E. cuniculi?

[piggymad28]

Hi

One of my guinea pigs, Stuart, has been having these 'episodes' where he cant stand up properly on his back or front legs. He acts drunk, disoriented and off balance for maybe 15 to 20 minutes at a time, then goes back to normal. He’s got a head tilt as well.

I've taken him to the vet 3 times in the last month. Theyve said they're not sure what is causing it, but think it could be E. cuniculi. As far as I know (he's a rescue) he hasn't been near rabbits, and he's always been an indoor pig. Hes been prescribed medicine and theyve also prescribed it for the other pigs he lives with. Hes also been prescribed metacam and antibiotics in case.

He's still eating and drinking as normal and I'm giving critical care.

I'm just anxious about him and i guess I want to just get my anxiety off my chest. I accept that if he does stop eating/drinking and his quality of life goes right down hill I will have him pts.

in lighter news, Stuart tried eating my shoelaces and also decided to show how much he appreciated the vet by peeing and pooping on the floor

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

One of my guinea pigs, Stuart, has been having these 'episodes' where he cant stand up properly on his back or front legs. He acts drunk, disoriented and off balance for maybe 15 to 20 minutes at a time, then goes back to normal. He’s got a head tilt as well.

I've taken him to the vet 3 times in the last month. Theyve said they're not sure what is causing it, but think it could be E. cuniculi. As far as I know (he's a rescue) he hasn't been near rabbits, and he's always been an indoor pig. Hes been prescribed medicine and theyve also prescribed it for the other pigs he lives with. Hes also been prescribed metacam and antibiotics in case.

He's still eating and drinking as normal and I'm giving critical care.

I'm just anxious about him and i guess I want to just get my anxiety off my chest. I accept that if he does stop eating/drinking and his quality of life goes right down hill I will have him pts.

in lighter news, Stuart tried eating my shoelaces and also decided to show how much he appreciated the vet by peeing and pooping on the floor

Hi

I am so very sorry.

Perhaps an x-ray to exclude or confirm whether your piggy could have CBS (which is a chronic ear infection affecting the bones in the middle ear capsule that can caused by streptococcus/pneumococcus as well as respiratory bacteria) may help you further if e.cuniculi is a dead end?

Here is our new neurological guide, which reflects the current - extremely low - stand of scientific information on neutrological isues in guinea pigs.
You and your vet may find it helpful: CBS (Calcified Bulla Syndrome) and Neurological Problems - Symptoms and Care

 

[piggymad28]

Thank you so much! I will have a read of it.

 

[Eriathwen]

I cant add to the information in the link above, however I hoped to allay your concerns about E.cuniculi if it is what is causing the issues for your boy.

Currently I have 3 who have E.cuniculi and its likely more carry it asymptomatically. 2 of them after prompt treatment are completely normally functioning piggies, all I have to worry about is periods of high stress that may cause relapse, although one has had surgery with no issue. The one who didn't get treatment until I got her has a permenant head tilt, leg weakness and is mostly blind however she lives completely independently of any help from me with her daughter and husboar. Treatment takes a long time, 29 days, and damage may not be repaired, but they can live very well with it.

 

[piggymad28]

I cant add to the information in the link above, however I hoped to allay your concerns about E.cuniculi if it is what is causing the issues for your boy.

Currently I have 3 who have E.cuniculi and its likely more carry it asymptomatically. 2 of them after prompt treatment are completely normally functioning piggies, all I have to worry about is periods of high stress that may cause relapse, although one has had surgery with no issue. The one who didn't get treatment until I got her has a permenant head tilt, leg weakness and is mostly blind however she lives completely independently of any help from me with her daughter and husboar. Treatment takes a long time, 29 days, and damage may not be repaired, but they can live very well with it.

Thanks for this. I'm glad she is doing well.

The vet said prognosis isn't usually good, which obviously worried me. He's about 2 weeks into treatment. Taking it one day at a time at present.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

My Chelsea was diagnosed with E. Cuniculi when she was about 6 months old. She also had an infection of the middle/inner ear. I don't know what caused her symptoms, but she was treated for both - zithromax for the ear and fenbendazol for E. cuniculi. The antibiotic was just one course, but the fenbendazol was first given for a few weeks and then repeated whenever the symptoms got worse again in the following months during her first year.
She kept a head tilt that only showed in stressful situations and sometimes when she lifted her head too high, but apart from this she lived a happy life.
I would recommend further diagnosis for an ear infection, because this is quite common and can cause nasty problems if not treated early enough.

 

[piggymad28]

My Chelsea was diagnosed with E. Cuniculi when she was about 6 months old. She also had an infection of the middle/inner ear. I don't know what caused her symptoms, but she was treated for both - zithromax for the ear and fenbendazol for E. cuniculi. The antibiotic was just one course, but the fenbendazol was first given for a few weeks and then repeated whenever the symptoms got worse again in the following months during her first year.
She kept a head tilt that only showed in stressful situations and sometimes when she lifted her head too high, but apart from this she lived a happy life.
I would recommend further diagnosis for an ear infection, because this is quite common and can cause nasty problems if not treated early enough.

Thank you. I will mention this to my vet

 

[piggymad28]

Unfortunately poor Stuart has passed over the rainbow bridge this morning

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry. You did all you could for Stuart. He was a much loved piggy and he knew how much you loved him.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I'm really sorry!
Sleep tight, Stuart!

 

[Wiebke]

Unfortunately poor Stuart has passed over the rainbow bridge this morning

BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry.

Please be kind with yourself in the coming days. You have done all you could and have not failed him. Neutological problems in guinea pigs are notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat because there is hardly any research at all.

Having lost piggies of my own that way, it is one of the more upsetting ways you can lose a piggy because there is so little you can do and both you and your vet are feeling very helpless. I have yet to find a vet who doesn't get a panicked expression in their eyes when confronted with neurological problems that cannot be easily pinned down!

Here is what you can do for yourself and for any companion of Stuart#s in the immediate and longer term.
Death, Dying, Terminal Illness; Human Grieving and Bereaved Companions: Information and Support for Owners and Their Children

 

[piggymad28]

Is it odd that i feel relieved he's passed, because it means hes not suffering anymore? I feel guilty that I'm not more sad. Grief is a weird thing.

 

[weepweeps]

Is it odd that i feel relieved he's passed, because it means hes not suffering anymore? I feel guilty that I'm not more sad. Grief is a weird thing.

I understand what you mean. It’s a comfort to know they are at peace. Take care.

 

[piggymad28]

I understand what you mean. It’s a comfort to know they are at peace. Take care.

I also hope he's reunited with my girl Ginny who was pts in December. I miss them both.

 

[weepweeps]

They are together forever now.

 

[Wiebke]

Is it odd that i feel relieved he's passed, because it means hes not suffering anymore? I feel guilty that I'm not more sad. Grief is a weird thing.

HUGS

Relief is a very normal response; it is just not one that fits our vague concept of what grieving should be - but then your pain and your desperation of seeing him going down and being unable to alleviate his suffering was actually already part of your grieving process without you knowing. Death can come under those circumstances as a lifting of your burdens - both for the sufferer and for you. It just means that you have actually already done a good deal of your grieving 'homework' and not that you are unfeeling or that something is wrong with you.

You will still feel the pain of your loss having to deal with his non-presence and all the little unthinking habits that have connected you in the coming weeks.

I was in a similar position last autumn when my Meleri went down with mystery neurological symptoms right in the middle of the petrol crisis and my local vets were absolutely stumped - but they were all that we had enough petrol in the tank to get to in a hurry and to get her emergency pts after the weekend when she continued to go downhill.
But unlike you, I am familiar with this feeling after losing my dad after a 3 years' battle against a very painful terminal cancer during which he was several times close to dying. Of course we were sad as a family but we were also all mainly relieved; we'd done all the grieving that can be processed before the death by then, apart from missing him as a person and no longer being able to share things we'd normally would have with him - the kind of puddles of grief that you can never avoid stumbling into once somebody you love has gone.

You may find this grieving link here helpful (it in my last post as well); read the chapter about 'terminal care' because that is what your experience is comparable to: Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

I hope that it will help you.

 

[piggles 7000]

So sorry you lost him. You obviously loved him very much which is why you felt the relief you did when he passed, knowing he was no longer struggling.