URI/Upper Respiratory Infection Please help i cant tell if my piggie is sick!

greythepiggie · Oct 15, 2014

Hi everyone, I'm new at this so please be patient with me! I have a male piggie, Grey, who is just over a year old. 3 weeks ago i noticed a weird sound coming from his cage. I work with animals so i am very aware of signs pertaining to piggie sickness. That very day i took Grey to the vet and told the vet i think that he may have a URI. He commended me for noticing so quickly that he was becoming ill. In fact, the only sign he showed was a SLIGHT congestion in one eye, the vet said it was super early and he wouldn't even consider it a URI yet. Grey was given antibiotics for six days (the bottle got thrown out during bedding changes so i'm unsure of the exact name). Leading up to the day he began making the noise until this very second he is his usual self he never showed any signs of sickness: he is pop corning, running laps, drinking plenty, playing with toys, and his favorite eating lots of pellets, hay, and veggies. Its been a decent amount of time since the antibiotics and he is STILL making this noise !!

i need someone to please help me and let me know if he's still sick or just driving mommy crazy! I have read online a lot of noises similar to this but nothing to me sounds exactly like this so i can't tell if he is still sick or content. someone please help!
PS in this particular video the noise is made when he reaches down to clean himself however this is not always the case. he makes the noise randomly doing anything: eating, running around, watching tv, laying with mommy, etc.

[video=youtube_share;CmAhXsHNLms]

bpatters · Oct 15, 2014

Sounds to me like he's talking to himself.

foggycreekcavy · Oct 17, 2014

Yes, it's like the noises pigs make to each other.

He'd probably love a larger cage and a companion!

pigger123 · Oct 17, 2014

He's adorable! Those noises sound perfectly normal. I agree that he would love having a friend and some more space.

MrsGuineaPig · Oct 17, 2014

Such a cute piggie! I third that he would love a bigger cage and another male friend!

greythepiggie · Oct 29, 2014

thank you everyone for making me feel better! lucky for my baby he has three females in his room with him as well as a cousin male pig upstairs that he loves to see daily. as far as the cage he is super spoiled and has a large play pen he prefers to sleep in, i was worried he was ill still so i put him in his old cage. thank you again everyone!!

MrsGuineaPig · Oct 29, 2014

I am sorry but he should not be in contact with any females. Also, seeing his another male friend every day but not living with him is probably really stressful on both piggies. Why don't they just live together? And why don't you just let him live in a big cage rather than a pen? Don't mean to come off rude, sorry!

greythepiggie · Oct 29, 2014

he's not in direct contact with females. those are his two daughters and wifey pig. they have a separate cage which they reside in. the other male in the house is not mine, the two get floor time often with one another and they have no issues; they chase each other around a hurt my ear drums with all their squeaks from the fun they have. lastly, he doesn't have a cage because he doesn't like a cage. he is more happy and vocal in his play pen so i leave him in there rather than removing him and forcing him to be unhappy in a cage. i definitely don't think you're being rude i understand you are voicing your opinion.

Princess_Piggie · Oct 29, 2014

greythepiggie said:
he's not in direct contact with females. those are his two daughters and wifey pig. they have a separate cage which they reside in. the other male in the house is not mine, the two get floor time often with one another and they have no issues; they chase each other around a hurt my ear drums with all their squeaks from the fun they have. lastly, he doesn't have a cage because he doesn't like a cage. he is more happy and vocal in his play pen so i leave him in there rather than removing him and forcing him to be unhappy in a cage. i definitely don't think you're being rude i understand you are voicing your opinion.

Unfortunately, what you're witnessing when you let the two boys have floor time together is not fun, but dominance behaviours.

As social herd animals, they need to establish a dominance order and have a "boss" pig. That's done by chasing, nipping, nosing off, mounting etc. It's actually very stressful for both pigs and the squeaks are likely because they're stimulating each other and trying to work out who should be in charge. By repeatedly introducing then separating you're only prolonging stress and confusing for them.

greythepiggie · Oct 29, 2014

I appreciate your input. however, you're very mistaken. there's no dominance issue between the two. no nipping or nosing off. the chasing that they do is out of pure fun in and out of tubes before cuddling and sleeping for hours until veggie time.

Soecara · Oct 29, 2014

Is there anyway you could talk to the owner of the other boar about their living arrangements? It would benefit both pigs if they could live together, and you have already said that they do get along.

Perhaps you could make a deal like you will take turns cleaning the cage they would live in and stuff like that.

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URI/Upper Respiratory Infection Please help i cant tell if my piggie is sick!

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