Muddy keep falling on his back

[Laura M.]

My 2-ish-year-old boar has fallen onto his back 3 times in the last ten minutes. I think he overbalanced when itching himself, we always knew he had a large bottom. He has mites, so we have ordered Ivermectin as recommended by the person who bonded him with Pixie for us. When he falls on his bag, I have to watch him struggle to twist around the right way because I know I cannot open the cage in time to help him anyway.
My theories are:
1. Insatiable itching from parasites
2. Upset from moving in (they live outdoors, just today I moved them into my house)
3. Possible bone or muscle damage for a 25cm approx. jump and fall (we observed him for a week in my bedroom and all was fine)
4. His behind is so large that his centre of balance is just off
5. E. cuniculi
6. Ear infection
7. Stroke
8. Osteodystrophy (a past guinea pig had this and struggle to stand)

He has a lumpy scab on his jaw, possible from itching or an upset with his buddy.
He has been eating and drinking fine, walking fine, not hunched, and responsive, but lying down a lot, which could be explained by a slight increase in temperature.

 

[Wiebke]

My 2-ish-year-old boar has fallen onto his back 3 times in the last ten minutes. I think he overbalanced when itching himself, we always knew he had a large bottom. He has mites, so we have ordered Ivermectin as recommended by the person who bonded him with Pixie for us. When he falls on his bag, I have to watch him struggle to twist around the right way because I know I cannot open the cage in time to help him anyway.
My theories are:
1. Insatiable itching from parasites
2. Upset from moving in (they live outdoors, just today I moved them into my house)
3. Possible bone or muscle damage for a 25cm approx. jump and fall (we observed him for a week in my bedroom and all was fine)
4. His behind is so large that his centre of balance is just off
5. E. cuniculi
6. Ear infection
7. Stroke
8. Osteodystrophy (a past guinea pig had this and struggle to stand)

He has a lumpy scab on his jaw, possible from itching or an upset with his buddy.
He has been eating and drinking fine, walking fine, not hunched, and responsive, but lying down a lot, which could be explained by a slight increase in temperature.

Hi

Please have your new boy vet checked, first and foremost. We can only guess as wildly as you are without any direct access and only based on your wild guesses; that doesn't make for a good success rate.

The correct diagnosis and the appropriate treatment should hopefully take care of the problem quickly. Home treating on spec can mean that you are making things worse rather than better if you get it wrong. It is ultimately cheaper if you see a vet straight away now than eventually with an advanced wrongly treated case.

What kind of place has your new piggy come from and has he been treated/quarantined and vet checked before he was bonded or have you been left dealing with any of the potential pitfalls yourself? Private and online places are generally the worst and the hardest to get a handle on.

Please be aware that online research for symptoms can really give you the heebies because you do not have the medical or practical experience to put things into the proper medical perspective and context when you google symptoms and it is all too easy to fall down the rabbit hole of worst case scenarios.

You may find these very practical links here helpful:
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs
New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

 

[Laura M.]

Hi and welcome

Please have your new boy vet checked, first and foremost. We can only guess as wildly as you are without any direct access and only based on your wild guesses; that doesn't make for a good success rate.

The correct diagnosis and the appropriate treatment should hopefully take care of the problem quickly. Home treating on spec can mean that you are making things worse rather than better. It is ultimately cheaper if you see a vet straight away now than eventually with an advanced wrongly treated case.

What kind of place has your new piggy come from and has he been treated/quarantined and vet checked before he was bonded or have you been left dealing with any of the potential pitfalls yourself?
Please be aware that online research for symptoms can really give you the heebies because you do not have the medical or practical experience to put things into the proper medical perspective and context when you google symptoms and it is very easy to fall down the hole of worst case scenarios.

You may find these very practical links here helpful:
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs
New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

Hi,
We got both guinea pigs as rescues from Little Wheekers in Bristol, recommended to me by this forum. I have had Muddy for 10 months and Pixie for 2 or 3 months. I doubt it is anything like a parasite or condition as he seems completely healthy in all other aspects, except for mites. I have seen the parasites on his fur, and the person from Little Wheekers who bonded Neville to Muddy and later Muddy to Pixie that she uses Ivermectin.
In the past, whenever Muddy itches, he has always seemed off-balance like he could tip over at any point, but it has never actually happened to my knowledge until now. I am starting to think that this is just how he has always been, and I simply haven't noticed, and the itchy mites have made this worse.
After further research, I do not think it can be a stroke or a parasite, which is a relief, and I only included those in case anyone had experience with them and could tell me more as an extra precaution.
If this symptom does not improve overnight, I will take him to the vet in the morning, especially if he has more symptoms. (It is not possible for me to take him tonight because of the time.)

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,
We got both guinea pigs as rescues from Little Wheekers in Bristol, recommended to me by this forum. I have had Muddy for 10 months and Pixie for 2 or 3 months. I doubt it is anything like a parasite or condition as he seems completely healthy in all other aspects, except for mites. I have seen the parasites on his fur, and the person from Little Wheekers who bonded Neville to Muddy and later Muddy to Pixie that she uses Ivermectin.
In the past, whenever Muddy itches, he has always seemed off-balance like he could tip over at any point, but it has never actually happened to my knowledge until now. I am starting to think that this is just how he has always been, and I simply haven't noticed, and the itchy mites have made this worse.
After further research, I do not think it can be a stroke or a parasite, which is a relief, and I only included those in case anyone had experience with them and could tell me more as an extra precaution.
If this symptom does not improve overnight, I will take him to the vet in the morning, especially if he has more symptoms. (It is not possible for me to take him tonight because of the time.)

Thank you for the additional background information. So Muddy didn't come with the problem and it has nothing to do with how ou got him.
If you can see parasites in the coat, then you can either see pale lice crawling in the coat or the tiny dark egg cases of hay mites; but it is generally the intense itching from invisible mange mites that can cause a piggy to fall over if the irritation is in a spot that can easily unbalance a piggy twisting around that is scratching too vigorously. You can find our information about the various guinea pig parasites included in the new owners' link in my first post.

Personally, I would recommend to book a vet appointment tomorrow morning.
If the falling over only happens when your boy is scratching himself, then it is not a same day emergency. In this case it is more likely than not parasitic. Please accept that we cannot diagnose nor do we support home treatment on spec based on our guesses. In this case, you will need to have to treat both piggies.
If the falling over happens out of the blue and is unconnected to any scratching but persists or keeps cropping up, then I would be more worried and have him seen sooner rather than later as it could point to either an infection or a neurological issue affecting his balance organ. If there are no other signs that movement is physically impacted, then it is doubtful that the skeleton/limbs and back are involved - but that is for a vet to decide in a hands-on examination.

All the best.