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Head Tilt

  • Thread starter Thread starter sylvia
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sylvia

Hi. Just picking your brains again I hope you don't mind. My oldest piggy who is nearly 4 has shown signs of her head tilting. She started with this just before Christmas and I have been watching her carefully, she is eating fine and seems okay but very occasionally her body tends to lean to one side not just her head. I have made an appointment with the vet (my vet is very good and has a great reputation for treating cavies and rabbits) he however is not consulting until Wednesday. Because my piggy does not seem to be showing any other symptons other than head tilt I have made an appointment for then. I weigh all my piggies weekly and she has not lost any weight. I think this could possibly be an inner ear infection although I have been researching on the internet and on some sites a stroke to the brain has been indicated. I really want to wait until my vet is available because last time I took one of my piggies to another vets he did not know what the problem was and sent me home with antibiotics - 6 hours later my piggy died! Your suggestions and support would be most appreciated. 98)
 
Hi Sylvia,

Does your pig seem to go around in circles as well? I ask because I had a pig with sudden head tilt, vet said it was an inner ear infection (Cuzzy was also being treated for a URI) but he never really showed physical symptoms of that. It could be a stroke if she is eating and hasn't lost weight.

Good luck at the vets!

Louise
x
 
No she does not seem to be circling at all. Besides the head tilt she "does not look herself" if you know what I mean. I cannot put a finger on what I really mean but just and intuition about her when you know your piggies you tend to be able to read them when things are not quite right.
 
Awwww bless :-\ Ive only had one piggy who had a head tilt but only lasted about a week as my boar escaped from his run and tried going under the sows run but got his head trapped and i wasnt out their at the time but he wasnt there long and he just kept twitching and was a little swollen after i released him and he however made it and is absolutely fine but he was only a few months old :P

Your sow may just have something wrong with her inner ear but has she had an accident where her head could of been trapped by something if not then i think the vets will know what has caused it O0 and i hope shes ok 0:)
 
my boar has this once when he had a seizure but as soon as he recovered from the seizure it disappeared (and it has never happened again)

it does sound likely it could be middle ear infection in your case, judging by all the research i did when bob had his seizure hope all goes well at the vets O0
 
It does sound like an infection,or possible,she has had a slight stroke.
 
Sometimes its mites, you could try some Otodex (from SPH Supplies or some pet shops).
 
Thank you all for your replies. My piggy is doing well. No change since my first post. She looks like she also has a stiff neck. Tends to move her body
not her neck. Will post any changes and on Wednesday will post what the vet thinks.
 
Took piggy to the vets yesterday. He did a thorough once over of her. He suggested three conditions which could cause her head tilt. The first two are treatable the third is treatable but not in piggies as the medication can kill them also the third condition requires blood tests which are quite expensive so decided to go down the route of the first two conditions. One inner ear infection which requires a course of antibiotics for 7 days and hopefully that will clear the head tilt. The second is a parasitic internal condition (which I appologies cannot remember what he said the condition was - it sounded like a very long word). Which he has prescribed panacur for 28 days. We decided to treat both at the same time. Also when he was doing the all over check we discovered a lump on her tummy which he tested to be a fatty lump which was good news.
Hopefully my piggy will begin to feel much better within the next few days and I am hoping the course of antibiotics will do the trick. I will keep you all informed. Thanks for all your replies.
 
Oh well thats great news glad to hear shes ok still and good luck on the treatment hope it works O0
 
Black wax in the ears can attract mites,but I have not heard of them causing ear problems.This is most likely an infection so hopefully the antibiotic will sort it.

Panacur for 28 days!!.No way would I give that 2 my pigs.Panacur is for internal worms,it is not affective against mites.,and the dose is given once,then repeated after 10 - 14 days.
 
I never said the treatment was for mites. I said the treatment was for internal parisites which worms could come under this heading.
 
Sorry Silvia I misread your message.
I still say that the Panacur dose is too high though.
 
Sounds like the vet suspects E Cuniculi - that's why the Panacur has been prescribed for 28 days. It's a very common disease in rabbits. Although recent research suggests that a 6 week course is needed, not 4 - it's a tough thing to crack. You'd be wanting to see some definite improvements (so you knew it was EC) before going down that road though, I'm sure.
 
my sow of 8 months has a head tilt, the vet said it was a middle ear infection, she went onto anti-biotics for 2 weeks and it did nothing :'( but it doesnt seem to affect her much, she just has a wonky head 0:)
 
Hope your piggie is better soon and you find out what was causing the problem xx
 
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