Does my guinea pig have an upper respitory infection?

Question

My guinea pig sneezes and coughes a lot. He eats, drinks and is popcorning. He doesn't have any discharge in his eyes or nose and he's fine with pooping and peeing. They live on aspen bedding so that good.

I listened to his chest and my other guinea pigs chest and they sound kinda different, maybe because he was breathing hard but im not sure.

I got him from a shelter and he was sneezing the first time i met him, 2 weeks ago. So i know he's been dooing this for 2 weeks now.

What are the main symptoms of an upper respitory infection.

I know they are deadly but how long does my guinea pig have to have it before.. bad things happen?

Answer 1

The classic sound of an URI is clicking when the animal is breathing. Usually this is accompanied by slower behavior and lots of discharge from the nose. You should take your guinea pig to a vet non the less, to see if there is anything wrong. The longer you wait if the pig does have a URI, the more scarring will start to develop in the lungs, so try to make an appointment relatively soon. If you do hear the clicking, and the piggy is struggling to breathe, take him to the bathroom and run the shower hot for a while. The steam should clear his lungs for a while. The other possibility is that your guinea pig is allergic to something in your house - something in the carpet, the laundry soap you use on your clothes, perfume or air freshener, etc. If this is the case, you need to look for logical allergens and remove them to see if the problem lessens. THIS COULD TAKE A WHILE - BE PATIENT! If the piggy doesn't have a URI, allergy is the most likely cause for the sneezing, so in order to get your animal better, you have to take the time to find out what is bothering him. So, take him to the vet (I would take both just to be sure they are healthy). If he does have a URI, the vet will give you antibiotics that you should give RELIGIOUSLY as he/she instructed. If not, then take your time to check carefully for allergens. Best of luck.

EDIT - the clicking could be soft, but is usually fairly noticable if you hold the animal up to your ear for a few seconds. If he isn't acting sick, then I wouldn't worry about a URI as much, although you should still check for clicking and get the piggies checked on by a vet. If there is no clicking, it is most likely an alergy, or, as I forgot to include, a cold picked up from an animal at the shelter. In this case, it should clear up relativly quickly. If not, then I would assume it's an alergy, which is not uncommon. Once again, good luck!