Is my BP sick?

Hello everyone,

Two days ago, I was spot cleaning my BP's cage and I noticed what looked like snot, blown all over two sides of the glass. It looked like it would be from a sneeze. However, when I looked at the "base" of the sneeze, I found two woodchip covered balls of fur. I broke them open and the bigger one even had what looked like a bone inside. They weren't drastically big, the biggest one probably about a half an inch long. Before I found them though, my immidiate thought was "is this a sign of an RI?". She has been making wheezing sounds when she breathes for about 4 weeks now, but I had never found any mucus or anything coming from her nose/mouth so I dismissed it as a possible stuck shed in her nose.

So whats the deal here? I tried looking for stuff online about BP's and furballs but couldn't really find anything. Any help?

Sounds like a RI to me. I think a trip to the vet is in order. I must ask, if you've been hearing this wheezing sound for 4 weeks, why are you just now asking for help?

X2 the vet visit

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Originally Posted by AK907

Sounds like a RI to me. I think a trip to the vet is in order. I must ask, if you've been hearing this wheezing sound for 4 weeks, why are you just now asking for help?

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I didn't because in my opinion at the time, all the evidence pointed towards stuck shed. She had just finished a shed when I picked her up and I noticed the wheezing a day later. I never saw any mucus or liquid coming from her nose or mouth and she never refused to eat once. I had no reason to believe it was a RI except for the wheezing sound. Also, when she does "wheeze", its only when she is taking larger breaths, usually when she is moving around. She doesn't do it on a nonstop basis, just during activity. Therefore = my conclusion of stuck shed...until this recent blow out on the side of the tank that is.

and, the furballs with a bone inside must be a regurgitation due to stress from being sick...:(
any updates?

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Originally Posted by Capray

and, the furballs with a bone inside must be a regurgitation due to stress from being sick...:(
any updates?

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No, it was probably a fur poop.


Can you describe the wheezing sound you have been hearing? Sometimes they make a slight noise when they breathe or move around.


I would have it checked out by a vet though. The snotty stuff was probably just poop/urates smeared everywhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Capray

and, the furballs with a bone inside must be a regurgitation due to stress from being sick...:(
any updates?

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I talked to the store owner I bought her from, and he said they can take care of her for a while and give her some meds in case its an RI. I'm taking her to them tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

No, it was probably a fur poop.


Can you describe the wheezing sound you have been hearing? Sometimes they make a slight noise when they breathe or move around.


I would have it checked out by a vet though. The snotty stuff was probably just poop/urates smeared everywhere.

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The wheezing sound isn't constant, which is why I believed it to be a stuck shed. I can only really hear the sound when she is moving around or doing some sort of "exercise".

As for the snotty stuff where I found the furballs, to what extent do they "smear" it everywhere? lol. Because this wasn't a smear, it was more like an explosion. It is spotted all along the side of the tank and one of the corner walls. It's the most heavily spotted near the bottom, but the snotty stuff also appears all the way at the top of the cage on both of the affected sides.

BPs are known to fart while expelling waste, so it could have been an explosive pee/poop. I have seen something like what you are describing. If you don't see any mucous or bubbles around the nose and mouth it was probably not a sneeze.

I kind of agree that it probably isn't an RI, but it is also better to be safe than sorry.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I kind of agree that it probably isn't an RI, but it is also better to be safe than sorry.

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Well, I'm glad I'm not an idiot then lol.

One more question for you though. She has been an absolute pig since I have gotten her, which is great! I currently feed her twice a week and have been doing so for a month. However, the last time I fed her she showed little interest in the rat. I wasn't suprised at this, especially since she has been eating so much. She did eventually start striking at it and after 3-4 misses (fairly unusual for her), she got it and constriected it. The part I am curious about is that after she released it 10-15 minutes later, it still wasn't dead. She looked over it for another 10 minutes or so and then seemed to lose interest again. Then the rat started to squirm, trying to get away. Instead of striking it again, she got on top of it and pinned it to the ground. It eventually died, but I don't know if it was from the pressure, if any, she was putting on top of it, or if it died from its previous injuries. Have you ever seen that happen? Whats the deal with that?