Head Tilt While Eating?

[doodlecountry]

Hi everyone, I am so concerned about one of my newer babies. She is one of the 5 girls I have and I believe she gave the other critters mites. Since then they have been treated with Advantage. However, I noticed Sophia is now having a slight head tilt when she eats. I think she's also been eating slower than the other girls. She stays still sometimes and I want to say she may be eating less but I'm not sure until I weigh her.

 

[Lady Kelly]

You really need to see a vet. Head tilt could be ear mites or neurological and I'm sure there are other things that can cause it.

I'm not familiar with advantage as a product, was it prescribed or recommended by a vet?

 

[doodlecountry]

Yes, I started using ivermectin but then the vet recommended using advantage instead and it should have killed any mites that were still there. Her head tilt is pretty unnoticeable, about maybe 20 degree tilt and its kind of more like a shake.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, I am so concerned about one of my newer babies. She is one of the 5 girls I have and I believe she gave the other critters mites. Since then they have been treated with Advantage. However, I noticed Sophia is now having a slight head tilt when she eats. I think she's also been eating slower than the other girls. She stays still sometimes and I want to say she may be eating less but I'm not sure until I weigh her.

Hi!

Please have your girl vet checked. Any head tilt needs to be seen promptly as it can be a sign of a very serious problem and may not be reversible if you wait for too long.

The issue is not so much what you are treating your girl with against the mites, the issue is that the mites may be the result of either an underlying health problem (lowered immune system) or that your girl could suffer from e. cuniculi if she is living not far from rabbits.

Always switch from the regular weekly weigh-in to a daily one as soon as you feel that a piggy is not quite right.

 

[doodlecountry]

@Weibke I just noticed that she has some greens stuck in her teeth. Could that be the cause of pain? The head tilt is only when she eats and I didn't notice that her tooth had something in it. I heard that usually older guinea pigs get something stuck in their teeth, so I didn't think to check because I assumed it was something wrong with her ear. I'll try to get it out later when I have some help to do so.

 

[anyar.dris]

The food is stuck in which teeth? The front or back? When my piggy Cookie started doing a head tilt, it was a result of an abscess in her jaw and the pain she was feeling. We are quite an experienced owner for piggies with dental issues so we noticed it right away. Although out of all the dental piggies we've had, she was the only one who experienced the head tilt. Take note that losing weight and difficulty eating/chewing are the major signs of dental problems and my piggy's head tilt was an unusual effect of her pain. The head tilt was gone after her dental treatment and abscess removal. If you think your piggy is having difficulty eating and losing weight, please have her teeth checked (especially the back ones).

 

[doodlecountry]

Acually I think it was just a result of the veg we fed her earlier. I noticed that feeding her the fluffy timothy hay piece, she gets the tilt the worse. She has it also when she eats pellets, but not as bad. However, I fed her strawberry and romaine lettuce and no head tilt. We're going to get her checked out this afternoon. Is there any way to check if she has an abscess? Would I find a lump somewhere?

 

[Eriathwen]

You wouldn't necessarily find a lump, no. My Bramble had e.cuniculi but before diagnosis she was treated with a high dose of antibiotics in case of an brain abscess, which can cause tilts. So you may not be able to see or find it. She also suffered nerve damage which affected the way she chewed, this may be why food is getting stuck in the teeth, I had to break up any pellets or treats that had holes in the middle as she was more susceptible to getting them lodged over her incisors, and she was quite a messy eater. It's great you're having her checked later, if shes doing better with softer food then it might be a good idea to soak some of her food pellets in water for her, or offer a little critical care if you have any in case her hay intake has reduced.