Occasional Wheezing/snuffling/coughing/sneezing From My Guinea Pig. *video Attached*

[Dilly's Piggies]

I have a 5 year old sow named Cookie, for the last 3 months she has sometimes had this raspy snuffling noise when breathing, it only happens once every 2-3 weeks. She will make this noise until she coughs, then it has completely gone and she is fine again. After lots of reading the idea came to light that maybe she has allergies or asthma caused by dust or something other that she comes into contact with. She is not unwell, eating, pooping, acting normally, no discharge from the eyes or nose, everything is completely normal. She has also recently been to the vet 2 days ago for her regular check up and nail trim, the vet did not see or hear anything abnormal. I've also read that this kind of thing can be linked to a heart problem, but I thought the vet would've picked up on something like this. There's also some illnesses that can take months to develop and this is why I'm trying to find out what's going on now, instead of waiting until it's too late. She has been to the vet around 4 times in the last 3 months and none of them ever picked up on anything to do with this. She lives with 5 other sows in a large L shaped C&C cage, bedded on fleece with high quality dust extracted hay, I already make sure my Guinea Pigs are treated like royalty with the least dust possible, the cage is cleaned every day and fleeces/soft beds are washed with non scented baby non biological washing powder.

So, my question is, what could the problem be? I very much doubt it's an URI or Pneumonia, or any of these serious breathing conditions, I've had piggies with these before and it was very serious and came on very suddenly, whereas Cookie does not appear to be sick in any way, and she has been doing this for 3 months now, I didn't think a URI would take so long to manifest, but I could be wrong.

She is booked in for the vets tomorrow to identify this particular problem and have it directly looked in to, but some advice from somebody that has knowledge or experience of this condition would be taken with much appreciation. I've had lots of Guinea Pigs in my time but I have never seen this before.

This video was taken tonight when I noticed she was making these snuffly noises again, so I thought I'd take a video to show the vet, but I also thought you lot might like to see it to get a better idea of what I'm talking about, so here it is:

 

[Parnassus]

Firstly, it sounds like you spoil your guinea pigs rotten, Cookie is a lucky girl! She's adorable, too!

Secondly, I definitely feel your pain with going back and forth to the vet to figure out a mysterious, possibly dangerous, situation with a guinea pig. I spent three months trying to figure out the source of my Blade's sneezing. Turned out to be dusty hay after all. The whole "high-quality" brand was turning over dusty hay last year. Switching brands stopped the sneezing.

This sounds like a URI to me. One of my guinea pigs had a URI late last year, and her only tell-tale symptoms were that her wheeking wasn't loud and prolonged like it usually is, and her voice sounded raspy (like she's been smoking cigars).

Good luck at the vet, and I hope Cookie gets better! I'm interested to know if it's something different. I hope you post a progress report!

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Firstly, it sounds like you spoil your guinea pigs rotten, Cookie is a lucky girl! She's adorable, too!

Secondly, I definitely feel your pain with going back and forth to the vet to figure out a mysterious, possibly dangerous, situation with a guinea pig. I spent three months trying to figure out the source of my Blade's sneezing. Turned out to be dusty hay after all. The whole "high-quality" brand was turning over dusty hay last year. Switching brands stopped the sneezing.

This sounds like a URI to me. One of my guinea pigs had a URI late last year, and her only tell-tale symptoms were that her wheeking wasn't loud and prolonged like it usually is, and her voice sounded raspy (like she's been smoking cigars).

Good luck at the vet, and I hope Cookie gets better! I'm interested to know if it's something different. I hope you post a progress report!

Sometimes I think spoiling my Guinea Pigs too much is what gets me in to trouble, they are looked after so well that they have no resilience to injury and illness, it always seems to be my piggies that get sick and other people that don't take so much care never have any trouble, it's not fair lol.

Thank you so much for your quick response, I do know that the timothy hay I use has been turning over dusty hay also at this time of year due to the colder weather, so I suppose the hay being 'high quality' makes no difference to how dusty it can be at certain times of the year. Cookie doesn't usually talk that much, only when she smells food, she is actually partially deaf as well so sometimes she can't hear the bags rustling or me chopping the veggies so she doesn't get excited and squeak as much as the others, so I haven't been able to tell if her voice is also raspy.

When I first heard her do this a few months ago my first thought was "Oh no, she has a URI.." but after reading about it and the symptoms that go with it, the more I was convinced it's something else. But I am also interested to see what the vet will diagnose, I will surely keep you in the loop.

Thank you again for your response.

 

[Parnassus]

I relate to feeling like it's only your piggies that have all the problems. We've had quite the turbulent year with our guinea pigs!

Cookie sounds so precious, I'm a sucker for a guinea pig with quirks.

 

[Elwickcavies]

I'm not convinced that this is a URI, because she clears it by coughing and it happens weeks apart. I would expect something more constant if it were an infection. I wonder whether she is getting something stuck at the back of her throat, where the nasal passages join and that is what is causing the noises. Has the vet had a look at her molars? She seems to be happy and healthy in every other respect, so see what the vet can find and let us know. Good luck

 

[helen105281]

I can't listen to the video at work, is it a hooting? if it is and it is cleared by a cough, ask the vet to check her heart aswell as checking for URI or allergies. It is just one of the many symptoms of a heart issue but is usually accompanied by some of the others which include:

Laboured or rapid breathing
Difficult to rouse from sleep
Recurrent URIs
Abdominal bloating (due to sucking in air)
Blue tinge to nose, mouth, tongue, ears and feet
Poor physical appearance.
Bumblefoot
I just wanted to mention heart so you know the other signs to look for just in case. I have pigs on heart meds that are doing well but not all vets are good at diagnosing it. I think it is something to consider if nothing else is found.

I see you already mentioned it in your post so hopefully the vet has already checked but worth asking in case.

 

[Wiebke]

I would second to rather look at other issues if things don't get worse but are not going away; that doesn;t sound like a respiratory infection and can therefore not be cured with an antibiotic.

You can also look at irritants or allergies. Do you use incense sticks, strong perfumes, air conditioning/dry air or have you and your vet considered a sensitivity to dust or pollen, especially if she likes to dive into hay, etc.? Some guinea pigs are greedy eaters or drinkers, which can make them cough or sneeze.

it rather sounds like she is occasionally suffering from a slightly blocked nose/airpipe which she can clear with a sneeze or cough. Some of mine to that from time to time, too. Guinea pigs can't breathe through their mouths when their nose is a bit stuffy, so you hear any little blockage much more dramatically than it actually is. if it happens regularly rather than every now and then, it is it worth to look for things that could cause it.

 

[Adelle]

This symptom was what finally got me a diagnosis of heart disease for my elderly sow. She hadnt been right for a couple of months, before she started doing this noise, worse when sniffing, and would cough and clear it partially or sometimes fully. She was found to have fluid on the lungs. 7 months after that she is still here and going strong.

I dont mean to worry u, it could be something different. As long as your vet is thorough and open to the possibility of a heart issue, then you should get to the bottom of it.

Best of luck x

 

[Poppy'sMum]

In addition to the above, can I ask if you wash her veg & put them in a bowl at all? It's a similar sound to one of mine, I solved it by simply scattering their veggies, as in their rush to eat they would sniff up a few drops of water from the veg. I also had one that would rustle around at the bottom of the pellet bowl & inhale any dusty bits. Simple things but might be worth changing just to see if it makes any difference.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Hello everyone, firstly I'd like to thank you for your informative replies, I'm glad I became a member on this forum.

Cookie went to the vets yesterday like I said she would, the vet listened to this video as I knew Cookie wouldn't show the vet her symptoms, since it happens on occasion only. The vet has diagnosed asthma and has prescribed her a Ventolin inhaler, which she had her first dose of this morning and she put her nose in to the tube and inhaled it like a champ, she's such a good girl!

The vet is slightly puzzled to be honest, but she did say that there is only very slight wheezing from her left lung, which could be cancerous, but since it's not obvious at the moment only time will tell for that diagnosis. The vet did check her heart and it's perfectly healthy, so it's not heart related. For now we're just going to try the inhaler and see if it helps, if it doesn't then she will need to go back for further tests. For now the vet just recommended monthly check ups on her breathing to keep an eye on it, and if anything happens in between like she loses too much weight or goes off her food, or she seems sick in any way, then she will obviously go back.

Thanks again for everyones replies.