know I won’t do that again. You should really get yours checked it though.
 
Next time you take a piggy to the vet take the other along as a companion as it minimises stress. I used to take mine separately but found if I added a friend they coped much better.
 
I’m glad that you’ve got antibiotics for her. Hopefully she will make a quick recovery.
 
Betsy said:
Next time you take a piggy to the vet take the other along as a companion as it minimises stress. I used to take mine separately but found if I added a friend they coped much better.
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Well, Zip likes Pearl, but Pearl doesn’t really like Zip. Pearl would probably freak out and bite Zip again.
 
Paws crossed for a speedy recovery :luv: xx
 
Glad you got her seen! Hoping she makes a speedy recovery for you!
 
I have a big problem.

We’re going on vacation for 4 days and will be unable to give Pearl her antibiotics.

Our friend is caring for the pigs when we’re gone, and she has no experience feeding guinea pigs antibiotics. If she tries, Pearl might bite her, the pet-sitter will freak out and drop Pearl and attempt to chase her around the house, which will be horrible for Pearl as she is wheezing, and the pet-sitter doesn’t even know how to carry guinea pigs.

I am willing to stay home from the trip if Pearl needs me, but I can’t stay home alone, and my family wants me to go on the trip.

What do I do?
 
Have you shown your friend how to administer antibiotics? If you show your friend I'm sure she'll be able to cope. Show her how to draw up the medicine in the syringe first before she gets Pearl out of the cage. Then sit Pearl on the table with her back to you, supported by your hand and show your friend how to gently syringe the medicine in behind Pearl's front teeth.
Show your friend this thread too:-
Administering Medications
 
Betsy said:
Have you shown your friend how to administer antibiotics? If you show your friend I'm sure she'll be able to cope. Show her how to draw up the medicine in the syringe first before she gets Pearl out of the cage. Then sit Pearl on the table with her back to you, supported by your hand and show your friend how to gently syringe the medicine in behind Pearl's front teeth.
Show your friend this thread too:-
Administering Medications
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Pearl still bites, though.
 
Ah I hadn't realised that! Well she has to have her AB's it sounds like you need to go away with your family. :hmm::hmm: Have you tried talking to the vet about your problem? They may be able to advise the best course of action.
 
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