MY PIGGY IS GASPING!! :*(

Question
Hi, I just got my baby (guinea pig) a few weeks ago. I made sure he has proper bedding, food, fresh water and he gets tons of attention! Yesterday he started sort of gasping/....he opens his mouth and makes a gasping sound...I'm reallly scared I dont know what to do!! I thought maybe it was because he was thirsty (it was hot yesterday) so I put him back in his cage and set him next to his water. Today he started to do the same thing...but even more. I noticed last night that he's kind of sneezing too! Please help me...I'm really scared...I dont now if he might be having trouble breathing! What should I do to help my baby?!? :(

Answer
The best thing to do at this point is take him too a vet, he does most likely have an upper respiratory infection, but he could also have something stuck in his trachea or windpipe also, even if it is small. Most of the time pigs do not start gasping with URI's except maybe at the late stages near death, so that leads me to believe that he may have something in his throat also. I have information about how to treat URI's on my website- http://woopets.bravehost.com  . The best thing to do would be take him to the vet at this point if possible, especially if there is something stuck in his throat. Let me know if you have any more questions, and be sure to read over the guinea pig info. on my site about URIs.
Brittany