Runny Nose

Question
Dear Annie,

My young guinea pig has a runny nose and discharge from his
eyes.  He is eating very well, and drinking the normal amount.  I
was wondering if maybe he has some sort of allergy.  I feed him
Oxbow pellets and hay, and I keep him on pine bedding.  I recently
switched to pine from cedar, but he was suffering the same way on
the cedar.  He has a companion, but she has no signs of illness at
all.  Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Tiffany,

Never put guinea pigs (or any small animal) on Cedar shavings, they cause lung damage.  The essential oils in Cedar are dangerous to all animals.

He may have an allergy - or the onset of a respiratory infection.  How long has he been ill?  Don't let a respiratory infection go.  Take him to a veterinarian, but make sure the vet doesn't give him any penicillin family antibiotics, as they are toxic to guinea pigs.  Baytril and Sulfa drugs are safe.  The fact that the other piggie is not ill is not necessarily a good indication of if it is an allergy or infection.

I use a compressed newspaper cat litter/bedding for some of my guinea pigs.  You could try that.  It is a little more expensive than the pine, but shouldn't be any more than the cedar.  Care Fresh brand bedding is another option, but I find it far too expensive for the number of guinea pigs I have.

It is possible to keep guinea pigs on shredded newspaper, but the cage will need more frequent cleaning.  It is completely safe though, and shouldn't cause any allergies.

Unless your male is neutered or you want your female pregnant, I would separate them.  And certainly if the male does have a respiratory infection (my guess actually), you don't want to risk the female getting it, especially if she's pregnant, which she may be if you have had these two together for long.

I hope this helps some.  If you have any other questions let me know.

Annie