Compared to other pets, guinea pigs are very fragile pets and prone to illness. I have outlined the most common health problems your guinea pig may experience.
Runny Nose and Sneezing
Is your guinea pig sneezing? If you have noticed your guinea pig sneezing a lot lately, then it may be allergic to its bedding.
Quick Tip: Change your guinea pigs bedding and see if that solves the problem. Further action would be to remove him from the area for a few days and see if that helps.
If you notice your guinea has a runny nose or rubbing her nose a lot, you should bring her to the vet immediately to get it checked out.
Coughing
Coughing is a serious condition especially when combined with wheezing or heavy breathing. This could be an infection that will need to be looked at by your vet.
Wheezing and Heavy Breathing
Like coughing, wheezing and heavy breathing can indicate a serious health problem that should be looked at by your vet. Wheezing could indicate congestion in the lungs that could become pneumonia.
Scratching
If you notice your guinea pig scratching more than usual then it might have lice or some sort of fungal infection.
First, brush through the hair slowly and look for any small bugs, these could be lice. Your vet can provide medicated shampoo for your pet. You should also clean and disinfect your guinea pigs home.
Milky-White Urine or Sludgey Bladder
Guinea pig urine normally has a slight milky color to it. If you notice extremely white or even clear urine, this could mean that the calcium level in his diet is too high. Thick urine is also a symptom of this.
Pink or Red Urine
If your guinea pig has pink or red urine you need to take him to the vet immediately. That is blood in the urine. One cause of this is bladder stones.
Again, a trip to the vet is necessary at once.
Excessive Diarrhea
Diarrhea can be a serious condition for your guinea pig. Excessive diarrhea can lead to death within hours.
Usually diarrhea in guinea pigs is just because he has eaten too many wet foods or veggies. Increasing hay intake can solve this issue.
Lactobacillus acidophilus is another option to help. You can get it over the counter in capsule form.
If your guinea pig has excessive diarrhea, contact your vet.
Guinea Pig Hair Loss
There can be more than one reasons why your guinea pig is losing hair.
Any time there is a wound the hair will fall out until the area has healed.
Mites and ringworm can cause massive amounts of hair loss all over the body. Ovarian cysts can also be a cause. In short, you should visit your vet any time there is extreme hair loss from anything other than a cut.
Watery Eyes
Allergies, dust, and dirt can be causes of your guinea pig having watery eyes. Your vet can provide instructions on how to best rinse your pet’s eyes.
If you notice sores or little cysts around the eye, you will want to visit your vet to have them removed. These can be very painful and should be dealt with immediately.
Stiff Joints
Scurvy is the most common cause of stiff joints. A lack of vitamin C and calcium can cause this. You should visit your vet at once to start treatment.
Tilting Head
Have you noticed your pet having issues walking or constantly tilting her head to one side? This could be a middle-ear infection and affecting her balance.
This should be treated at once by your vet to prevent any hearing loss or worse.
My Guinea Pig is Having Seizures
If you notice a seizure where your piggy has his head straight in the air, NOT tilting at all, this is a sign of mites. Mites can affect the nervous system by burrowing under the skin.
Seizures where the head is tilted to the side can be caused by any number of issues.
Either type of seizure needs to be treated immediately. Your vet may want to conduct blood tests as well to find the cause.
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