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Ear infection and antibiotics

Jennipigs

Jennipigs

New Born Pup
Joined
Oct 4, 2023
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Location
Seville, Spain
Hello everyone! I've browsed this forum for years and have always found it to be so helpful and supportive, so thank you for that. This is my first post, I've just set up an account, actually.

My 2 year old piggy Paquito suddenly developed a head tilt two days ago, with no other symptoms, other than seeming a bit down. He's always been healthy and lives indoors with his cagemate (also a 2 year old healthy pig). Paquito was eating pretty normally and seemed more or less okay otherwise. I booked him an appointment to my trusted exotics vet, and he went today. Thing is, today even before going to the vet's, the head tilt was practically gone and Paquito seems much better. The vet examined him and said that his ear is a bit red and inflamed looking but she couldn't see any pus. Paquito also showed discomfort when the vet palpated the area around his ear. She prescribed some ear drops for cleaning the ear, metacam for helping with the pain and inflammation, and an antibiotic.

As I've said, he basically seemed his 100% normal self before even visiting the vet this morning and receiving any treatment. I gave him the metacam and the ear drops earlier today. He's been eating like crazy (as usual) all day. His appetite had decreased a bit in the previous days. So, my concern is giving him the antibiotic. I'm always very cautious about antibiotics with piggies, and well, he seems fine without them, no head tilt, no discharge, etc, no symptoms at all really. Just by observing him, I'd say he doesn't need them. On the other hand, I'm scared that maybe he DOES need them, that he has an active ear infection that could get worse and cause him serious harm (even though he looks and acts perfectly healthy). I've not had experience with this particular situation before, so I'd be happy to hear from anyone who has! Can an ear infection be so mild as to just come and go on its own, and not require treatment? The vet did say it looked like he had a minor ear infection. (She looked in his ear with a lighted scope, don't know the medical term, and saw only inflammation, no pus).

Thanks in advance!
 
I don’t have the main answer to your question, however I can say that if your guinea pig has been given antibiotics, then you absolutely have to continue them even if it may seem like he doesn’t need them. Stopping antibiotics too soon causes the bacteria to build up a resistance and will make it very difficult/impossible to treat in the future.
 
Thank you, but I haven't started the antibiotics. I was supposed to start them this evening, but I'm hesitant about doing so.
 
I was unsure as sometimes the vet will give a first dose. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, I don’t have the experience to advise you and don’t know exactly what is correct in this situation. If you really feel he is fine then you could wait until the morning and talk to your vet over the phone about what they think is best, then in theory the first dose (if you are advised to give it) would only be delayed by 12 or so hours.There is always the risk though that he could be hiding his discomfort, as they are exceptionally good at this! It’s a really difficult decision to make, I hope that whatever you decide, it all works out ok for you and Paquito.
 
Thank you again. Yes, I will call the vet in the morning, but I was debating about what to do tonight. In the end I will do as you've suggested, I thought the same. He has a check up in a week, so maybe I can even wait and see how he is in the next visit (if his ear shows any sign of infection). Of course, if he shows any symptoms before then, I'll bring him in straightaway!
 
I'm sorry to hear this.

Personally I would give the antibiotics as prescribed - the vet has deemed them necessary. Your piggy was showing signs of discomfort in the head tilt and the fact you say his appetite has decreased.

It’s important you switch from the lifelong routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh daily when you have health concerns - it helps you monitor hay intake more closely and be able to step in with syringe feeding as needed.

I hope he feels better soon

Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry Paquito has been poorly. I agree. I’d give him the antibiotics as prescribed. You need to nip these infections in the bud nice and early. I look forward to seeing some pictures of your boys now you’ve made an account 😃
 
Thank you for the replies everyone! Sorry I'm just checking in now. I actually called my vet in the morning and did end up giving him the antibiotics. He was really fine, seemed to have recovered, but then later in the afternoon he took a really nasty turn. He went into full head tilt, couldn't stand up, and his eyes were rolling. Just in an instant, it was incredible. I rushed him back to the vet's and she checked him over, not finding anything new. She took some blood to see if there's a very small chance it could actually be E. Caniculi, and told me to continue treatment. We won't know the results of the blood test for a few days, and she really expects them to be negative, but she's given me a treatment for it as well. I think the antibiotics must have kicked in, because although he's far from recovered, he's worlds better than yesterday. Now he's able to support himself, though still severely tilted. His eye rolling has mostly stopped, now they just flicker a bit, and he's not rolling onto his back.
He's eating a bit on his own, mostly things like sprigs of parsley, mint, and carrot tops. He will actually eat pellets if I put them in his mouth. I'm weighing him twice a day, and so far he's maintaining. I'm also giving him some Critical Care mixed with his (healthy) cagemate's poop, for a probiotic boost. He's not drinking on his own so I am syringing him water as well. He's being housed separately, but near his buddy, they can smell and talk to each other. His cagemate had actually freaked out a bit, showing terrified aggression, so that's why I separated them. Plus, I want to be able to moderate Paquito's poop and pee, both of which seem normal so far. Fingers crossed that he continues to improve!
 
Fingers crossed for his recovery.

Just a note though, don’t weigh twice a day as it makes the results inaccurate. You pick up too much fluctuation. Weighing once each morning is best.
 
Welcome to the forum!
I have just seen your posts and since I've got a bit of experience with head tilt and ear infection, here is my opinion.
It's no wonder that your vet didn't see any puss because the head tilt is caused by an infection of the inner ear, the middle ear can also be effected. But you don't necessaryly see anything in the outer ear.
Ear infections can be very painful. So the getting better you saw at first was probably due to the pain medication
Ear infections need quick treatment with antibiotics and sometimes quite a long treatment. It's also a question of using a suitable antibiotic.

Even if your piggy is tested positive for E. cuniculi, I would't switch the treatment completely and carry on with the antibiotic (plus treatment for E. cunciculi). Since your piggy showed signs of distress around the ear, the ear infection is probably the right diagnosis.
There are a lot of bunnies (at least in continental Europe) who are positive for E. cuniculi and never show any symptoms. It's not really known how many guinea pigs carry this parasite and never show any symptoms. So it can be fatal to only treat for E. cuniculi when an ear infection is a realistic diagnosis.
 
Thank you so much for your lengthy reply! It's been very helpful, and I will take it all into account. As I've mentioned, he's currently being treated for both possibilities. It makes sense what you've said, he may carry the parasite, yet it may not be the problem.

He's been improving, he's been more active. Now that he can support himself again on his feet he is shaking his head like he is trying to get something out of his ear, another classic sign of inner ear infection. His eye on that side is also weeping more than usual, and looks a bit red and irritated, poor thing. But I'm guessing if there's any infection there, the antibiotics will take care of it.

As I've said, despite having many piggies over the years, and quite a few with issues, I've not had this particular experience before, so I really appreciate the advice, thank you!
 
Thank you! Yes, he's much better than he was, though he's still got a long road ahead. It seems that he also suffers from chronic bronchitis, though he's never shown any symptoms aside from breathing a bit more heavily and snoring now and then. So I'm hoping that ear infections don't become a recurring thing.
 
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