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Minky's got a Head Tilt.

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Stewybus

Stewybus

Adult Guinea Pig
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Minky's problems keep coming. Took her to the vets yesterday after a course of treatment for a fungal infection & she got the OK.

Went to feed the gang at 6:30 tonight & she was walking with a tilt to her head, If you compare it to a clock it was 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock. As the vets close at 6:30 I rang straight away & Dominika said she would wait if I brought her down straightaway. She checked her ears but couldn't see anything. She explained it could be down to several things but the ear being the most common. She gave Minky 2 injections of antibiotics & anti-inflammatory, I'm not certain exactly what they were because I was told that it would be OK to pay when I took her back in the morning so didn't get an itemised bill. As we are currently fostering I didn't have anything to put her in as a hospital cage but borrowed a dog cage from a friend of my wife's over the road. I've put Minky's bed in this together with food, hay & water. She's been eating some veggies, fresh grass & hay but not moving much from her bed. She seems settled at the moment but I'm going to check on her about 10 & if she hasn't eaten a sufficient amount I'll give her some Critical Care & maybe some Fibreplex. She's back at the vets in the morning, I think she'll possibly have an x-ray. I'm not too worried about this as she's been under anaesthetic 4 times this year already.

Has anyone else got any practical advice while she is like this?

She's been through it this year & has had more things happen since May than most piggies have in a lifetime. I just hope she will get better soon. Please send some healing vibes her way.
 
Oh bless, sorry no advice but healing vibes being sent thick &fast from the girls &I. Fingers & paws crossed for a speedy recovery. :)Xx
 
I sat with her on my knee from 9.30 till 10.30 & she ate a load of fresh grass which is her favourite food. She's also had a cherry tomato, a strip of yellow pepper & some cucumber. I've put her back in the cage with plenty of food close to her because she's not moving very well, sort of going round in circles. Her bed is a cat lit tray with soft paper (tea bag offcuts) covered with hay & she's made a nest in there completely covering herself. I tried her with water but she wasn't interested. As she's eaten a fair amount I've not given her any supplements. My wife gets up through the night so will give Minky an hour on her knee with food at hand. I'll be up at 6 and check on her then.
 
So sorry to hear that Minky's problems keep coming - you and Sue are wonderful piggy-parents, so she's definitely in the right place. Good luck for the vet visit tomorrow.
 
Poor Minky its not been her year. I've only experienced head tilt once but it was nothing to do with the ears sadly. Hope to hear some good news later.
 
My wife, Sue was up through the night and had Minky on her knee for about an hour with fresh grass. Minky ate well. I checked on her a 7 this morning & she was moving about & most of the food which was placed near her had been eaten. I gave her some more veggies including Kale, Lettuce, Tomato & Cucumber & she ate more. Took her to the vets for 9.15 and it was decided to leave her there for an x-ray. I'm due to ring them at 2.30 to see if she's ready to be brought home. Will update her progress later. Thanks for all the messages from well wishers.
 
Poor Minky, she and you guys have really been through the mill this year with everything :(

Lots of healing vibes to her, let us know how she gets on
 
I've just collected Minky from the vets & the x-ray showed up a small white mass which is the cause of the tilt. The vet is certain it's not mites & has prescribed Baytril 0.5ml twice a day + Loxicom 0.17ml once a day. She's still got a bad head tilt but is learning to eat with her head on it's side. Thank god she's still got her appetite. We're just going to feed her some food while she's sat on our knees & put the rest on a saucer close by her in her cage. She has a mound of hay which she burrows under. If she can't take water from her bottle I'll give her some in a syringe. We have everything we need in the way of supplements in our piggies first aid box, inc. Fibreplex, Bio-Lapis, Critical Care & Recovery Plus. The vet told me it could take a while & wants to see her again next Friday. Hopefully we may see an improvement by then, but it could be a long haul.
 
Thanks for the update Stewy. Poor Minky, she is in very safe hands with you though. Hoping the AB's and metacam kick in soon for her. Lots and lots of healing vibes to her.
 
It didn't show up very well but it would be the inflammation that's the root cause of her head tilt. They could possibly get a better idea with an MRI scan but vet said it was a about a £1000 & said wait and see how it goes over the next 6 days. Minky is working out how to move round the cage now & has been eating some readi-grass & veggies. Once I've finished cleaning the other piggies run out & had something to eat I'll sit with her on my knee while I watch a bit of TV.
 
Minky seems to be getting worse. She's managing to eat OK. When I weighed her this morning she had actually put 2 ounces / 50 grams on since last Sunday but I'll weigh her daily for the time being. She's very immobile & twice I've had to put her the right way up because she was struggling to do this herself. I'm worried that she make choke while eating. She's now eating with her head turned more than 90 degrees.

Has anybody got any tips regarding looking after a piggy with bad head tilt like this & does anyone know where I can get a MRI scan done at a reasonable price. I'm going to check on line myself & maybe make a few phone calls, I just haven't got £1000 & don't know if anything will be found that can be treated. I know it's possible that this may get better but it's breaking my heart to see Minky struggling around even though she doesn't appear to be in pain.
 
I am sorry to hear that poor Minky is not well, I hope that the Baytril and metcam start to kick in soon. I have experienced head tilt with Ruby a couple of times now and both cleared up with Baytril.
Sending healing vibes to poor Minky:laluot_29:
 
sharonS said:
I am sorry to hear that poor Minky is not well, I hope that the Baytril and metcam start to kick in soon. I have experienced head tilt with Ruby a couple of times now and both cleared up with Baytril.
Sending healing vibes to poor Minky:laluot_29:
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Thanks for that, it's reassured me that things may improve. She had injections on Friday & Saturday & I just started her on her meds this morning. Hopefully it's early days & she will get better.
 
Sorry Minky isnt herself at the moment, what ever happens and what ever you decide will be the right thing. Hope Minky improves ..and sending her healing vibes and gentle cuddles x
 
Sorry I can't help with advice Stewy, but just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and Minky.
 
Sorry to hear Minky is not doing so great tonight buddy. Thinking of you both.
 
sharonS said:
Just been reading this, don't know if it is anything you don't already know.
http://www.examiner.com/article/head-tilt-guinea-pigs
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Thanks again. I did read that article when I googled head tilt on Friday night. I'm hoping that it's been caught early enough to cure. Minky is currently on her own on soft paper bedding which I'm changing daily & spot cleaning as necessary. Because of her immobility she is doing most of her weeing & pooing in one spot but she seems to be trying not to lay in it. She has had a lot of stress of late, having 3 ops for abscess removals, temporary loss of sight in one eye then a fungal skin complaint that she was just given the OK for on Thursday. All of that in less than 5 months.
 
Aww poor Minky, she has been through such alot, really hope she starts to improve on the ABs
Ruby had a head tilt along with an infected eye too, unfortunately she had to have her eye removed two weeks ago tomorrow, the head tilt has gone thankfully,
I asked them to send away some cultures, which they grew in a lab, came back with no nasty suprises thankfully, so at least I know there is no bacteria lurking behind the eye.
Could the white mass showing on the xray be an abcess, do you think, or did the vet rule that out?
 
sharonS said:
Aww poor Minky, she has been through such alot, really hope she starts to improve on the ABs
Ruby had a head tilt along with an infected eye too, unfortunately she had to have her eye removed two weeks ago tomorrow, the head tilt has gone thankfully,
I asked them to send away some cultures, which they grew in a lab, came back with no nasty suprises thankfully, so at least I know there is no bacteria lurking behind the eye.
Could the white mass showing on the xray be an abcess, do you think, or did the vet rule that out?
Click to expand...


Aha! I knew I had seen this posted somewhere :)
I had just searched for head tilt. I could remember reading an associated head tilt&other problem to do with eyes.
Here's the link http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...Serious-eye-injury/page14&highlight=head+tilt

There was the bit about the cultures I was looking for.
Have you tried searching for head tilt throughout the posts?
Might be worth seeing other antibiotics or treatments that others may have ssuccessfully used?

Hope minky's on the road to recovery soon. Healing vibes& fingers &paws crossed for a quick recovery. Xx
 
Everything's happening at once here. Before Minky's head tilt she had just recovered from a fungal that looks like she had passed on to Mitch. He's nearly clear but now I've just found that the other 3 girls had got it probably from Mitch. as I have a bottle of the mixture I've applied it to their infected areas & will have another trip to the vet's probably tomorrow. Our most recent foster boar, Rex was neutered 12 days ago & seems to have an anal impaction which I'm cleaning once or twice daily. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this with their boars but there seems to be a smell resembling the smell of fermentation. It's similar to the smell I used to get when making home brew back in the 70's. I don't know if this is normal but I'll ask the vet tomorrow.
 
piggyfan said:
I really feel for you. You are going through a lot right now.
Click to expand...

Thanks. When I got Minky out to give her meds & feed her, there seemed to be for par of the time, a slight improvement. She seems to be adapting to her mobility restrictions quite well. She's found a way to get to the poos that she eats by expressing them then turning round 180 degrees to eat them. She was eating at a less than 90 degree angle ie her head was tilted to just below 10 o'clock.

All her food in her cage is now on saucers as she's finding awkward to get her head into a bowl. I'm going to pop into my local charity shops when I get a bit of time & see if I can get some very shallow bowls or similar. On the whole, I feel a lot better about her today that yesterday when she seemed to be going downhill. It looks like she's past the worst. I find that she like to be on the floor so I just put a baby changing pad down on the carpet & it doesn't matter if she wees or poos.

Thanks again to all her well wishers.
 
I'm glad you're feeling a little better about her today Stewy - perhaps the combined good wishes from all of us are helping her? Anyway, keep it up Minky, there's a good girl.
 
So sorry to hear your little girl is having such a struggle!

It sounds like she just needs time and TLC to recuperate, maybe use a heavy plate or tray for food. I know Sport_billy use a Frisbee for Megan's food/hay due to neck mobility issues.....

I hope you get some answers but my limited knowledge would make me think she may have had a stroke, have a tumour or have an abscess 9obviously your vet has considered this due to starting on antibiotic). In the first two she probably wouldn't be able to have any particular treatment, it would more be aimed at maximising her independence and comfort although the Loxicom won't do any harm. If it's an abscess then it would be hard to establish what the cause is (bacterial, fungal etc) without damaging her brain more and treat it but I suppose it might have more success with treatment.

Paws crossed and keep on fighting Minky. x
 
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