• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Ear infection? It never ends

Lymaine

Lymaine

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
159
Reaction score
101
Points
305
Location
Denbighshire
So I posted yesterday about my two 9 month old boars suddenly fighting. Split them up for the day whilst I went to work as there was fur all over the cage so was assuming fur flying and the fights were getting intense (they knocked the loft off!). Re-introduced last night and all went well. Back together. This morning a loud argument so went in again. Mega chattering and chasing and Branston tilting his head to one side. Picked Branston up and put him on my lap. Fur coming off him as I stroked him and tilting his head over. When I tried to check his ears he really cried. Got vets tonight but what on earth?! Separated again 😞 I’m SO stressed out. It’s been constant. Norman has had two rounds of antibiotics for URIs, fighting and now this with Branston. I’m at the point of giving up. I can’t take the stress! No joke. I genuinely am so anxious over all this and I can’t take anymore. I’ve been googling and scared myself with what could be wrong with Branston. There’s no other symptoms.. right now he is just mooching about his cage (I have a camera on him that I can check on my phone while in work).
 
Lymaine said:
So I posted yesterday about my two 9 month old boars suddenly fighting. Split them up for the day whilst I went to work as there was fur all over the cage so was assuming fur flying and the fights were getting intense (they knocked the loft off!). Re-introduced last night and all went well. Back together. This morning a loud argument so went in again. Mega chattering and chasing and Branston tilting his head to one side. Picked Branston up and put him on my lap. Fur coming off him as I stroked him and tilting his head over. When I tried to check his ears he really cried. Got vets tonight but what on earth?! Separated again 😞 I’m SO stressed out. It’s been constant. Norman has had two rounds of antibiotics for URIs, fighting and now this with Branston. I’m at the point of giving up. I can’t take the stress! No joke. I genuinely am so anxious over all this and I can’t take anymore. I’ve been googling and scared myself with what could be wrong with Branston. There’s no other symptoms.. right now he is just mooching about his cage (I have a camera on him that I can check on my phone while in work).
Click to expand...

Hi

Ears are actually part of the respiratory system. Please have them checked.

Do you have rabbits or rabbits close by? Rabbit ear mites in the outer ear or potentially e. cuniculi in the brain can impact on the ears. So can a build up of wax but it usually doesn't happen in both your piggies at the same time; most piggies actually have clear ears all life long. Teddies are the only breed with more of a propensity for ear wax.

Or may want to have their middle ear capsules (bullae) checked for a permanent otitis from un- or undertreated URI or too low a reservoir to cause acute infection. A now acute otitis media (middle ear infection) can eventually thicken the walls and make the infection hard to reach (can be caused by a quite a wide range of germs, including respiratory bacteria). Walled-off bullas in an x-ray of the head show up as two large bright rings behind the eye socked whereas healthy bullas only show up as faint rings.

I don't want to panic you but please take any painful ears seriously; since the balance organ is located in the ears, you can in more severe/advanced cases end up with some rather and wide ranging serious issues that can affect larger parts of the body. Please never just pour things down the ears on spec and see a vet for a check.
Your symptoms are still very much on the mild side as you have discovered them by chance so whatever it is can hopefully be treated or well mitigated. ;)

PS: The guide below contains information on some more serious issues that can affect ears and balance. It doesn't mean that your piggies necessarily have any of them but that they may be kept in mind as a possibility. Your vet will likely treat with an antibiotic or with a product suited to clear parasites and other issues from the outer ear in a first step, depending on what they find in a hands-on examination. Hopefully that will do the trick.
If problems persist, recur or get worse, then it is time to look for the real nasties. Sadly when it comes to the ears, there are some very unpleasant ones around.
CBS (Calcified Bulla Syndrome) and Neurological Problems - Symptoms and Care
 
Hi no I haven’t got rabbits. I will take him to vet tonight and show them your reply. Thank you
 
Lymaine said:
Just read the links.. so if he has cbs antibiotics won’t treat it?
Click to expand...

Hi
It depends on how well advanced cbs is and whether/how much the middle ear capsule is actually walled in. This is not a quick process. CBS is generally picked up in later/very advances stages when neurological/balance issues occur and when antibiotics usually can't reach anymore.

Since your piggy has had a URI before, the first logical step is to treat for it with an antibiotic for a possible ear infection (provided the ears are clear) and see where that gets you if a rabbit/wild rabbit angle can be excluded.

Please don't just jump at the worst case scenario and overlook the easier targets. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top