Otherwise healthy pig making odd sounds

Post Reply
Gessika

Post   » Sun Oct 21, 2018 6:25 pm


Has anyone heard of an otherwise 'normal' pig making the "heart pig" noises (intermittent hooting type noises when eating and sometimes sleeping)?

The pig is question is male, about 4 years old (recently adopted). Stable weight, good eater and drinker (veg, Oxbow pellets, KM hay, water), normal poops.

He never seems to be in distress when making the noises at all and they seem to happen most frequently when eating veggies, but happen also when he's not eating at all or eating/hay pellets. Sometimes he makes no noise at all when eating.

He's on day eight of 2x a day Enrofloxacin regimen to cover the bases of a possible URI, but has no crusty eyes, sneezing or URI symptoms beyond the odd breathing sounds. He is NOT a fan of medicine time and is VERY strong. In 13 years of having pigs I've never seen one so adamantly syringe avoidant.

He was at the vet for a wellness check 2 weeks ago after being adopted and his heart and lungs sounded fine.

Does this sound like a situation when x-rays would be in order to look for an enlarged heart or other things? He seems 100% healthy aside from the noises but I don't want to ignore them if they could be something that needs treatment. He didn't make any sound at the vet so the doctor hasn't heard the sounds.

User avatar
Catie Cavy
Supporter 2011-2020

Post   » Sun Oct 21, 2018 8:41 pm


My guinea pig Charlotte used to hoot especially when she was eating. She didn’t have any other signs of heart disease. She did have a large stone removed about the time I noticed it the most. Now she rarely hoots. I remember bpatters saying she had a hooter too who checked out clean at the vet. It might be worth it to have an x-ray to rule out an enlarged heart or other problems but hopefully it will turn out to be nothing.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Oct 21, 2018 10:53 pm


Hi Gessika! I had a guinea pig that sometimes made hooting noises and I always felt they were associated with eating green pepper. I understand guinea pigs have pockets in their throats - if so, perhaps something gets lodged in them and contributes to breathing that sounds different.

So when and how frequently the hooting happens seems to me makes a difference and does not always mean there are heart issues.

Gessika

Post   » Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:00 am


He's only been having green leaf lettuce for the past two weeks when it comes to veggies. It does seem that in the morning after scarfing down his lettuce that the hooting sometimes gets more prominent and he seems uncomfortable for a bit after finishing, before going back to acting "normal." I wonder if he's eating too fast or something.

The hooting does happen randomly when he's not eating though. He has a vet appointment this week, and I'm asking for x-rays.

I do have a green pepper story though: I had an elderly sow (seven years), who was eating a piece of green pepper and then out of nowhere started making choking noises and green juice started coming out of her nose, it was terrifying. By the time I got her to the ER vet, they said she seemed fine. No symptoms or distress of any kind. I've been leery of green pepper since, not sure if that's rational or not.

Gessika

Post   » Mon Oct 22, 2018 4:55 pm


Update: I took him to the vet today, he was hooting a lot after morning veggies and I didn't want to wait until the end of the week. His lungs and heart look normal with x-rays and he's now on Doxycycline 2x a day and Metacam 1x a day for at least 7 days.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Oct 22, 2018 9:45 pm


Let us know if the antibiotics help. I know how worrisome possible signs of illness can be.

Gessika

Post   » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:03 pm


He appears to be doing worse, puffed up in a corner for most of the day and his breathing sounds terrible. I talked to the vet on the phone and he said that that's not a typical response to the medication (and I know that it's an indication of a sick pig). I think I'm going to have to take him to the emergency vet tonight when they open. I don't know what else to do, or what options we have... his x-rays are normal and I'd have to drive over four hours to a place that has CT scans, and my vet isn't even sure that they see guinea pigs there.

The vet said we could do bloodwork but he doesn't think it would give us much info that would change the course of treatment.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Oct 23, 2018 8:01 pm


You might suggest a nebulized antibiotic. My vet uses Gentamycin with steroids added, and I've had several pigs on it that have done well.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Oct 23, 2018 11:21 pm


A nebulized antibiotic sounds like a good idea. I am sorry he is breathing so badly. I hope the emergency vet can help him.
Steaming up a bathroom may help break up congestion.

Post Reply