Aftercare for a Guinea Pig After a Stroke - Part 1

[PiggiesAndPaws]

A couple of weeks ago my guinea pig suffered from a stroke. There was no particular reason or cause it just happened out of nowhere. He is getting older now and he's approaching 3 years old so his age could be the reason. I wasn't there to witness his stroke but there are a few easy symptoms to spot:
-Your guinea pig may be paralyzed on one side of their body
-They're very likely to have a head tilt
-Their eyes may be flickering or rolling to the back of their heads
-They might not be able to walk
-The inability to keep their balance
-Running in circles and constantly tipping over
-Loss of appetite

If your guinea pig is suffering from any of these symptoms I really do suggest you see a vet right away!
I might create a few videos to help show how to do their treatment process.

-Hannah x

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry that your boy has had a stroke at the peak of his life; sadly they can happen at any age, even in the very young. I did look after a stroke survivor for a little while; she was only one year old but had several things not quite right with her and was still tiny.

Key symptoms cited in your post can be found on our list of emergencies at the top of our Health/Illness section; and anybody posting on this forum has been encouraged to seek vet care asap. Symptoms depend on the severity of the stroke, they are not uniform; piggies are often found collapsed and partially or completely paralysed on one side. IN lighter strokes like yours it is initially not quite easy to figure out whether your piggy has suffered major fitting or a stroke. In either case, it is important to seek vet advice promptly.
We recommend to keep a suspected stroke piggy calm, quiet and comfortable while contacting any available vet care immediately or as soon as possible, depending on where you are.
If something serious is not right with your piggy, always contact a vet or out-of-hours service first before coming on the forum asking for advice because that is the first thing we are going to tell you!
List Of Life And Death Out-of-hours Emergencies

You may need to step in with syringe feeding in the aftermath and also make sure that the eye on the side affected by the stroke is lubricated (may require artificial tears); help with cleaning itself/checks whether a piggy is still able to are also important.

 

[PiggiesAndPaws]

Thank you for this. I have nearly nursed my guinea pig back to health. We did a continuous treatment and yes, it worked. He has already been diagnosed and he’s suffered from a few strokes. I do know how to take care of guinea pigs now. Thank you, this would have been very helpful if I was on this website back then.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for this. I have nearly nursed my guinea pig back to health. We did a continuous treatment and yes, it worked. He has already been diagnosed and he’s suffered from a few strokes. I do know how to take care of guinea pigs now. Thank you, this would have been very helpful if I was on this website back then.

Sadly we can only offer as much help and support as we can to those that find us. Sometimes owners sadly only happen across our forum when googling for more information to find out more what has happened to their piggy after it has died.

I hope that yours is making a full long term recovery!

 

[PiggiesAndPaws]

Yes, it’s a shame. I joined in hopes to offer as much help as possible about it. I’ve done quite a lot of guinea pig treatments in the past.