Squeaky breathing

[MollyTheHam]

Hey guys!
Just a quick question; my Syd has recently started making this little squeaky sound occasionally. It's randomly come on over the last day or so. I haven't changed his bedding (he's on carefresh) or his food. I'm not doing anything different to what I normally would. I intend on taking him to the vet, but does anyone have any ideas as to what it could be?

Thanks!

[racinghamster]

Hi Molly. To be honest, it could be random and related to weather changes. What you need to do is, when he`s awake, watch him breathing in and out quickly and listen to determine if the noises are in time with him breathing in and out, or if he`s only making the noises when he wakes up or he`s having a sneeze/hic-up. My russian hamster does this intermittently but he doesn`t have any respiratory problems. He runs like the wind on his wheel during the night! I often lean over the cage when he`s sleeping and can`t hear a thing when he`s asleep. I only hear him making the odd noise when he`s waking up.

Carefresh can be dusty but if he`s always used it, there is no real need to switch, although Fitch might be a better option. I would give it a few more days to determine whether he needs to see a vet who could prescribe antibiotics so you really need to weigh up the pro`s and con`s of that. If he`s making these sounds a lot and they don`t go away or you are concerned that his behaviour has changed too, then yes, it may be worth letting your vet listen to his chest, but make sure the vet you see is one you know and won`t just send you away with Baytril if it`s not necessary and precautionary. I would monitor and listen to his breathing first and if the noises come and go and his behaviour is the same, he`s playing, eating etc... then I would give it the benefit of the doubt. x