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Specialist Can Guineas Forget How To Drink?

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Booknerd

Booknerd

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Hi everyone,

Okay, straight to the point, I think Pinter may have had a stroke.

Backstory
2 days ago we noticed he had started swaying, and generally wobbling all over the place, he also had what seemed like dribble all over his chin.
We took him to the vet who said it could be neurological but he was also concerned it could be an ear infection because Pinter kept shaking his head (like how they shake when they are wet).
We were prescribed 0.2 of Baytril twice a day and some Aurizon ear drops which he said should help if Pinter does have an ear infection.

Now
I have been watching him closely and I am more concerned he may have had a stroke because:
1. He is falling with his feet
2. He is really confused and seems to be wandering around in circles
3. He is sniffing around his water bottle and the floor around it constantly but isn't drinking. As soon as I put a syringe in with water he makes the first move to drink it.

I have got into the routine in the past 24hours of :
- Making critical care slightly thick
- Then using a wide syringe filled with fresh water, to scoop up a lump, and as he eagerly munches it off the syringe, slowly give him water too.
He is lapping it up and can't get enough. So now I am slightly confused, has Pinter learned that the syringe gives him water but can't remember how to use a water bottle?

We have also given him a bowl of water and he isn't drinking that either. When I put the bowl of water down he spent a good thirty seconds sniffing the edge of the bowl then eagerly started looking up and when i put the syringe down he started drinking from it again.

I am currently giving him water regularly and also critical care. He is eating hay and nuggets but nothing fresh and not as much as he should be. He seems happy however, I just let him have a small bit of floor time and he happily walked around wheeking and rumble strutting, but he is just really wobbly and physically falls over every now and again.

I would really be grateful for you guys advice!
 
Thank you!

He is able to eat it himself luckily, although we have made it slightly thicker so this is easier for him and we are giving it to him 4 times a day. We are hoping it gives him some strength back to fight whatever needs healing and he seems very hungry.


Wiebke said:
Hi! I can't help you with the medical side of it, but here is our syringe feeding guide with lots of tips. Please continue to feed and water him as much as he needs to. He will start eating and drinking on his own when and if he is feeling better in himself.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-syringe-feeding-guide.115359/

I am tagging our experts:
@Pebble @Elwickcavies @Abi_nurse
Click to expand...
 
Shaking the head is normally indicative of an ear infection - they are trying to dislodge pus/fluid. The question is - is the infection in his outer, middle or inner ear.
If the outer ear - the vet would see signs inflammation and/or ear mites or pus (from a bacterial infection) and be able to take a sample to analyse/culture. If the middle ear - the ear drum can rupture (which would explain a lot of the symptoms) and again vet would see signs of pus and be able to culture. If the inner ear - then this would only show up on Xray.

Ear mites can be dealt with by ivermectin injections. Bacterial infections with antibiotics but you need to identify the bug you;re dealing with and it;s resistance or sensitivity to different antibitioics. Oral antibiotics (and baytril especially) may not be very effective for bacterail ear infections of the middle and inner ear and perhaps either oral azithormycin, injectable marbocyl (or even gentamycin injections if culture shows it be a multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas) may be a better bet.

As for the Aurizone ear drops - they contain the folowing active ingredients
We now tend to use Otomax which contains gentamycin (anti-bacterial), clotrimazole (an anti-fungal) and a steroid .

Ear issues are VERY painful so adequate pain relief (metacam may not do the job and tramadol - an opiate - may also need to be considered)

Together with the supportive care you are giving him - you should start top see an improvement over the next 48 hours or so. If not then I would consider discussing with your vets whether to try alternative drugs as I've mentioned above (and if possible getting culture done)

HTH
x
 
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