In the comments section of an earlier post, Elise asked about a pet guinea pig that seems to be sneezing a lot.
Without any other information to go by, it's difficult to know if her pig's sneezing is worrisome or not. At its worst, sneezing could be indicative of an upper respiratory infection (URI) if it's accompanied by any of the symptoms listed on this GuineaLynx reference page.
At its simplest, a pig's sneezing could be due to dusty bedding, which happens frequently with pine bedding and sometimes with aspen or wood pulp products (like Kaytee Total Comfort).
Slightly more complex, but still solvable with some diligent observation and detective work, is the possibility that a pig's sneezing is due to an allergy or sensitivity to any of the following:
- pine or aspen bedding
- laundry detergent and/or fabric softener being used for washing cozy cups, cozy sacks, fabric tunnels/tents/hideaways, towels or blankets used in the play area, towels or blankets used to cover the cage at night
- air freshener products used in the home (including the low-intensity plug-in fresheners)
- carpet cleaning or deodorizing products (which leave strong odors)
- household cleaners (which leave strong odors)
- perfumes, colognes, after-shave products, and other scented body care products
If your pig isn't showing any other signs of a URI (and continues not to), and the bedding you use isn't dusty, you will want to start working through the above list of allergens. It will be an ongoing process of elimination for a few weeks, but if allergies/sensitivities are the culprit, your hard work will pay off.
my guinea pig has been sneezing since i got him (2 or 3 months ago). i just got another piggy (2 weeks ago). he is sneezing too. i did a test on them. i put one guinea pig in my mom's room and let the other one in my room for 2 days. they piggy in my mom's room wasnt sneezing anymore. think they are alergic to me. i dont where perfume or anything. what do you think?
Posted by: Angie | January 31, 2012 at 01:45 PM
My guinea pig is almost 2 years old and I have raised him from birth, the last week or so I have noticed he has been sneezing HEAPS! and with lots of mucus, however he doesn't have any of the symptoms of URI and I have not changed his bedding,Blankets etc. I own four piggies (2 girls and 2 boys kept in separate cages) and none of the other he this problem. Help! I am worried about his safety, does he need a vet?
Thanks ^__^
Posted by: Sarah Higgins | November 09, 2011 at 01:41 AM
My Piggy named Pan has been sneezing lately.
We have him in wood chips for the past few weeks but hes only started today.
we dont know if he has a cold.....hopefully not D:
Posted by: PiggyMan899 | September 30, 2011 at 08:56 PM