Guinea Pig Experts? weird new noise...

[wegotchickens]

My daughter's guinea pig made a sneeze/ bark/ cough noise tonight, several times. We've never heard this noise from Cinderella before.

Do gp's clear their throats? Or could this a problem, an illness, we need to do something about?

She made this noise off and on for a couple of hours, then stopped. She begged for treats so I picked her some fresh grass & clover (I've been doing this almost every day for over a month now.

 

[Akane]

Guinea pigs get respiratory infections quite easily so it's definitely possible she's sneezing or coughing from one. If you end up taking the pig to a vet here are a list of common and dangerous antibiotics: http://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html . Most vets are not guinea pig knowledgeable and guinea pigs are sensitive to certain common antibiotics so make sure to double check the list.

Fresh greens are a very good idea and will help if there is an illness. The vitamins in pellets are not always the best and guinea pigs aren't very efficient at digestion as well as not being able to manufacture vitamin C. It's recommended they have a cup worth of fresh greens daily. Grass works perfectly but easy on the clover. It's high in calcium which can cause stones. Another thing guinea pigs get easily.

 

[wegotchickens]

Thank you very much!
We'll wait and see if she makes the strange noises again. I already know our vet isn't real up on GP knowledge, so we won't take Relli in unless she seems to be getting chronic or showing other problems symptoms.

I usually give her wild strawberry leaves more than clover. Good to know to restrict the clover. I have a stand of grass that I won't let DH mow so that Cinderella gets planty of grass, stems as well as leaves. She gets vitamin C treats pretty regularly too. She won't eat many pellets, but prefers the hay we get as bedding.

 

[mopargal1972]

I used to raise guinea pigs, I have also been a vet tech for 17 years. Akane is correct. I usually use Baytril injectable and give it orally (have you ever tried to pill a guinea pig?). Extra vitamin C is always a good idea as well. Guinea pigs can handle cool temps, but drafts are bad. Good luck with Cinderella. Do you have a pic? I love guinea pigs!

 

[wegotchickens]

Cinderella hasn't made the weird noise again. I'm very hopeful she was just clearing her throat or something...

Herre's a pic. It's her 'mug shot' from when we adopted her from the animal shelter:

Somewhere I have a better one, of her bumping noses with our calico cat (also a shelter pet).
And I got one the other day of Cinderella outside in a holding pen with the newborn chicks

Have to get those uploaded....

 

[michelle1017]

She is adorable! Our GP Henry sneezes when he is around someone that smokes. Aren't they the most adorable pets? I love to hear his little squeals!

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
We don't smoke, and Relli hadn't been outside that day. But she did get a clean cage and fresh bag of hay about an hour before the weird noises started... Had forgotten about that!

Here's a pic of Cinderella and Callie. Callie thinks Cin is the freakiest thing she has ever seen, and that it's her job to keep an eye on the goofy little critter. Cin startled Jezzie (our other cat), who freaked out, and Callie ran over to protect Jezzie! It was too funny.

 

[Akane]

Guinea pigs are really quite sensitive compared to most animals. What bedding are you using? I think you mentioned hay earlier and that makes a very poor bedding. It will hold in moisure making the cage wetter along with growing mold easy. We had a pig die because they knocked hay down in the cage, peed on it, and it was not cleaned up before it grew mold. One ate it and developed major digestive tract problems. When they cut him open his intestines were all swollen and dying. He passed under anethesia. Aside from how poor of bedding it makes hay can also be dusty which will lead to sneezing and potential respiratory problems if they are exposed to too much of it. Majority of the diet should be hay but you want it to be good quality hay and do not fill the whole cage with it.

Kiln dried pine or pine pellets are the best for the money. No cedar and don't use plain pine that doesn't say kiln dried. The oils that evaporate off all softwood causes respiratory problems. Some like cedar are worse than others and drying it under heat helps remove the oils. Thus the reason why you use kiln dried pine instead of plain. Like I mentioned dusty bedding can also cause problems. For the chickens I just get the really cheap stuff at the feedstore that has everything from sawdust to blocks of wood in it but for the guinea pigs I always used screened kiln dried pine or spruce shavings. They take out the extra small (dust) and extra large pieces so you have a uniform, not dusty bedding.