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Specialist Can’t stand up with ear infection

T

Tillytiltpig

Junior Guinea Pig
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oxfordshire
Hi 😊
I took Tilly to the vet on Tuesday as she was displaying odd behaviour. They said possible ear infection and gave me metacam for 5 days. Saturday morning Tilly was acting really strange, she was very wobbly on her feet and would topple over head first. Rushed her to the vet and without looking in her ears they told me it was an ear infection. She is now on 0.4 metacam a day and 0.2 baytril twice a day. Her ears are so red and she tries to scratch at them and bite anything in her way, I’m guessing because she is in pain. She hasn’t stopped eating which is good and whereas yesterday her eyes were darting from left to right constantly they seem to have stabilised.
Is there anything I can do to help with her balance? It’s horrible seeing her so unsteady and just wanting to sit down. She is definitely alert, so it’s not a case of laying down because she is lethargic. Does this even make sense?
she already had a head tilt from when she was small, it doesn’t appear to have worsened although she does have moments where she will tilt her head quite a bit but then sort herself out.
 
I have a tilted Tilly too :) good name choice haha hopefully the Baytril will help steady her in time. From my understanding, left to right eye flickering (nystagmus) is usually a sign of ear infection whereas when they're going up and down it is E.cuniculi related. That being said, it may be worth asking to treat for EC anyway as a precaution with panacur just to be safe.
Ear infections can take quite a while to treat, sometimes weeks, and the tilt can often be permanent. I find that cluttering the cage up with things, hides, tubes etc gives them solid objects to help guide them which in turn helps them balance and prevents them getting stuck walking in circles. Although you will need to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get stuck unable to reverse to reach food, water etc if their balance is particularly bad.
There is a drug they can be given for vertigo, it's an anti emetic for dogs and cats but can be given to head tilt piggies, I've forgotten it's name though.. worth asking your vet about if she is needing to lay down a lot but not lethargic, she may be dizzy.
 
stemitil is the name of the human drug for vertigo,not sure what the pet one is !i hope your piggie gets better soon.:)
 
Tillytiltpig said:
Hi 😊
I took Tilly to the vet on Tuesday as she was displaying odd behaviour. They said possible ear infection and gave me metacam for 5 days. Saturday morning Tilly was acting really strange, she was very wobbly on her feet and would topple over head first. Rushed her to the vet and without looking in her ears they told me it was an ear infection. She is now on 0.4 metacam a day and 0.2 baytril twice a day. Her ears are so red and she tries to scratch at them and bite anything in her way, I’m guessing because she is in pain. She hasn’t stopped eating which is good and whereas yesterday her eyes were darting from left to right constantly they seem to have stabilised.
Is there anything I can do to help with her balance? It’s horrible seeing her so unsteady and just wanting to sit down. She is definitely alert, so it’s not a case of laying down because she is lethargic. Does this even make sense?
she already had a head tilt from when she was small, it doesn’t appear to have worsened although she does have moments where she will tilt her head quite a bit but then sort herself out.
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Hi!

Please continue with the baytril. I hope that you piggy is getting better soon!

Has your vet checked for ear wax, too? Please do not treat on spec as that can make things much worse.

Rabbit ear mites can cause major irritation in the ears if you have rabbits yourself or outdoors guinea pigs with rabbits in close proximity.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please continue with the baytril. I hope that you piggy is getting better soon!

Has your vet checked for ear wax, too? Please do not treat on spec as that can make things much worse.

Rabbit ear mites can cause major irritation in the ears if you have rabbits yourself or outdoors guinea pigs with rabbits in close proximity.
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No bunnies and all piggies live indoors, they couldn’t look in her ears when we went back on Saturday she just wouldn’t let them near. It was mentioned that she could be sedated to look in the canal but I’m not sure how I feel about sedating her 😞
 
Tillytiltpig said:
No bunnies and all piggies live indoors, they couldn’t look in her ears when we went back on Saturday she just wouldn’t let them near. It was mentioned that she could be sedated to look in the canal but I’m not sure how I feel about sedating her 😞
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Ask whether your vet would consider to just give her a whiff of gas for sedation rather than a full GA which shouldn’t be needed under the circumstances. My vet gives a quick whiff of has for sedation unless it’s for surgery where obviously a full GA would be needed
 
Claire W said:
Ask whether your vet would consider to just give her a whiff of gas for sedation rather than a full GA which shouldn’t be needed under the circumstances. My vet gives a quick whiff of has for sedation unless it’s for surgery where obviously a full GA would be needed
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Is this much safer? I’ve heard so many stories where piggies don’t make it back from sedation it’s terrified me about it all 😢
 
Tillytiltpig said:
No bunnies and all piggies live indoors, they couldn’t look in her ears when we went back on Saturday she just wouldn’t let them near. It was mentioned that she could be sedated to look in the canal but I’m not sure how I feel about sedating her 😞
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If you have both bunnies and piggies, please have the ear checked for rabbit ear mites; guinea pigs can get them, too, if you have rabbits nearby, especially if the baytril is not bringing any relief. Too much wax in the eat can also cause a head tilt.
If it requires sedation to gently clear the ear, please consider it; the relief for your piggy will be considerable if the ear is blocked or infested (or a mix thereof).
 
tilly is doing so much better at walking today 😊 however she circles a lot (like a dog finding the perfect spot to sit) is this normal with her ear infection? I had someone express a concern about it and wondered what your thought would be
 
Tillytiltpig said:
tilly is doing so much better at walking today 😊 however she circles a lot (like a dog finding the perfect spot to sit) is this normal with her ear infection? I had someone express a concern about it and wondered what your thought would be
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Please have her vet checked again. it means that her ear is still not right if she cannot walk straight.
 
Wiebke said:
Please have her vet checked again. it means that her ear is still not right if she cannot walk straight.
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We’re off to the vets at 10am 😊 she has come along way in this short time and is clearly getting better to some degree. I have a recording of her doing the circling to show them too. Fingers crossed we know more later 😊
 
They have now given her a course for E cuniculi to rule that out as they think she is now blind 😭 does anyone know what this is? I’ve tried reading but I can’t quite grasp exactly what it is
 
I am so sorry to hear this.
My knowledge on E cuniculi is limited but I am aware of it due to the fact I have a rabbit as well as my piggies. E cuniculi is a parasite which affects the nervous system and kidneys and it is spread via spores in the urine. I understand that the normal treatment is a course of panacur. I believe though that there is no way to reverse cell damage caused by the parasite. symptoms, among others, are a head tilt and weakness or paralysis in the hind legs.
Hopefully somebody will have more information and will be able to help further. @Wiebke
 
Piggies&buns said:
I am so sorry to hear this.
My knowledge on E cuniculi is limited but I am aware of it due to the fact I have a rabbit as well as my piggies. E cuniculi is a parasite which affects the nervous system and kidneys and it is spread via spores in the urine. I understand that the normal treatment is a course of panacur. I believe though that there is no way to reverse cell damage caused by the parasite. symptoms, among others, are a head tilt and weakness or paralysis in the hind legs.
Hopefully somebody will have more information and will be able to help further. @Wiebke
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Thank you 😊 the meds we were given is called lapizole. She already had the tilt which hasn’t worsened thankfully
 
Your vet is clearly making sure they cover all possibilities by treating for e cuniculi too. Often when head tilts develop, due to ear infections, it can take a while for the piggy to adapt and stop circling. Often the head tilt can remain, but the piggy will be unaware of it, as their brain resets and they feel normal again. It is good you are seeing some improvement and that is very positive! We have had good results with ear infections, using the antibiotic, Zithromax (azithromycin). Lapisole is used for treating rabbits with e cuniculi, as is Panacur. Both are good!
 
Thought I would give you an update 😊
Tilly can walk again! Yay! No more circling or falling. She is still having issues with her sight but the vet is hopefully that it may return slightly. She is also certain it is E. Cuniculi and not an ear infection. Thanks for all your help x
 
Tillytiltpig said:
Hi 😊
I took Tilly to the vet on Tuesday as she was displaying odd behaviour. They said possible ear infection and gave me metacam for 5 days. Saturday morning Tilly was acting really strange, she was very wobbly on her feet and would topple over head first. Rushed her to the vet and without looking in her ears they told me it was an ear infection. She is now on 0.4 metacam a day and 0.2 baytril twice a day. Her ears are so red and she tries to scratch at them and bite anything in her way, I’m guessing because she is in pain. She hasn’t stopped eating which is good and whereas yesterday her eyes were darting from left to right constantly they seem to have stabilised.
Is there anything I can do to help with her balance? It’s horrible seeing her so unsteady and just wanting to sit down. She is definitely alert, so it’s not a case of laying down because she is lethargic. Does this even make sense?
she already had a head tilt from when she was small, it doesn’t appear to have worsened although she does have moments where she will tilt her head quite a bit but then sort herself out.
Click to expand...
Did the vet check for blindness? Vets usually diagnose head tilt with an ear infection but more times than none its due to the piggy being blind
 
X3littlepiggiesx said:
Did the vet check for blindness? Vets usually diagnose head tilt with an ear infection but more times than none its due to the piggy being blind
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On Tuesday I’m pretty sure she could see. It wasn’t until the following Monday when I noticed something wasn’t quite right with her vision. They never even looked in her ears just assumed that’s what the issue was. On the Saturday when she was extremely poorly they also didn’t look in her ears once again assumed the ear infection had worsened. It wasn’t until we saw the last vet on the Wednesday did she want to medicate for something other than an ear infection. She’s back to her usual self causing mischief now, just she can’t see anymore 😢
 
Blindness is quite common with E.cuniculi, there is a dangerous new assumption that head tilts are caused by blindness, but both are usually the symptom of something else and this assumption can lead to people not seeking veterinary treatment.
My own Tilly is blind in the left eye due to her own E.cuniculi, as was my Bramble before her who also had the parasite, she was also deaf and neurologically damaged due to delay in treatment from not knowing what it was at first. I'm saying this more for future people who use the forum to look up what to do about a head tilt rather than yourself as veterinary treatment and diagnosis has already been given :) but please don't assume a head tilt is just from blindness and delay veterinary treatment!

Piggies adapt really well to losing their sight, as sad as it is so try not to worry. She clearly has a very good and caring owner looking out for her so I'm sure she will adapt fine.
 
Eriathwen said:
Blindness is quite common with E.cuniculi, there is a dangerous new assumption that head tilts are caused by blindness, but both are usually the symptom of something else and this assumption can lead to people not seeking veterinary treatment.
My own Tilly is blind in the left eye due to her own E.cuniculi, as was my Bramble before her who also had the parasite, she was also deaf and neurologically damaged due to delay in treatment from not knowing what it was at first. I'm saying this more for future people who use the forum to look up what to do about a head tilt rather than yourself as veterinary treatment and diagnosis has already been given :) but please don't assume a head tilt is just from blindness and delay veterinary treatment!

Piggies adapt really well to losing their sight, as sad as it is so try not to worry. She clearly has a very good and caring owner looking out for her so I'm sure she will adapt fine.
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I completely agree! More people need to know what this is incase they are in the same situation. I had honestly never heard of it before and just believed the other vets to be correct in the assumption of an ear infection. Hope both your piggies are doing well 😊
 
Tillytiltpig said:
I completely agree! More people need to know what this is incase they are in the same situation. I had honestly never heard of it before and just believed the other vets to be correct in the assumption of an ear infection. Hope both your piggies are doing well 😊
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Thankyou, unfortunately we lost Bramble back in December, but she lived a wonderful life in spite of her difficulties the parasite caused and loved every minute of being the centre of attention in the house 😅
Our Tilly is due to finish her treatment on the 16th and has improved so much, she circles less, her head is still tilted but much straighter, best thing though is that she can now run and popcorn without getting disorientated :) she's also a very happy little sausage as long as I don't make her jump by suddenly appearing out of her blind spot very close to her!
 
So glad these little Tilly’s are both making a recovery, does anyone know were this parasite comes from?
 
Bill & Ted said:
So glad these little Tilly’s are both making a recovery, does anyone know were this parasite comes from?
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From what I’ve read it can come from urine spores, unwashed foods and transferred from a mother at birth. I’m sure there are more reasons but that’s all I’ve found out so far
 
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