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Piggy emergency? Falling over?

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Lindsey7618

New Born Pup
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Easton, PA
PLEASE if anyone has any advice, something is wrong with my guinea pig McDude. He was laying on top of one of those wooden bridges today and he started falling asleep. You know when you fall asleep sitting up and fall over? That's what he did.

His eyes started closing as he leaned to his side, and he fell right off the bridge in between the cage wall and the bridge. It wasn't a tall fall though. Then he just layed there. He didn't move at all until I (unintentionally) kind of screamed in shock and jumped to open the cage and get him. I don't remember if he got up 100% on his own, I think he did. For clarification, the amount of time between him falling over and me getting him up was short, a few seconds.

My sister said that yesterday she noticed he was spending all his time on top of the bridge and doesn't want to get off and she was worried he wasn't eating food or drinking. I wasn't home at the time. I just took out the bridge so I can monitor him better. He also will jump sometimes and so far one time I've heard him jump and make a noise. Kind of like popcorning, which he will also do sometimes.

He still has an appetite, he still wants veggies and will bite the bars in excitement. My brother and I just held him and my brother said when he touches his left side he seems to not like that and he will kind of wiggle or jump.

Does anyone have a suggestion to what's going on? From my research it seems like it could be neurological, an ear infection, or a skin condition (mites?).

My vet is closed, I can call tomorrow morning but right now I'm trying to figure out payment options and if this is an emergency, which I don't think it is because he's still eating and can move? Hes acting normal so I believe this can wait until the vet is open. He just gave both me and my brother kisses, and he normally doesn't give me kisses. He's normally a very active pig and he will run around when you open the cage door and pet him and popcorn.
 
Please switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily. Hay makes up three quarters of their daily food intake and without weight checks you can’t know a piggy is eating enough (you can’t gauge hay intake by eye). If a piggy is not eating enough hay, then there will be drop.
Still eating veg is good but it doesn’t make up enough of a proportion of the diet to count if hay intake has dropped.

Please do see a vet for any concerns you have about him.

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
 
Lindsey7618 said:
PLEASE if anyone has any advice, something is wrong with my guinea pig McDude. He was laying on top of one of those wooden bridges today and he started falling asleep. You know when you fall asleep sitting up and fall over? That's what he did.

His eyes started closing as he leaned to his side, and he fell right off the bridge in between the cage wall and the bridge. It wasn't a tall fall though. Then he just layed there. He didn't move at all until I (unintentionally) kind of screamed in shock and jumped to open the cage and get him. I don't remember if he got up 100% on his own, I think he did. For clarification, the amount of time between him falling over and me getting him up was short, a few seconds.

My sister said that yesterday she noticed he was spending all his time on top of the bridge and doesn't want to get off and she was worried he wasn't eating food or drinking. I wasn't home at the time. I just took out the bridge so I can monitor him better. He also will jump sometimes and so far one time I've heard him jump and make a noise. Kind of like popcorning, which he will also do sometimes.

He still has an appetite, he still wants veggies and will bite the bars in excitement. My brother and I just held him and my brother said when he touches his left side he seems to not like that and he will kind of wiggle or jump.

Does anyone have a suggestion to what's going on? From my research it seems like it could be neurological, an ear infection, or a skin condition (mites?).

My vet is closed, I can call tomorrow morning but right now I'm trying to figure out payment options and if this is an emergency, which I don't think it is because he's still eating and can move? Hes acting normal so I believe this can wait until the vet is open. He just gave both me and my brother kisses, and he normally doesn't give me kisses. He's normally a very active pig and he will run around when you open the cage door and pet him and popcorn.
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How old is McDude? If he is still enthusiastic about food it is unlikely to be a stroke - in my personal experience (had two guineas who had strokes), you can see that they are disoriented and in one case possibly blind and unable to eat food let alone be enthusiastic about it.

I had a guinea with a middle ear infection, she was leaning to one side and kept losing her balance and she was fine re: appetite, weeing and pooing. This was cured very effectively with antibiotics.

Does McDude have a cage mate - how are they getting along?
 
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