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Unsure of breathing diagnosis :(

Honey&maple

Honey&maple

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 16, 2023
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Location
Telford
A week ago my Honey girl started breathing differently but no noises came from her . The vets gave her antibiotics for a respiratory infection as this is the most common issue in pigs when it comes to breathing . Even though she said her lungs weren’t bad at all, she could just see she was finding it a bit harder to breathe) she said If this doesn’t work it could be her heart.

By day 6 she wasn’t getting any better on the antibiotics but now her nose started making noises everytime she breathes (just like air passing through more powerfully) Everytime she gets picked up now and is against me she also makes a tiny squeak noise you can hardly hear which she never does (is she in pain or is this her nose idk?) She never normally talks when she’s out of the hutch so this is odd for her.

On day 6 (today)I decided to get her back into the vets . She sees a different vet this time and says her lungs and heart sound fine and it seems like she could have allergies as her nose is a bit sniffly. She mentioned a specialist for her heart is £200 if I wanted being referred but she said she seems fine and not to worry about heart disease.

Her breathing to me still doesn’t look right , I feel like it has got better though as it’s less jerky. Idk why no one else can see what I see (including my parents) and I’m unsure what to do….. monitor for a while?

This Is a video of her now. Does this look normal to anyone?

19 June 2024
19 June 2024
 
Bump.
Poor Honey, it does look like she's breathing a bit hard, so it would make sense if she has allergies or some sort of congestion in her nose that's making it a bit tougher to get air in. It's great that her lungs and heart sound fine, and it's also great that you're being so vigilant about her health. Maybe try putting a bowl of boiled water next to her cage so that she can breathe in the steam and it could help loosen any congestion in her nose (the forum mods and experts will know more about that and be able to give more advice on what to do if it is allergies). I hope Honey feels better soon ❤️
 
Cait_lin said:
Bump.
Poor Honey, it does look like she's breathing a bit hard, so it would make sense if she has allergies or some sort of congestion in her nose that's making it a bit tougher to get air in. It's great that her lungs and heart sound fine, and it's also great that you're being so vigilant about her health. Maybe try putting a bowl of boiled water next to her cage so that she can breathe in the steam and it could help loosen any congestion in her nose (the forum mods and experts will know more about that and be able to give more advice on what to do if it is allergies). I hope Honey feels better soon ❤️
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Thank you! Her names actually truffle I accidentally wrote the wrong name oops. Yeah I will give that a go. I’m just worried because this vet isn’t a piggy savvy one they just see small animals as well so I’m unsure what to trust. I'm miles away from a proper one. So I'm concerned about a heart problem but £200 is a lot of money to rush into if it’s not that and I’m not sure where I’ll get sent for this :( do you know any symptoms for heart problems ?
 
Honey&truffle said:
Thank you! Her names actually truffle I accidentally wrote the wrong name oops. Yeah I will give that a go. I’m just worried because this vet isn’t a piggy savvy one they just see small animals as well so I’m unsure what to trust. I'm miles away from a proper one. So I'm concerned about a heart problem but £200 is a lot of money to rush into if it’s not that and I’m not sure where I’ll get sent for this :( do you know any symptoms for heart problems ?
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Aw I love their names 🩷 Truffle is so apt for a piggy!
I wish everyone with a piggy was able to access a cavy savvy vet, it would be so much easier :< I totally understand, that is a lot of money especially since it sounds like it might not be her heart at all. Unfortunately, I have heard that because guinea pigs' heartbeat is so fast it can be difficult to hear any abnormalities by just listening to it.
Guinea Lynx :: Heart
Personally, if it were my pig, I would see if doing the recommended treatment for allergies or nasal congestion reduces the symptoms, which hopefully it does. If it doesn't, I'd prepare to consult the heart specialist.
 
Cait_lin said:
Aw I love their names 🩷 Truffle is so apt for a piggy!
I wish everyone with a piggy was able to access a cavy savvy vet, it would be so much easier :< I totally understand, that is a lot of money especially since it sounds like it might not be her heart at all. Unfortunately, I have heard that because guinea pigs' heartbeat is so fast it can be difficult to hear any abnormalities by just listening to it.
Guinea Lynx :: Heart
Personally, if it were my pig, I would see if doing the recommended treatment for allergies or nasal congestion reduces the symptoms, which hopefully it does. If it doesn't, I'd prepare to consult the heart specialist.
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Thank you:) yeah I heard the same thing about being hard to diagnose , but the vet said she couldn’t hear any fluid around her heart which idk whether to trust or not . Yeah I will look into the treatment for allergies and see if it works . I appreciate your advice :)

Ive managed to get a video of her nose squeak I’m not sure if you can hear as they are quiet and I’m sorry for the bird noises and the hay munching. Does this sound like allergies to you?

20 June 2024
20 June 2024
 
eileen said:
I'm sorry your piggie is unwell.i wondered if you seen the vet list on the forum ? 🙂
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Yes I have thank you. Because that list is quite old , the vet that was meant to be good at the one near me (still a bit far) has left there now which is a shame . So now I’m a bit stuck .
 
Generally a noise in the nose is because of an obstruction - something like hay dust. Usually a sneeze will clear it. If it doesn’t then there may be something else going on. True allergies are rare but they can become sensitive to certain things.

Her breathing does look a bit off
 
Piggies&buns said:
Generally a noise in the nose is because of an obstruction - something like hay dust. Usually a sneeze will clear it. If it doesn’t then there may be something else going on. True allergies are rare but they can become sensitive to certain things.

Her breathing does look a bit off
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Yeah I don’t think it’s allergies. I’m guessing the next steps would be the heart if it’s not the lungs . I’m just quite annoyed that the vet said she looked normal when I know she isn’t . And if I go back they will charge me again to say she’s normal.
 
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