hiccups?

Question
well i've only see him like this two times a few days apart. all he has ate two chew sticks and a kabob for him to chew on. he doesn't chew on any of it much. two nights ago, about a day or two after his last hiccups, he was chewing on his cage wire like crazy! i didn't know if i should stop him or let him chew. i let him for a little bit and then stopped him. maybe he just wanted to be held or have some veggies though. if i don't hear the hiccups any more for a while do you think he'll be okay?
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-----Question-----
Do guinea pigs get hiccups? last week mine had what looked and sounded a lot like hiccups. then it happened again this week. i've had him for over a month and this is the first i've seen this. is it something that should concern me? it kind of shakes his whole body, well not shakes, but its kind of like when a human has really bad ones...know what i mean?
-----Answer-----
I would check the inside of his mouth and his cage for things that he should not be chewing on, or swallowing. Guinea pigs can not vomit at all, so hiccupping would be a sign of abnormal breathing, or a reaction to something in his mouth. Also does he have any other drainage in his lungs or anywhere else that accompanies the hiccups? Hiccups can be from Upper Respiratory Infections, because the drainage restricts normal breathing. If he has any plastic, or wooden toys that he has been chewing on, remove them, and see if that helps, he could be trying to eat material like that. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Brittany


Answer
He should be ok, hiccups are usually a reaction of an upset of the normal breathing pattern, so he might have just gotten too excited or exhausted while chewing on the bars and gotten hiccups, but I would not worry about it unless it becomes a constant problem. Chewing on the bars is a way to get attention or food, he is just very demanding. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Brittany