Hi Everyone,
I'd like to apologize right off the bat for making my first post as a post asking for advice. But I would rather ask here first before going to the vet...
My girlfriend and I just got Guinea Pigs two weeks ago to the day, and so far they have been great. The visibly older one, Buddha, is probably around 6 months old or so. The smaller one, Peanut, is probably around 4 months old.
Just tonight, Buddha started breathing much louder than usual. By that, I mean that before, i couldn't hear his breathing at all, and now I actually can. I tried listening to see if it was a labored breathing or if there was any wheezing, and I didn't hear any distinct whistling or other noise besides him just breathing loudly. I've been keeping in mind that our pigs are just now starting to get comfortable around us, and have subsequently become louder in pretty much EVERY aspect of their behavior, but I just wanted to get some opinions. He hasn't shown any sign of discomfort, he comes out and purrs when we scratch his back, he's eating lots of pellet food and hay as well as drinking normally. Now, he is a VERY picky pig when it comes to the fruits and vegetables we feed them...he rarely eats the veggies we give him outside of a few bites. He always just goes straight to the pellet food (which has bits of dried fruit and veggies in it.) In fact, just a few minutes ago, he was running around, weeking, and popcorning while my girlfriend was vacuuming the cage. I know that pigs are prey animals and will mask how they feel, but I just wanted to get some quick advice.
Maybe to give some pre-emptive answers...we keep the apartment between 75 and 80 degrees, we've closed the air vents above their cage, we keep the ceiling fan off, they are in a C&C cage that's cleaned at least once a day, their fleece is washed with detergent that is non-dye/non-perfume, etc. They get fresh food, hay, and water every day, and the water is filtered.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
I'd like to apologize right off the bat for making my first post as a post asking for advice. But I would rather ask here first before going to the vet...
My girlfriend and I just got Guinea Pigs two weeks ago to the day, and so far they have been great. The visibly older one, Buddha, is probably around 6 months old or so. The smaller one, Peanut, is probably around 4 months old.
Just tonight, Buddha started breathing much louder than usual. By that, I mean that before, i couldn't hear his breathing at all, and now I actually can. I tried listening to see if it was a labored breathing or if there was any wheezing, and I didn't hear any distinct whistling or other noise besides him just breathing loudly. I've been keeping in mind that our pigs are just now starting to get comfortable around us, and have subsequently become louder in pretty much EVERY aspect of their behavior, but I just wanted to get some opinions. He hasn't shown any sign of discomfort, he comes out and purrs when we scratch his back, he's eating lots of pellet food and hay as well as drinking normally. Now, he is a VERY picky pig when it comes to the fruits and vegetables we feed them...he rarely eats the veggies we give him outside of a few bites. He always just goes straight to the pellet food (which has bits of dried fruit and veggies in it.) In fact, just a few minutes ago, he was running around, weeking, and popcorning while my girlfriend was vacuuming the cage. I know that pigs are prey animals and will mask how they feel, but I just wanted to get some quick advice.
Maybe to give some pre-emptive answers...we keep the apartment between 75 and 80 degrees, we've closed the air vents above their cage, we keep the ceiling fan off, they are in a C&C cage that's cleaned at least once a day, their fleece is washed with detergent that is non-dye/non-perfume, etc. They get fresh food, hay, and water every day, and the water is filtered.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!