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My Guinea Pig had a stroke please help me with questions :(

Stella&Twist

Stella&Twist

New Born Pup
Joined
Jun 26, 2020
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Location
Weyauwega Wisconsin
My baby Stella couldn’t walk Tuesday when I woke up she seemed kind of disoriented and was walking slowly in circles and had a head tilt, figured maybe it was an ear infection so I was gonna take her to the vet Friday.. well that wasn’t the case at all she started getting bad throu out the night and around 5am she started having seizures and some of them got really bad so I called the vet and brought her in at 11 because that was the earliest I could get in and they told me she has pneumonia and low blood sugar (I forgot the word they used for it) and they gave her an antibiotic shot and suplical and sent us home and told me to syringe feed her and the suplical every 2 hours so since then I have gotten no sleep and have done it every 2 hours, since lastnoght she has been eating food on her own when I hand it to her she looks a lot better I honestly thought she wasn’t gonna make it at all... needless to say I’m almost 99.9% sure it was a stroke.. today she’s tried to walk a lot but her legs don’t wanna move, especially her right side and her head tilts to the right. She’s fighting to be better and eating but she just can’t walk and her head wobbly when she tries to move it almost like she can’t always control it... when the sezieres were happening they were pretty extreme.. she would go flying forward or start flipping..:( just wondering if anyone has been through this before? Will she ever get any feeling back in her legs? Will she ever be able to walk again? Am I making the wrong choice by trying to make her healthy when she can’t walk instead of putting her down..? If she can use her legs again how long until she will be able to? Is there any physical therapy I could do with her? Sorry I have so many questions I just wasn’t to impressed with the vet, I was left leaving more confused than when I went in.. I just need answers I’m so worried I love my piggie so much..your reply is appreciated so much..! Thank you!
 
How do I clean my guinea pig when she can’t clean herself? She suffered from a stroke and not really able to walk yet so she can’t clean herself because she is too wobbly. How do I clean her and how often?
 
You can give her a bum bath with plain water. How often depends on how dirty she gets. Also make sure to clean her bedding regularly, especially where she lays or eats hay. You want to avoid her getting soiled or sitting in her own urine.

Do you know what caused the stroke? What did the vet say? What's her care plan and does she have a companion?
Also :wel:
 
My past piggy Sheepy had ear issues then later a stroke at over 4, the wobbliness can confuse you at times! He was an older piggy going through a lot of issues, so although he didn’t fully recover from his stroke he did really well in his recovery and could get around and eat well. Thankfully I never witnessed him having seizures.
He’d walk around ok (I changed to fleece rather than the other cardboard bedding we were using as it was easier for him to walk on), one side was harder than the other for him but he did amazingly for a piggy with cataracts and other issues.

Think it all depends on the quality of life for your little girl and how she does without your help.
I did gentle exercises with him, lifting his bad legs in and out etc as shown by the vet but it’s different for every piggy.
I can’t really advise much on what you can do, in my experience my lad did ok and would’ve probably done even better if he had age on his side.
It all depends on how your little girl’s coping with the pneumonia as well etc. Hope someone with more experience can help a bit more as I’ve only had my one lad go through it and quite different circumstances with him. Hugs from me and the piggies though :hug:hope you’re both ok x
 
Siikibam said:
I love the wisps of grey on her nose :luv:
Click to expand...
Piggylove82 said:
She really IS enjoying that. Aww. Such a beautiful well behaved girl 💕
Click to expand...
She was a wonderful spirited girl. Sadly I lost her last year. . ..Lip cancer and losing her back legs but hours before she died was weeking when we had our last cuddles. How brave and beautiful.
She loved having her bits cleaned with warm water cos the reward was beetroot and she loved it. x
 
David Piggie Lover said:
She was a wonderful spirited girl. Sadly I lost her last year. . ..Lip cancer and losing her back legs but hours before she died was weeking when we had our last cuddles. How brave and beautiful.
She loved having her bits cleaned with warm water cos the reward was beetroot and she loved it. x
Click to expand...
What lovely memories you have of her, Dave. They break our hearts when they pass, but they give so much to us in the time we have with them.

And they are never forgotten ❤️
 
Stella&Twist said:
My baby Stella couldn’t walk Tuesday when I woke up she seemed kind of disoriented and was walking slowly in circles and had a head tilt, figured maybe it was an ear infection so I was gonna take her to the vet Friday.. well that wasn’t the case at all she started getting bad throu out the night and around 5am she started having seizures and some of them got really bad so I called the vet and brought her in at 11 because that was the earliest I could get in and they told me she has pneumonia and low blood sugar (I forgot the word they used for it) and they gave her an antibiotic shot and suplical and sent us home and told me to syringe feed her and the suplical every 2 hours so since then I have gotten no sleep and have done it every 2 hours, since lastnoght she has been eating food on her own when I hand it to her she looks a lot better I honestly thought she wasn’t gonna make it at all... needless to say I’m almost 99.9% sure it was a stroke.. today she’s tried to walk a lot but her legs don’t wanna move, especially her right side and her head tilts to the right. She’s fighting to be better and eating but she just can’t walk and her head wobbly when she tries to move it almost like she can’t always control it... when the sezieres were happening they were pretty extreme.. she would go flying forward or start flipping..:( just wondering if anyone has been through this before? Will she ever get any feeling back in her legs? Will she ever be able to walk again? Am I making the wrong choice by trying to make her healthy when she can’t walk instead of putting her down..? If she can use her legs again how long until she will be able to? Is there any physical therapy I could do with her? Sorry I have so many questions I just wasn’t to impressed with the vet, I was left leaving more confused than when I went in.. I just need answers I’m so worried I love my piggie so much..your reply is appreciated so much..! Thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi!

I am extremely sorry for what is happening and difficult decisions you are facing.

I have looked after a long hours working friend's severe stroke survivor a few years back for as long as possible. While she didn't have bad seizures, she was left with a bad head tilt and unable to clean/lubricate the - blind - eye on the affected side (so you may have to consider using plain tear gel (longer lasting, application every 8 hours) or drops (not as effective but will need to be administered ideally every 4 hours) from a pharmacy.
What killed her in the end was that she was no longer able to chew on her affected side and her teeth did overgrow quickly at the same time as she started having more mini-strokes so dental treatment was not an option; my friend and I had to make the heart-breaking decision to let her go. Since Nimue was the most delightful little thing, we took it both hard. She was only one year old and tiny, but clearly born with some genetic problems which is the reason my friend had taken her in in the first place.
There can be sadly some unexpected consquences to a stroke that you may have to take into consideration for the medium to longer term. :(

The severe seizures and the pneumonia are added complications which you will have to factor into your personal considerations.

What has your vet recommended when you had her seen? Any decent vet will normally be honest with you when you ask them politely about the chances of making a sufficient recovery or not.
There is very little they can do about strokes and bad seizures in guinea pigs unfortunately. There is also a great risk that our little one will have another stroke in the near future. :(

You may find these guides here helpful in assessing the situation from several sides to help you make an informed decision you can live with in the long term. That is only something you can do. We can only give you the tools to make this decision as best as you can but we cannot make it for you - even though it is the hardest and most heart-breaking consideration you are faced with. It is very tough to weigh up your piggy's will to live against her quality of life and your fear of loss/desire to hang on but it is worth facing the abyss and clearing your head as to how far you want to support your beloved girl and where you want to draw the line for yourself to prevent any unnecessary suffering. Right now you are in the grey zone where you can go either way as long as you put your girl's interest and welfare before your own fears and desires.

Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

This guide here doesn't make necessarily easy reading but you will find that it will help you to explore your heart and weigh up all the different factors in play so you can examine your warring feeling and can hopefully come to an answer forself - although you may have to assess and reassess repeatedly. It is very normal that you instinctively want to hang onto your beloved one and fight for them as much as you can.
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

I truly feel for and I hope that this helps you.
 
Stella&Twist said:
My baby Stella couldn’t walk Tuesday when I woke up she seemed kind of disoriented and was walking slowly in circles and had a head tilt, figured maybe it was an ear infection so I was gonna take her to the vet Friday.. well that wasn’t the case at all she started getting bad throu out the night and around 5am she started having seizures and some of them got really bad so I called the vet and brought her in at 11 because that was the earliest I could get in and they told me she has pneumonia and low blood sugar (I forgot the word they used for it) and they gave her an antibiotic shot and suplical and sent us home and told me to syringe feed her and the suplical every 2 hours so since then I have gotten no sleep and have done it every 2 hours, since lastnoght she has been eating food on her own when I hand it to her she looks a lot better I honestly thought she wasn’t gonna make it at all... needless to say I’m almost 99.9% sure it was a stroke.. today she’s tried to walk a lot but her legs don’t wanna move, especially her right side and her head tilts to the right. She’s fighting to be better and eating but she just can’t walk and her head wobbly when she tries to move it almost like she can’t always control it... when the sezieres were happening they were pretty extreme.. she would go flying forward or start flipping..:( just wondering if anyone has been through this before? Will she ever get any feeling back in her legs? Will she ever be able to walk again? Am I making the wrong choice by trying to make her healthy when she can’t walk instead of putting her down..? If she can use her legs again how long until she will be able to? Is there any physical therapy I could do with her? Sorry I have so many questions I just wasn’t to impressed with the vet, I was left leaving more confused than when I went in.. I just need answers I’m so worried I love my piggie so much..your reply is appreciated so much..! Thank you!
Click to expand...
I have no experience with this but I hope she recovers soon!
 
Siikibam said:
You can give her a bum bath with plain water. How often depends on how dirty she gets. Also make sure to clean her bedding regularly, especially where she lays or eats hay. You want to avoid her getting soiled or sitting in her own urine.

Do you know what caused the stroke? What did the vet say? What's her care plan and does she have a companion?
Also :wel:
Click to expand...
Thank you! She is walking better still really wobbly.. not sure what caused the stroke, I’m thinking the heat but I’m not sure.. & I took her to a vet and they said she was suffering from pneumonia wich I don’t believe because they barley looked at her & she wasn’t able to move for 3 days or eat and her right side was especially bad so I fed her and gave her supplcal every two hours, she’s wobbly now and her right side is still a little weird.. called vet today to touch up and the receptionist said she’d call me back and she never did so I called again and she said she’d call me back and never did so I need to find a new one.. one that cares. Yes she has a companion but I had Stella (my sick one) out of the cage since Tuesday because of her stroke and she stayed in the bed with me until today is when I put her back in her cage and now my other guinea pig is picking on her and likes to push her over and bite and pull her bum hair and when Stella drinks twist intervenes and I’m not sure what to do I don’t want her picking on her.. any tips would be appreciated (:
 
David Piggie Lover said:
She was a wonderful spirited girl. Sadly I lost her last year. . ..Lip cancer and losing her back legs but hours before she died was weeking when we had our last cuddles. How brave and beautiful.
She loved having her bits cleaned with warm water cos the reward was beetroot and she loved it. x
Click to expand...
I’m so very sorry for your loss.. she was very beautiful I bet she loved you lots, RIP❤️💔
 
alpacasqueak said:
My past piggy Sheepy had ear issues then later a stroke at over 4, the wobbliness can confuse you at times! He was an older piggy going through a lot of issues, so although he didn’t fully recover from his stroke he did really well in his recovery and could get around and eat well. Thankfully I never witnessed him having seizures.
He’d walk around ok (I changed to fleece rather than the other cardboard bedding we were using as it was easier for him to walk on), one side was harder than the other for him but he did amazingly for a piggy with cataracts and other issues.

Think it all depends on the quality of life for your little girl and how she does without your help.
I did gentle exercises with him, lifting his bad legs in and out etc as shown by the vet but it’s different for every piggy.
I can’t really advise much on what you can do, in my experience my lad did ok and would’ve probably done even better if he had age on his side.
It all depends on how your little girl’s coping with the pneumonia as well etc. Hope someone with more experience can help a bit more as I’ve only had my one lad go through it and quite different circumstances with him. Hugs from me and the piggies though :hug:hope you’re both ok x
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! This helped me be a lot more positive about the whole thing! It’s been so heartbreaking and stressful but she’s doing a lot better since then she can finally walk although she’s very wobbly and her right sides a little harder for her to move around but I’m so thankful she made it honestly thought she wouldn’t have I was crying for 3 days :( it just hurts to see them like that. Very glad your lad isn’t doing too bad after it, they’re amazing pets and don’t deserve this stuff. Thanks for helping me stay as calm as I can. Huge from me and my girls to you and your piggies as well :) x we are doing a lot better than we were :)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

I am extremely sorry for what is happening and difficult decisions you are facing.

I have looked after a long hours working friend's severe stroke survivor a few years back for as long as possible. While she didn't have bad seizures, she was left with a bad head tilt and unable to clean/lubricate the - blind - eye on the affected side (so you may have to consider using plain tear gel (longer lasting, application every 8 hours) or drops (not as effective but will need to be administered ideally every 4 hours) from a pharmacy.
What killed her in the end was that she was no longer able to chew on her affected side and her teeth did overgrow quickly at the same time as she started having more mini-strokes so dental treatment was not an option; my friend and I had to make the heart-breaking decision to let her go. Since Nimue was the most delightful little thing, we took it both hard. She was only one year old and tiny, but clearly born with some genetic problems which is the reason my friend had taken her in in the first place.
There can be sadly some unexpected consquences to a stroke that you may have to take into consideration for the medium to longer term. :(

The severe seizures and the pneumonia are added complications which you will have to factor into your personal considerations.

What has your vet recommended when you had her seen? Any decent vet will normally be honest with you when you ask them politely about the chances of making a sufficient recovery or not.
There is very little they can do about strokes and bad seizures in guinea pigs unfortunately. There is also a great risk that our little one will have another stroke in the near future. :(

You may find these guides here helpful in assessing the situation from several sides to help you make an informed decision you can live with in the long term. That is only something you can do. We can only give you the tools to make this decision as best as you can but we cannot make it for you - even though it is the hardest and most heart-breaking consideration you are faced with. It is very tough to weigh up your piggy's will to live against her quality of life and your fear of loss/desire to hang on but it is worth facing the abyss and clearing your head as to how far you want to support your beloved girl and where you want to draw the line for yourself to prevent any unnecessary suffering. Right now you are in the grey zone where you can go either way as long as you put your girl's interest and welfare before your own fears and desires.

Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

This guide here doesn't make necessarily easy reading but you will find that it will help you to explore your heart and weigh up all the different factors in play so you can examine your warring feeling and can hopefully come to an answer forself - although you may have to assess and reassess repeatedly. It is very normal that you instinctively want to hang onto your beloved one and fight for them as much as you can.
A Practical and Sensitive Guide to Dying, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia in Guinea Pigs

I truly feel for and I hope that this helps you.
Click to expand...
Thank you.. I am very sorry too it’s hard not to feel like it’s my fault :( How can you tell if they’re blind in that eye..? Because if she is I would be more than willing to use tear gel if it helps her! Are they more prone to having strokes after they’ve already had one..? How can I help her not have another if there’s any ways..? I’m so very sorry for you and your friends loss.. they’re such a delight and make your life happy while they have the chance to.. she was very thankful for you guys doing everything you could to help her.. I just got my piggies from a pet store a couple weeks ago so they’re babies but after hearing about petstores I’ll forever rescue them now..! I know she’s doing better now but the long term is what I’m scared of for her.. the vet looked at her for 5 minutes maybe and diagnosed her and because of the corona I couldn’t be inside with her.. she told me to feed her every 2 hrs and give her supplical every 2 hours and call her next day if she makes it.. well I’ve called a couple times and they say she will call me back and she never has.. so I want to find a new vet that actually cares..! My vet said nothing about her having a stroke but with how she was and how everything turned out I’m almost positive it was a stroke and vet just didn’t really care to find out what it was because she looked like she was gonna die right then and there.. if she has more strokes I will be sooooo heartbroken 💔💔 I will for sure be reading them, thank u so much this helped me a lot..
 
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