Hairball?

[redangel1300]

HI, I am a new piggy owner and have made 2 C&C Cages for them after realizing that one was male and one was female. They are doing well except my male makes this really odd sound like he is choking or he has a hairball, I dont even know if that is possible. I dont know what triggers the sound, he dosent seem to be eating when it happens or anything but it worries me. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate it Thanks

 

[Eventrocker33]

What does it sound like, purring or like a motor by any chance?

 

[redangel1300]

no its not his purring, that I understand, it is like a real loud short hacking sound. He dosent seem to be in pain or anything it is really unusually

 

[TheQueen]

Ditto to what Eventrocker said.

But to add something, a good idea may be to get the male nuetered. Then you can have them both in one cage and they can better enjoy each other's company. Poor guy, he's probably going insane not being able to see his lady pal.

 

[TheQueen]

Does he make the noise when he's going to the bathroom?

 

[redangel1300]

I havent noticed if he does. I have thought about getting him neutered but I wasnt sure how safe it is. Plus anytime he is with my female she gets angry and urinates on him, is that unusal?

 

[redangel1300]

They can see eachother from where they are as well.

 

[TheQueen]

The next time he makes the noise, try to see if he's going to the bathroom. If he is, urination may be hurting him, which could be a sign of a medical issue.

Nuetering does have it's risks, but they aren't big ones. I don't know of any pig that has been harmed. Plus, it's not too expensive if you can find a good vet, and then your two pigs can enjoy themselves together. It's fine that they can see each other, but it's not the same as being together. Would you rather have a friend over, or just look at each other from across the street? That's probably how the pigs feel.

 

[Amanda]

My Brownie gets choked all the time. Scares me to death. I have to get up in the middle of the night to see if he got it up or not.

 

[redangel1300]

Is it a hairball, food or what?

 

[RubyPiggie2]

Usually food. I don't believe guinea pigs get hairballs. :l

 

[Amanda]

hay mostly for Brownie

 

[redangel1300]

Anyone had problems with a female urinating on a male. My female does it evertime he gets close to her

 

[RubyPiggie2]

Yeah, she's just annoyed. XD

 

[TheQueen]

She's probably just uncomfortable. When my friend brought her un-nuetered male over one day, Queen jumped and attacked him! She was acting so bizarre! How long have they been together? Perhaps their not completely warmed up to each other yet?

Again, if you nueter him, this would probably stop because they'll get to be together more, and the male's hormones won't be raging. ;D

 

[redangel1300]

I know next to nothing about them. I rescued them from a man that was keeping them in a barn in a plasic container. He had gotten them free and was just keeping them around for his granddaughter to play with when she came over. They were disgusting when I got them. I knew nothing about Guinea pigs but I new they would not last long in that condition and I am a suck for a helpless animal. I will have to check into the neutering though.

 

[TheQueen]

Were they together? If they were, and he is un-nuetered, there's a fair chance the female may be preggers. =o

 

[redangel1300]

Unfortunately they were. I have been wondering about that. She has gotten fatter but I dont really know.

 

[TheQueen]

Perhaps if you decide to look into nuetering, you could take the female with you to the vet. They can usually tell for sure whether they are pregnant or not. Good luck with both of them! I'm sure everything will work out...what are their names?

 

[redangel1300]

My male is Woodrow, I have no idea where my 5 year-old got that name, and my female is Oreo. They have been a real joy and source of entertainment