• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Just given my pigs a bath and one is whistling while breathing

Status
Not open for further replies.
LittleEskimo

LittleEskimo

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 26, 2011
Messages
2,548
Reaction score
8
Points
525
Location
Kingston Upon Thames
Well I have just given my pigs a bath, towel dried them and now I am letting them have some floor time in the bathroom. I heard a quiet sort of whistling/wheezing but I couldn't tell where it was from. Then I saw it was at the same time my long haired was taking deep breaths. It doesn't seem to be happening all the time. Just when he takes a deep breath so I am guessing he might have something in his nose? I have noticed he has gotten a little wheezy sounding for the last month or so. He doesn't seem to be ill or anything, he's still acting normally. I'm thinking it might be where he lives or his bedding. He and McMac live in the garage since its was horrible last winter and I haven't been able to find anywhere else to put them (we don't put cars in there its just for storage) and it can get a little dusty and dark :/ so I was thinking of getting my room redecorated and finding room for a C&C cage for them (I live in the UK but I heard you can get the stuff from B&Q). Do you think that he is wheezing whistling because of where he lives? Thanks x

Also I didn't wet or wash their heads. I just stayed below the neck line
 
The wheezing definitely needs looking into. For now, if I were you I'd give them a quick blowdry with a hairdryer. Even in summer I use a hairdryer after towel drying them, especially if they're long haired.

Guinea pigs can pick up respiratory problems easily so dusty environments are really not good for them. It's definitely a good idea to get them an indoor C&C cage set up, if you can. What do you use for bedding?
 
it sounds like it might be the beguinning of a respiratory infection, it might not be, but if i were you i'd take him to the vets now, a little course of baytril should do the trick. they can be prone to respiratory infections, so the sooner he's seen the less chance there is of it getting worse :) x
 
jinnywig said:
it sounds like it might be the beguinning of a respiratory infection, it might not be, but if i were you i'd take him to the vets now, a little course of baytril should do the trick. they can be prone to respiratory infections, so the sooner he's seen the less chance there is of it getting worse :) x
Click to expand...

Very good advice. If left untreated, a seemingly minor chest infection can develop into Pneumonia shockingly quickly, which can be fatal.
 
Yeah I want to move them out of the garage because its so dark and dusty and just not a nice place to live but my mum is being very difficult with trying to find somewhere else to put them in the house :/ I have a very cluttered room but I want to redecorate and I think I could find somewhere for a cage for them. I'm going to use C&C because even if there isn't much room I can make them a second level.
I have them on sawdust and straw, its what ive always used as its cheap. I was thinking of trying to litter train them and use fleece but I dont know how to litter train them :/
 
LittleEskimo said:
Yeah I want to move them out of the garage because its so dark and dusty and just not a nice place to live but my mum is being very difficult with trying to find somewhere else to put them in the house :/ I have a very cluttered room but I want to redecorate and I think I could find somewhere for a cage for them. I'm going to use C&C because even if there isn't much room I can make them a second level.
I have them on sawdust and straw, its what ive always used as its cheap. I was thinking of trying to litter train them and use fleece but I dont know how to litter train them :/
Click to expand...

Try using shredded paper, it's not dusty and it's super inexpensive. ask your mum to bring some home from work or something. That's what I do. (:
 
Sawdust is not the best stuff tbh, the tiny particles can irritate their little noses etc. One of my piggies inhaled a small piece a while back and I totally freaked :...It is a contributing factor to breathing problems, URI's etc. I threw the whole bale out, had only used a handful for their poo corner mallethead
Vetbed/fleece are really the nicer options but newspaper and hay are good as well - straw again is dangerous as it can be sharp and cause eye injuries :(
We have our piggies indoors in our lounge as we both work full time and I would worry about them being outdoors all day.
Hope you can persuade your mom to have them in your room, it's great having them close to you and I think it makes them far more interactive :)) Ours watch TV I swear, don't bat an eyelid when I'm hoovering but grumble when the phone rings :(|)
 
I would get him looked at, i lost a piggie to a respiratory infection (he was very old too) and its not nice :...

I have recently changed to fleece, about 2 months ago and i havent litter trained mine, i do a poop scoop with a cat litter scooper once or twice a day. I lay newspaper on the base of my cage, then an old bath towel then a thick fleece doubled up. They have some hideys and coseys and tunnels. I have a hay rack to contain the hay so it doesnt get too messed up. Hope that helps and good luck with the wheezy piggy :)
 
Its not sawdust dust. Thats just what I always call wood shavings lol but I do notice it is quite dusty but ive never had a problem with it :/ but #i guess ill have buy some cheap none dusty bedding as a back up. Yeah I hope if I can have my room moved around and get new furniture I can find a way to fit in a C&C cage. I hardly get to interact with them anymore and theres no natural sunlight. I just hope I can litter train them haha :)
 
Woodshavings are one of those things which some piggy owners feel are perfectly ok to use whereas others wouldn't touch them with a bargepole! (Me personally, I'm the latter.) Even the shavings which say they're dust extracted will still often have a fair bit of dust on them. Also the wood usually contains naturally occuring oils which can be very harsh on piggy skin and will no doubt smell very strong to their sensitive noses - another reason why I'd avoid them if poss. It's a case of personal preference and each to their own, but as your piggy is already wheezy then it really makes sense to try fleece :)
 
Yeah ive never had a problem with wood shavings but maybe hes just more sensitive to it, especially in that environment :/ Yeah ill have to buy some paper or fleece or something :)
 
ypu could try megazorb, some people swear by it, but my piggys live indoors and have fleece cage liners from cosy cavies she makes them to measure and they're very absorbant and i find the cage much easier to clean, as i just stick them in the washing machine once or twice a week x
 
Yeah I'm popping down my pet shop so ill see what they have :) and that sounds really good how they are made to measure! are they nice colours and patterns? because that would be awesome x) ill have to check it out
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top