Common Health Problems for Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are extremely fragile, and are more prone to illness then other pets. We've listed some of the most common symptoms your guinea pig can experience.

Sneezing, Discharge of the Nose

Sometimes, your guinea pig can become allergic to his bedding. Try to change the bedding and see if that makes a difference, or remove him from the area completely.

Constant coughing can be serious. If your guinea pig is coughing and is accompanied by wheezing, or labored breathing, you need to contact your vet, as it is most likely a respiratory infection of some sort.

Labored Breathing, or Wheezing of Any Sort

This is often a sign of a respiratory infection, and needs to be treated sooner rather than later. It's usually because of congestion in the lungs, and can easily become pneumonia if left untreated.

Scratching

Excessive scratching is normally a sign of parasites or a fungal infection.

You can tell if your pet has a parasite by brushing through their hair and looking at the skin. Lice are normally a small brown color. If your pet has lice, you can get a medicated shampoo from your doctor. With parasites, you should always clean and disinfect the cage.

Milky-White Urine or Sludge-y Bladder

Normally, the urine a guinea pig produces has a slightly milky color to it, and this is completely normal. However, if your guinea pig has extremely clear/white urine, or his urine is overly sludge-y, this could mean that he has a higher-then-normal calcium level in his diet.

Pink or Red Urine

This is serious. This indicates blood in the urine and is often an indicator of bladder stones.

If your guinea pig has blood in his urine, you should get to him to the vet as soon as possible.

Diarrhea or Extremely Soft Stool

Within hours of suffering from diarrhea, your guinea pig can die if it persists.

Often times, you've simply fed your pet too many wet foods or vegetables in general. If you think its food related you can increase your pets intake of hay, which promotes a good digestive balance.

Head to a health food store or a pharmacy and grab some lactobacillus acidophilus in capsule form - you don't need a prescription, it's available over the counter.

Hair Loss

There are many different reasons for hair loss in a guinea pig, including mites.

If your guinea pig is cut or bitten, the hair will fall out in that area until the skin is completely healed. This is normal.

Massive hair loss across the body is caused by ringworm, and sometimes ovarian cysts. Unless it's because of a cut, you should call your vet and see how he would like to proceed.

Watery Eyes

Watery eyes are often caused by irritants in the eye, like excessive dust or something more. Allergies can also cause this - call your vet and ask for directions on how to rinse the irritants out of the eye.

Sometimes eye sores are caused by cysts on the eyelid that irritate the eyes, and these need to be removed by a trained veterinarian, as they can be painful and serious.

Stiff Joints

Most times, this is caused by scurvy. This is basically a sever lack of Vitamin C, and needs to be treated immediately. Call your vet to schedule an appointment.

Make sure that your pig is getting at least 10 mg of calcium a day!

Tilting Head

If your piggy is tilting his head to one side, and having issues walking, it's probably a middle-ear infection.

Get him to the vet as soon as you possibly can, because this can damage his hearing and more. You need to get it treated, and simply not put it off.

Seizures

There are two 'types' of seizures. If his head is straight up in the air, without a tilt at all, then he's probably got mites. Mites burrow under the skin and can sometimes affect the nervous system. Get him to a vet for treatment, and he'll be just fine.

If your guinea pig is tilting his head to one side or curling his body during the seizure, it can be a huge number of any things.

Head to the vet as soon as possible, and get blood tests done.