my guinea pig keeps coughing and sneezing

[alyssaxxxm]

hi,
i got new guinea pigs around 2 weeks ago, at first we didn’t have them in our room and now we have moved them into our room
i have recently noticed a bit of sneezing and coughing,
i’m pretty sure it might just be while they’re eating but i’m not certain
i have checked for other symptoms of a uri and they have none
i have checked their noses and nothing is stuck inside and they aren’t running
they haven’t lost any weight or anything and they seem their happy selves
i have recently switched them to fleece, they were on sawdust with their previous owner
a vets appointment is expensive but i could take them in a few days if it’s essential
i’m not sure which piggy it is as they always seem to do it when i’m away from the cage!
for the fleece i use vinegar and non scented detergent to wash
what should i do?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please do have them seen by a vet for any concerns.
A vet is the only person who can check them out properly and rule out any potential illness.
If they are pet shop piggies, then we do tend to see them develop illnesses when they get to a new home.

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

Piggies aren’t cheap pets to keep when it comes to vet care. We would recommend you start a vet fund into which you save regularly so there is always money available if you run into health issues with them. It could be something simple as a haypoke but can still be £40-60 ish (depending on vet prices) or something more expensive resulting in hundreds of pounds worth of vet fees.

A guide to vets fees, insurance and payment support.

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I hope it’s nothing to worry about but a vet visit is always a good idea when you get new piggies. Also piggies hide any illnesses very well so it’s always best to check things out before they escalate. We would love to see some pictures of your lovely piggies if you’d like to share. I have two boars called Percy and Pepper.

 

[Free Ranger]

Hi, I agree with the others - if you get a vet check you'll feel reassured if there is nothing wrong and relieved if there is the beginnings of something! Piggies cost about as much as anything else to keep in terms of vets but good diet and housing go a long way to keeping them healthy and unlike other types of pet they don't need any yearly vaccinations. It's often cheaper to treat something in the early stages rather than wait until it's serious and might not even be treatable then.

Some pigs are a bit greedy and will gobble food too fast and sound occasionally like they're choking - I get really alarmed sometimes when my boar has shoved his way to the front of the food queue. Also things like celery which have those long stringy bits are best offered in small slices to prevent owners having heart attacks... take your time George! If they are in a bedroom sometimes it's things like deodorant being sprayed or hair products that set off their sensitive noses - or even if the central heating comes on and dries out the air at this time of year.

The other thing is that finding a vet you are comfortable with at this stage will save a lot of stress in case you ever need one in an emergency - you will already be 'on the books' and piggy will feel more at ease there if they are seriously unwell or coming to the end of their life. If you don't like how the vet treats your pigs at this stage you have plenty of time to look around. There is a link on the green bar for vets that other members are happy with if there is anything in your area. They don't have to be an 'exotics expert' but you do want someone with experience so when you find a practice and phone up ask if there is a vet with guinea-pig experience that you can see. We have several vets at my practice and although all are trained some of them actually keep pigs themselves so I try and book these if I can. Good luck x

and Welcome to the forum!

 

[alyssaxxxm]

Please do have them seen by a vet for any concerns.
A vet is the only person who can check them out properly and rule out any potential illness.
If they are pet shop piggies, then we do tend to see them develop illnesses when they get to a new home.

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

Piggies aren’t cheap pets to keep when it comes to vet care. We would recommend you start a vet fund into which you save regularly so there is always money available if you run into health issues with them. It could be something simple as a haypoke but can still be £40-60 ish (depending on vet prices) or something more expensive resulting in hundreds of pounds worth of vet fees.

A guide to vets fees, insurance and payment support.

from only having them a week i haven’t had a chance to start saving stuff weekly, i saved them from someone who could no longer look after them anymore so their care and taking them from that place was quite urgent

 

[alyssaxxxm]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I hope it’s nothing to worry about but a vet visit is always a good idea when you get new piggies. Also piggies hide any illnesses very well so it’s always best to check things out before they escalate. We would love to see some pictures of your lovely piggies if you’d like to share. I have two boars called Percy and Pepper.

i will try and get them to the vets asap however it’s hard to get an appointment

Hello and welcome to the forum. I hope it’s nothing to worry about but a vet visit is always a good idea when you get new piggies. Also piggies hide any illnesses very well so it’s always best to check things out before they escalate. We would love to see some pictures of your lovely piggies if you’d like to share. I have two boars called Percy and Pepper.

I’m not sure how this works enough to post pictures but will try

 

[weepweeps]

The box where you type your messge in has a button in the bottom left corner that says attach files with a paper clip on it. Press that and attach a picture

 

[alyssaxxxm]

i think on my recent post i have managed to post pics if you want to see for some reason it won’t let me in comments

The box where you type your messge in has a button in the bottom left corner that says attach files with a paper clip on it. Press that and attach a picture

 

[alyssaxxxm]

Hi, I agree with the others - if you get a vet check you'll feel reassured if there is nothing wrong and relieved if there is the beginnings of something! Piggies cost about as much as anything else to keep in terms of vets but good diet and housing go a long way to keeping them healthy and unlike other types of pet they don't need any yearly vaccinations. It's often cheaper to treat something in the early stages rather than wait until it's serious and might not even be treatable then.

Some pigs are a bit greedy and will gobble food too fast and sound occasionally like they're choking - I get really alarmed sometimes when my boar has shoved his way to the front of the food queue. Also things like celery which have those long stringy bits are best offered in small slices to prevent owners having heart attacks... take your time George! If they are in a bedroom sometimes it's things like deodorant being sprayed or hair products that set off their sensitive noses - or even if the central heating comes on and dries out the air at this time of year.

The other thing is that finding a vet you are comfortable with at this stage will save a lot of stress in case you ever need one in an emergency - you will already be 'on the books' and piggy will feel more at ease there if they are seriously unwell or coming to the end of their life. If you don't like how the vet treats your pigs at this stage you have plenty of time to look around. There is a link on the green bar for vets that other members are happy with if there is anything in your area. They don't have to be an 'exotics expert' but you do want someone with experience so when you find a practice and phone up ask if there is a vet with guinea-pig experience that you can see. We have several vets at my practice and although all are trained some of them actually keep pigs themselves so I try and book these if I can. Good luck x

and Welcome to the forum!

thanks so much for taking time to reply!
i have taken all you have said in consideration, is there an average price you know of for vets as a lot of people say around £50 but the one i rang said £150 each for a consultation
i feel like a bad person being unprepared for this , if it comes to the worst i can pay that but it’s a lot of money to me, up to £200 for both for a consultation i think would be an okay price for me but i’m still in education and they’re my pets
thanks x

 

[weepweeps]

Hi. My vet charges about £30 for a consultation. Then any medications on top.

 

[alyssaxxxm]

Hi. My vet charges about £30 for a consultation. Then any medications on top.

thanks for your reply!

 

[Free Ranger]

Mine charges 30 or 35 per pig but they sometimes take a bit off for a two-fer if they are there for the same thing. When only one piggy is unwell or showing symptoms I generally take another along as a companion for the trip and the vet will often give the friend a once over anyway without charging (I have been with this practice for quite a few years though). Sometimes for a newly registered pet they can charge more for the first consult but I would hope not more than 45 or 50 quid. Try phoning round a few other practices - even if they are not actually within travelling distance it will help you to get a measure of how much things are locally. My vet is a general vet - not a specialist - and for most common issues this is fine.

 

[Swissgreys]

thanks so much for taking time to reply!
i have taken all you have said in consideration, is there an average price you know of for vets as a lot of people say around £50 but the one i rang said £150 each for a consultation
i feel like a bad person being unprepared for this , if it comes to the worst i can pay that but it’s a lot of money to me, up to £200 for both for a consultation i think would be an okay price for me but i’m still in education and they’re my pets
thanks x

Where (roughly) in the UK are you based?
I am sorry but 150 pounds per pig simply for a basic consultation is outrageous.
Even my very expensive specialist vet doesn't charge that.

Have you checked out the vet locator in the green bar at the top.
At the very least I would call around a couple of vets to compare prices.

 

[alyssaxxxm]

Where (roughly) in the UK are you based?
I am sorry but 150 pounds per pig simply for a basic consultation is outrageous.
Even my very expensive specialist vet doesn't charge that.

Have you checked out the vet locator in the green bar at the top.
At the very least I would call around a couple of vets to compare prices.

it was an emergency vets but i’m not sure they even know much about guinea pigs as she was like “oh they’re only sneezing” clearly she doesn’t know that’s a bad sign for them
i’m planning on calling up some places tomorrow to compare but i’m just not sure some are good
that’s what i thought about the price, i understand they can be expensive pets but it was very surprised, she even offered to discount £20 as if that made much of a difference

 

[Piggies&buns]

An emergency vet is always expensive and it’s hit and miss as to whether they will have an exotic specialist on duty.

Do know though that sneezing on its own can be entirely normal - it’s how they would clear their noses, they will sneeze while cleaning themselves, they can cough and sneeze while eating etc. As guinea pigs dont get colds, what we think of sneezing as a sign of an illness, isn’t necessarily the case for piggies.
Coughing, sneezing accompanied by other symptoms such as wheezy, clicking or crackly breathing is more concerning

 

[alyssaxxxm]

An emergency vet is always expensive and it’s hit and miss as to whether they will have an exotic specialist on duty.

Do know though that sneezing on its own can be entirely normal - it’s how they would clear their noses, they will sneeze while cleaning themselves, they can cough and sneeze while eating etc. As guinea pigs dont get colds, what we think of sneezing as a sign of an illness, isn’t necessarily the case for piggies.
Coughing, sneezing accompanied by other symptoms such as wheezy, clicking or crackly breathing is more concerning

so if they aren’t wheezing or having any breathing problems they should be fine?
or should it still get them checked, the sneezing has been a while and they’re still running around happy

 

[Piggies&buns]

so if they aren’t wheezing or having any breathing problems they should be fine?
or should it still get them checked, the sneezing has been a while and they’re still running around happy

All we can do is advise you to see a vet if you are concerned about anything as we do not know whether there may or may not be something wrong - only a vet carrying out a hands on examination of your piggy, can rule out any illness - we cannot do so, we can only give general advice from the perspective of an owner, none of us are vets.
Piggies can hide illnesses very well as part of their prey instinct, so appearing to be eating well (which is why the weekly weight checks, switching to daily weight checks when there are health concerns are so important given hay intake cannot be gauged by eye) and running around can be deceptive. Sometimes, they will only show illness when they are very poorly, have been for a while, and are no longer able to hide it.

 

[alyssaxxxm]

All we can do is advise you to see a vet if you are concerned about anything as we do not know whether there may or may not be something wrong - only a vet carrying out a hands on examination of your piggy, can rule out any illness - we cannot do so, we can only give general advice from the perspective of an owner, none of us are vets.
Piggies can hide illnesses very well as part of their prey instinct, so appearing to be eating well (which is why the weekly weight checks, switching to daily weight checks when there are health concerns are so important given hay intake cannot be gauged by eye) and running around can be deceptive. Sometimes, they will only show illness when they are very poorly, have been for a while, and are no longer able to hide it.

okay thanks
i have started to weigh them but only having them 2 weeks not much has really changed (some gain)
but since not having them long i’m not sure what they were before
i’ll ring some vets tomorrow and try book a consultation
thanks for your explanation