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What does Piggie Hooting mean?

Hooting is generally a little bit of a blocked nose - that can be from bedding or hay dust for example. If it is just that then there will be a sneeze and the issue will resolve itself.
However, as we are not vets, cannot have a hands on check of your piggy and the written description or perception of it may be different, you may wish to take your piggy to the vet if the issue doesn’t resolve with a sneeze soon.
It’s always wise to have new piggies vet checked in any event.

If you are ever worried about an illness brewing then we recommend switching from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh your piggy each morning so you can monitor hay intake more closely

Wiebke

Thread 'Weight - Monitoring and Management'

Overview
1 Health monitoring: BMI, weighing, poo out and body changes
- The importance of the weekly health and grooming body check
- Different feedback from BMI, weight, poos and body changes
2 Regular weight monitoring
- How often should I weigh?
- Weighing tips
3 Guidelines for changes in weight
- Weight loss guidelines
- Sudden weight gain and fluctuations
4 Weight and...
  • Like
  • Love
 
Piggies&buns said:
Hooting is generally a little bit of a blocked nose - that can be from bedding or hay dust for example. If it is just that then there will be a sneeze and the issue will resolve itself.
However, as we are not vets, cannot have a hands on check of your piggy and the written description or perception of it may be different, you may wish to take your piggy to the vet if the issue doesn’t resolve with a sneeze soon.
It’s always wise to have new piggies vet checked in any event.

If you are ever worried about an illness brewing then we recommend switching from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh your piggy each morning so you can monitor hay intake more closely

Wiebke

Thread 'Weight - Monitoring and Management'

Overview
1 Health monitoring: BMI, weighing, poo out and body changes
- The importance of the weekly health and grooming body check
- Different feedback from BMI, weight, poos and body changes
2 Regular weight monitoring
- How often should I weigh?
- Weighing tips
3 Guidelines for changes in weight
- Weight loss guidelines
- Sudden weight gain and fluctuations
4 Weight and...
  • Like
  • Love
Click to expand...
The hooting stopped, but I didn't hear a sneeze. I'll be sure to look into weighing them and keeping tabs on their health that way.
 
Charlie_and_Atari_Piggies said:
Hello, one of my piggies started hooting today and it was just so loud that I became concerned. They haven't done it before, but they do occasionally cough when eating. Should I be concerned or is this a normal behavior? (Sorry, I've only had my piggies for about a month)

https://www.reddit.com/r/guineapigs/comments/1etit7x/guinea_pig_hoot_sounds
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

Hooting is most commonly just a small, temporary obstruction in the nose, like a bit of hay dust. Guinea pigs have very small and narrow airways and they are not much in the way of mouth breathers, so even the smallest particle stuck in there can cause a range of rather alarming noises for new owners.
It should disappear again within a few hours; often with a good old sneeze during a piggy wash. These kind of temporary one-off noises are nothing to worry about.

The noises you need to look out for are persistent rasping and crackling in the throat (URI or strong sensitivity to hay dust), and clicking in the chest (pneumonia). If you hold your ear against the nose, the throat and the chest, you can usually work out where the problem sits.

Coughing when eating means you have a greedy eater who gobbles their food down and swallows quite a bit of air in the process as well. Again, nothing to worry about.

PS: We kindly ask our members to please upload any videos on a public setting in a place like youtube that does not require a membership sign in and then copying across. We have quite few members of all ages from all over the world, some of which prefer to only use social media very selectively or not at all.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome

Hooting is most commonly just a small, temporary obstruction in the nose, like a bit of hay dust. Guinea pigs have very small and narrow airways and they are not much in the way of mouth breathers, so even the smallest particle stuck in there can cause a range of rather alarming noises for new owners.
It should disappear again within a few hours; often with a good old sneeze during a piggy wash. These kind of temporary one-off noises are nothing to worry about.

The noises you need to look out for are persistent rasping and crackling in the throat (URI or strong sensitivity to hay dust), and clicking in the chest (pneumonia). If you hold your ear against the nose, the throat and the chest, you can usually work out where the problem sits.

Coughing when eating means you have a greedy eater who gobbles their food down and swallows quite a bit of air in the process as well. Again, nothing to worry about.

PS: We kindly ask our members to please upload any videos on a public setting in a place like youtube that does not require a membership sign in and then copying across. We have quite few members of all ages from all over the world, some of which prefer to only use social media very selectively or not at all.
Click to expand...
Ahhh gotcha. That's very relieving to hear. Every new sound and behavior has been a bit worrying when researching them, so I get a bit jumpy ^^

Also noted! I'll try to use youtube links in the future. Thanks for reply
 
Charlie_and_Atari_Piggies said:
Ahhh gotcha. That's very relieving to hear. Every new sound and behavior has been a bit worrying when researching them, so I get a bit jumpy ^^

Also noted! I'll try to use youtube links in the future. Thanks for reply
Click to expand...

Only worry about what doesn't go away or comes back frequently. ;)

It takes time for new owners to learn what is normal and what not. We have got some great practical guides to help you with that process in our New Owners collection, which you may want to bookmark for easy access, especially as you are in a different time zone so your evening is in the middle of our night over here in the UK where this forum is based: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners

We are however a friendly place so you are always welcome to ask any questions you have. We all have started out knowing nothing and are all still on our own never-ending journey to learn more. ;)
 
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