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Wheezing Loud breathing and lack of appetite

Nikkipig

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Tonight, I picked Nikki up and noticed right away that I can hear her breathing. It sounds almost like normal breathing, only much louder with a slight wheeze. I've never heard her do this before. She sneezes every once in a while.

Her eyes and nose are clean- no discharge or crustiness whatsoever. She's still drinking fine. She has the same amount of energy as usual. Her heartbeat is strong/fast from what my mother and I can tell from listening to it with a stethoscope. I did notice that she's become pickier when it comes to eating her vegetables. She picks through her food and leaves her least favorite pieces uneaten more often than what she used to. She does still eat her hay and pellets as usual and she hasn't lost any weight. Her bedding is Carefresh. She's roughly four and a half years old, give or take a few months.

We're taking her to the vet (an exotics one) on Monday because the vet is closed for the weekend. I'm worried sick and I was wondering if anyone has a slight idea of what could be wrong with her?
 
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Nikkipig

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I just checked on her again and she didn't eat any of her fresh food. She didn't even eat her peppers, except for a small piece she nibbled on. She ALWAYS eats her peppers right away. Something is definitely off. I'm going to give her a few grapes because she loves fruit so maybe she'll eat that. I'm also going to go pick some fresh grass for her. It's 4:20am and I'll need a flashlight to see but it scares me that she's stopped eating almost completely now. She normally gets grass a few times a week and if she had the choice she would never stop eating it, so if nothing else, this will be the one thing she'll eat (at least I hope).
 

Nikkipig

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Last update for tonight: She's eating the grass and the grapes, so at least she's still willing to eat her absolute favorite foods. Just nothing else, which is still worrisome. Monday feels like a long way away.
 

Beatrix187

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It could be a URI. So just make sure shes comfortable.
 

bpatters

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You MUST hand-feed her. A guinea pig that's not eating is in danger of dying, and they can do so pretty quickly. You can make a slurry of pellets and water in your blender, or preferably, get some Critical Care. I believe PetSmart usually carries it.

If she's eating nothing else, she needs 60 ml of slurry/CC for every kilogram she weighs, split into 5-6 servings throughout the day and night. More is better. See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for instructions on how to do it. Just be aware that you can get a larger pet-feeding syringe at the pet store, or a free one from a drug store if you tell them you want to feed a sick animal. That may make it easier.

She won't like it, and you'll think you're killing her, but you're not. You're saving her life. She needs the nutrients in the slurry/CC, and too many grapes and too much fresh grass will only complicate the problem by possibly inducing diarrhea. Don't drastically change her diet by adding fruits and vegetables when she's sick.
 

Nikkipig

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She's started eating normally again today (she was even wheeking for it). She's ate everything I've given her so far, even the veggies she's not that fond of, and hopefully it stays that way. If she stops eating again I'll go get some Critical Care, but for now, she's good. Unfortunately, the breathing/wheezing noise is still audible. One more day until she goes to the vet. Hopefully he can figure out what's wrong.
 
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