MyGuineaPigOzwald
New Born Pup
Hello! At around 4am - 5am this morning I noticed my seven year old guinea pig, Ozwald, shuffling around in his cage and struggling to walk. I picked him up and saw that his right eye was flickering rapidly and his head was tilting to the side. I put him on my floor to observe his coordination better and it was clear something was wrong. I placed Ozwald inside his carrier with food when he was ready to eat. Although he was struggling, he would occasionally lick my fingers or look for my hand if I took it off of him. I did some research in between and came across the possibility of him having a stroke or seizure. I tried my best to keep him comfortable and unstimulated during the episode. I stayed with him until 6:30am when he started eating the hay in his carrier and seemed much better. A few moments after he ate, I put him back on my floor to observe his coordination again. The first few times he would flip over onto his side and needed support on the side of his body that was leaning over. But after a minute he was able to find his footing and walk around as he usually does (still a bit wobbly but he was able to walk and turn without much struggle). He walks around on my bedroom floor often so he wasn't in unfamiliar territory. I offered him some pea flakes which he came directly over for.
I figured I would put Ozwald back in his cage with his water bottle and food close by. I cut off a portion of his cage so he didn't have to move around a whole lot (the section of the cage I placed him in was a bit bigger than his carrier). He has been drinking and eating since then and it is now 2:30pm. I haven't left his side and have been monitoring him. He's pretty much 100% now and is walking okay and isn't showing any loss of appetite or pain. I feel like if I wasn't up at 4am and woke up at a normal time I wouldn't have noticed if anything happened to him. I'm still researching and have called the vet. The receptionist over the phone said if he currently is acting normal and is showing no signs of struggle, there isn't much a vet could do besides give me clarity and repeat the information I've already came across. I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on him for the next few days to see if I notice anything out of the ordinary.
I wanted to write here to see if anyone else had a similar issue with their guinea pig and any more advice for Ozwald's specific situation. Also this is my first post/thread so I hope I did everything alright (I read the terms of service and instructions on creating threads so hopefully it's okay). I always find myself on this forum when I come across problems with my guinea pigs and only now created an account. Thank you for reading and I'll post further updates if Ozwald's situation changes <3
I figured I would put Ozwald back in his cage with his water bottle and food close by. I cut off a portion of his cage so he didn't have to move around a whole lot (the section of the cage I placed him in was a bit bigger than his carrier). He has been drinking and eating since then and it is now 2:30pm. I haven't left his side and have been monitoring him. He's pretty much 100% now and is walking okay and isn't showing any loss of appetite or pain. I feel like if I wasn't up at 4am and woke up at a normal time I wouldn't have noticed if anything happened to him. I'm still researching and have called the vet. The receptionist over the phone said if he currently is acting normal and is showing no signs of struggle, there isn't much a vet could do besides give me clarity and repeat the information I've already came across. I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on him for the next few days to see if I notice anything out of the ordinary.
I wanted to write here to see if anyone else had a similar issue with their guinea pig and any more advice for Ozwald's specific situation. Also this is my first post/thread so I hope I did everything alright (I read the terms of service and instructions on creating threads so hopefully it's okay). I always find myself on this forum when I come across problems with my guinea pigs and only now created an account. Thank you for reading and I'll post further updates if Ozwald's situation changes <3
