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Sneezing Allergies?

Guinea_88

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Hello, about 7 days ago I noticed my guinea pig started to randomly sneeze. After he sneezes I can see clear discharge but he wipes it away. It seems to happen around 3 times a day. However, his weight, appetite and behavior hasn't changed. I also listened to his breathing and it is nothing out of the ordinary, no clicking, no wheezing. His eyes and nose have no crust. It hasn't seemed to worsen since last week though. Sometimes he sneezes when I add fresh hay but sometimes he sneezes while eating pellets or just walking around. I have been worrying about him a lot. Is this normal???
 

petluv

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Hello, about 7 days ago I noticed my guinea pig started to randomly sneeze. After he sneezes I can see clear discharge but he wipes it away. It seems to happen around 3 times a day. However, his weight, appetite and behavior hasn't changed. I also listened to his breathing and it is nothing out of the ordinary, no clicking, no wheezing. His eyes and nose have no crust. It hasn't seemed to worsen since last week though. Sometimes he sneezes when I add fresh hay but sometimes he sneezes while eating pellets or just walking around. I have been worrying about him a lot. Is this normal???
If it has been an ongoing problem and he has a discharge that could be serious. Nasal discharge is not normal for piggies. Take him to the vet tmrw at the latest. I hope he feels better soon!
 

Guinea_88

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Hi, just to be clear I haven’t seen any nasal “discharge” outside of the nose. After he sneezes I look in and I see a clear substance inside his nostrils.
 

Guinea_88

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The sneezing has been happening since last week but he shows no other symptoms of a URI and it hasn’t seemed to worsen.
 

bpatters

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It could well be allergies. I'd try a different source of hay for a while and see if that makes any difference. In the meantime, keep a very close eye on him, and get him to a vet if he shows any URI symptoms.
 

Guinea_88

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It could well be allergies. I'd try a different source of hay for a while and see if that makes any difference. In the meantime, keep a very close eye on him, and get him to a vet if he shows any URI symptoms.
Thanks for all of your replies, I have and will continue to closely watch him.
 

Mike221

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Like said above, watch them closely for signs of URI.
Make sure the discharge from nose is clear. If not clear, could be an infection.

My 2 boys had exactly the same issue for a long time and sometimes still do.
They would have lots of clear discharge from nose after sneezing and they would sneeze a lot.
I even took them to vet several times in the beginning.
Over the last 3 years I learned that their noses are extremely sensitive and they will sneeze just on small irritation.

1. If hay you use is just a bit dusty, that could trigger it.
2. If you are using fleece bedding, make sure you are using clear natural detergent. 100 % scent and dye free.
3. They will always sneeze when sniffing where other piggy peed. Clean cage twice a week if using fleece.
4. This is what did it for us. We added green peppers as a snack during the day (VITAMIN C).
So they eat lots of green pepper and since then there is almost no sneezing.
Sometimes they start sneezing and that clear fluid comes out from their noses, we just add a bit more peppers for a few days and it stops.
Higher vitamin C intake?!
But our piggies are on low calcium diet and they get very low portion of pellets enriched with Vitamin C, so we compensate with green peppers.
And for the last 3 years, we don't have any issues with it.
5. Allergies could also trigger it. You can try children Benadryl syrup as a last resort. But nothing with added cough, headache, congestion ,etc.
We tried that as well in the past...

I can't help on much topics, but here I can probably give at least some useful info as I went through this.
 

Guinea_88

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Thanks for the information, I have been closely watching my guinea pig and the sneezing has started to occur less frequently. He was sneezing 4-5 times a day and now he sneezes 2-3 times a day. His weight and appetite has been the same and he shows no other signs of URI.
 
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