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Post by schatzi on Sept 1, 2009 23:27:32 GMT
Hi there, my boyfriend and I picked up a pair of male guinea pigs a little less than a week ago, and I'm hooked One of them however, a red-eyed orange rex named Seth (estimated at about 3-4months), has me a bit concerned. He sneezes once in a while and will occasionally cough as well, not often maybe 10 times a day or so? It's been a bit more frequent today but not big sneezes, more little "snorts". I just added timothy hay to their huts as well as their hay feeder, so dust is definitely a possibility. What has me posting is the fact that I've been weighing them daily, and Seth dropped 27g from yesterday (477g - 451g). Previously he had been gaining weight. However when I weighed them yesterday they had just eaten, today they were weighed right before dinner. Otherwise he's absolutely fine, no discharge and his breathing isn't making any noise, which I take as a good sign. He's active and while he's clearly still adjusting, doesn't seem to have any serious changes in behaviour. So what do you think, am I being paranoid?
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Post by Niki on Sept 2, 2009 0:07:26 GMT
Hi & Welcome ;D Congrats on your new additions - they are totally addictive The sneezing/snorting could well be caused by dust. The fact he's gaining weight is a good sign. A weight loss of 27g is nothing to be concerned about. The difference is as you've said because you weighed after veggies & then before. If a piggy has just done a wee before you weigh it can show a loss. You don't "need" to weigh them every day. I weigh all my new pigs once a week for the first 6wks & then fortnightly along with the rest. However, i know others weigh more/less frequently
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Post by Orlaith on Sept 2, 2009 11:00:13 GMT
My piggies cough a lot when they're eating because they don't take their time and try to fit too much veg in at once! It used to worry me a lot but I'm used to it now. I'm sure you just have pigs who love to eat!
I weigh my piggies monthly-ish and it seems fine for them, although I do admit that if they were losing weight I wouldn't catch it as quickly.
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Post by luvcats22 on Sept 2, 2009 12:06:44 GMT
27grams is about an ounce,so its nothing to worry about yet, usually a loss of 2ounces or more is cause for concern. if there is no discharge/wheezing then i wouldnt be overly concerned yet, try eliminating the dust and see if that improves things. maybe try using fleece in their bed area for a few days? hope he is ok. xxx
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Dawn - Admin
Administrator
MOTM May 2006, TPOTM Nov 2007
Dawn and the Cutiecavies
Posts: 22,784
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Post by Dawn - Admin on Sept 2, 2009 12:34:53 GMT
I agree with what everyone has said above. As there is no dicharge I tend to think it could be hay dust but keep an eye on him and his weight just to be on the safe side.
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Post by schatzi on Sept 3, 2009 17:24:56 GMT
Thanks for the responses everyone The timothy hay I had was quite dusty - it was chopped. I normally deal with horses so I know my hay, and this petstore stuff was...blech. Replaced it with some nicer timothy from work and the sneezing has died down considerably! They're both popcorning around like a couple of crazies, so I'll take that as a good sign
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