General Could my guinea pig have allergies?

[agemus]

I have had my guinea pig for about a year now, and I have brought him to the vet three times about this problem. The first time I've noticed him sneezing once in a while, but since he was a month old they told me not to worry much about it because his immune system is still trying to develop. About 6 months ago i called up the vet to talk about his sneezing again and they've noticed he looks healthy so could just be allergies. A month later, I've noticed he wasn't eating as much and his sneezing was still the same so since the vet said he is having the same symptoms to bring him in and he had an acute URI and gas build up (due to the not eating). He got back to better health and the vet signed him off as a healthy guinea pig that just needs to be checked annually. His sneezing problem never went away even after the medication, even though sometimes he wheezes (very faint, only happens sometimes not constantly.) it's been about 5 months since we've last seen the vet and every time I go to them it either seems something not urgent or an acute URI, where it seems after the medication his sneezing symptom doesn't go away. He still acts normal, eats everything in sight. I even need to get him a whole new set of toys because he destroyed the ones I've gotten him in the past month. So nothing unusual, and still a very hyper little boy always wants to be picked up. Is it possible he could just have allergies? I don't like him sneezing all the time, is there anything to make him sneeze less?

Like I've said he's been having this problem since I've gotten him a year ago, and no red flags every time i went to the vet which would be 6 times (including the re-check ups from treatments) only an acute URI.

Any suggestions to help out?

(Nose is not moist btw, still dry)

 

[bpatters]

Have you tried a different type of hay? Timothy causes the most allergy problems in humans, so it's reasonable to assume that it could do the same in guinea pigs.

Also, if you're buying small bags of hay at a pet store or someplace like Walmart, you're getting the oldest, driest, possibly moldiest hat. Hay from a local supplier (probably impossible where you are) is the cheapest and freshest. Hay ordered online from someplace like Small Pet Select, American Pet Diner, KMS Hayloft is fresh but more expensive. The hay you get at a pet store or Walmart is the lowest quality and at least twice as expensive per pound as hay ordered online.

The cheapest way to order online is to order the largest size box when somebody has a free shipping offer if you buy a large box. But don't order a big box of another type of hay the first time. I did that ordering blue grass for my two pigs. They hated it, and I wound up giving a huge box of hay away.

 

[agemus]

That would make sense. I do give him timothy hay, and I've noticed that some residue (like saw dust?) comes with the long layers of hay, so maybe that's a possibility? I'll look online then, I did not realize that could have been the issue.

Would that explain when he wheezes sometimes?

 

[bpatters]

It could. It would be worth trying some other kind of hay for a couple of weeks and see if it makes any difference.

I believe that KMS Hayloft will send you one pound bags of different kinds of hay if you just pay the shipping. They may or may not be your best choice for larger amounts, but you could test the different kinds of hay for not very much money.

 

[agemus]

thanks for the tip! I'll try it out