Hi all,
I'm a little bit concerned about my guinea pig Funky. He is about one year and one month old. He is an Abyssinian - long fur! For the last couple of weeks, once a day my guinea pig has these strange sneezing episodes. Up until today, I really thought it was nothing but now I'm starting to wonder. The good news is that I see no discharge, crust around the nose or eyes and he is eating his hay and pellets. He is interested in food. I think his energy level and temperature are OK. How can I tell if he has a temperature? So, he did feel warm to me today but it is also really cold outside so it might just have been my hands. Currently, his bedding has been paper (papertowel, newspaper, magazine, and white paper on top!). I clean his cage a few times a day. I have used towel/blanket in the past but that was before the sneezing started.
What bothers me is that I have had four guinea pigs and I've just never experienced this before. So, once a day my guinea pig has a "sneeze attack". It sounds as though something gets in his nose and it irritates him until he sneezes it out. I mean, that has happened to me in the past - just not every day for a couple of weeks! Today, was particularly bad - he sneezed close to 20 times. It's usually closer to 10 to 15. The episodes last from 5 minutes to a little over an hour and then he is completely fine. If he were really sick, wouldn't there be discharge? If he were really sick, wouldn't he be sneezing all day?
I have a couple of theories all of which are probably silly but ... What do you think is causing his sneezing? Should I be concerned? Is this normal for some piggies? Could this just be allergies? (Although, wouldn't allergies cause him to sneeze all day?)
1) I started using Tide Pods and it turns out, the smell is really strong. I keep my toilet paper in the same cupboard and my toilet paper smells like Tide Pods!! Strange, but I don't really mind. I do let my clothes hang to dry near his cage. Maybe the smell got to him?
2) I cut his fur ... maybe some tiny pieces of fur got into his nose? (But I don't cut his fur every day!)
3) He likes to run under the paper where his poop has crumbled and is dusty ... maybe that is causing his sneezing? (His poop dries pretty fast and tends to crumble!)
I know, I know - these theories are crazy. I just wish I knew what was causing the sneezing. I mean, 5 sneezes are normal ... but over 10?
February 10th is sort of his birthday. It's the day I brought him home with me one year ago. So, I really hope he is healthy and I can spoil him rotten!
Looking forward to hearing your feedback,
Helena
I'm a little bit concerned about my guinea pig Funky. He is about one year and one month old. He is an Abyssinian - long fur! For the last couple of weeks, once a day my guinea pig has these strange sneezing episodes. Up until today, I really thought it was nothing but now I'm starting to wonder. The good news is that I see no discharge, crust around the nose or eyes and he is eating his hay and pellets. He is interested in food. I think his energy level and temperature are OK. How can I tell if he has a temperature? So, he did feel warm to me today but it is also really cold outside so it might just have been my hands. Currently, his bedding has been paper (papertowel, newspaper, magazine, and white paper on top!). I clean his cage a few times a day. I have used towel/blanket in the past but that was before the sneezing started.
What bothers me is that I have had four guinea pigs and I've just never experienced this before. So, once a day my guinea pig has a "sneeze attack". It sounds as though something gets in his nose and it irritates him until he sneezes it out. I mean, that has happened to me in the past - just not every day for a couple of weeks! Today, was particularly bad - he sneezed close to 20 times. It's usually closer to 10 to 15. The episodes last from 5 minutes to a little over an hour and then he is completely fine. If he were really sick, wouldn't there be discharge? If he were really sick, wouldn't he be sneezing all day?
I have a couple of theories all of which are probably silly but ... What do you think is causing his sneezing? Should I be concerned? Is this normal for some piggies? Could this just be allergies? (Although, wouldn't allergies cause him to sneeze all day?)
1) I started using Tide Pods and it turns out, the smell is really strong. I keep my toilet paper in the same cupboard and my toilet paper smells like Tide Pods!! Strange, but I don't really mind. I do let my clothes hang to dry near his cage. Maybe the smell got to him?
2) I cut his fur ... maybe some tiny pieces of fur got into his nose? (But I don't cut his fur every day!)
3) He likes to run under the paper where his poop has crumbled and is dusty ... maybe that is causing his sneezing? (His poop dries pretty fast and tends to crumble!)
I know, I know - these theories are crazy. I just wish I knew what was causing the sneezing. I mean, 5 sneezes are normal ... but over 10?
February 10th is sort of his birthday. It's the day I brought him home with me one year ago. So, I really hope he is healthy and I can spoil him rotten!
Looking forward to hearing your feedback,
Helena