coughing & sneezing

Question
QUESTION: whenever i pick my guinea pig up it always sounds like she has phlegm in her throat, she always coughs and sneezes, what is it and what do i do to stop it?

ANSWER: Hi Kim,

How long has your piggy done this? Whilst piggies can suffer from the common cold and always sneeze a bit anyway after rooting around in their bedding - if it *always* happens then it's a cause for concern.

The most likely cause is that your guinea pig is allergic to something. What bedding are you using? I use dust-extracted wood shavings for my boys, but megazorb and medibed are made especially for piggies with allergies. Have you painted your house or got a new pet recently? These could also be irritating her.

If changing the bedding doesn't ease the problem within 24 hours, I'd recommend you take her to a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet. It could be that she has a respiratory infection and will need some antibitoics prescribed to her.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: shes been doing it for 3 months since we got her but im using cedar bedding they were using pine at the pet store and i switched her bedding to pine for about a week and it just got worse with the pine, she cant even squeek and all the pets i have are 3 other guinea pigs 4 in total -- all my other guinea pigs (3) in the past have passed away from a respiratory illness and i know what they are and she doesnt have any of the symptoms.

Answer
Kim,

I suggest you take her to a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet ASAP. If she's had it for three months it obviously isn't going to go away on its own. She could have developed a chest infection from a cold, or she could have an allergy, or even a different sort of respiratory problem from the other piggies you've had. It's very hard for me to guess at what could be the problem without seeing her.

I have always used the same bedding for my boys as we don't have the  choice of wood shavings in the UK as you do in the USA. However, I do know that cedar bedding is quite contraversial due to the essential oils in it - it's just too much for some piggies to handle. I suggest you switch to use medibed or megazorb for bedding as it is hypo-allergenic. You can usually order it in bulk online - as well as lessening the chance of respiratory problems, it also eliminates the issue of wood shavings getting stuck in eyes/noses/bottoms etc.

Good luck!

Jenny.