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Senior guinea pig has lost her balance

PipandOreo

PipandOreo

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
74
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61
Points
245
Location
North Yorkshire, England
Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this because I’m quite worried and upset about my poor pig. Pip is over 6 years old and has suddenly lost her balance this afternoon. I first noticed this when I saw her fall on her side whilst watching her today. She has then been wobbly when walking and when you put your hand in the cage she flinches then wobbles which is unlike her to flinch. She also fell when she was jumping into her hay tray (was immediately removed), which is very unlike her as she normally clears the jump by a lot and it wasn’t a big jump as she had a step to get in. She now has a bit hay pile instead of the tray to make it easier for her.

She‘s still walking about like normal and up at the bars wanting food. She‘s not lost any weight and has gained some. I’ve also been hand feeding her and shes been eating lots of yummy hay.

I’m not sure if she could’ve had a stroke or she’s got an ear infection or this is her time to cross over the rainbow bridge. She doesn’t seem to have a head tilt and isn’t walking round in circles or anything. She was fine this morning and now she’s lost her balance, this has happened so quickly and it’s horrible seeing her all wobbly and sometimes falling over. I guess I have a long night ahead with my poor piggie.

We’ll be phoning the vets in the morning as I am quite worried about her and want to get her the help she deserves. I know only the vet can diagnose her but was hoping someone has some experience with this situation so I can prepare myself for the vets and the potential outcome of loosing her.

Thanks in advance x

(The hammock in the back has also been removed)
 
Hi!

I am very sorry about your worries. Please keep your gorgeous girl quiet and as normal as possible. Check once or twice overnight in case she has fallen over and cannot right herself or is deteriorating fast. Contact an out-of-hours vet clinic in this case.

Unfortunately, it needs a hands-on vet diagnosis as to what is going on and whether your vet thinks they can treat or not. I am very sorry but I cannot give you the reassurance you are looking for, as much as I wish to.

What I can tell you is that if you are confronted with the worst news, you will always find the strength in your heart to do what is necessary for a beloved one because their wellbeing is more important than your own heartbreak at that moment. We are there for you afterwards to help you deal with it all.

I sincerely hope that it is one of the treatable issues but try to focus on your girl's welfare and not on your own fears. When you feel swamped and overwhelmed by your emotions and worries, imagine gently pushing her on a soft cosy across a sun lit summer pond so she is feeling warm and relaxed; so gently that you are not making any waves. This will hopefully also help to calm yourself down.

Here is our practical emergency, crisis and bridging care advice, which you may find helpful: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
 
Aww what a sweet baby you have, it hurt my heart a little seeing her fall and she's not even mine.

I can't give medical advice or even guess whats going on as I've never experienced it, but I would do the same as you've already done, as long as everything is easy for her to get and on one level on soft fleece with soft beds so she can't hurt herself there's nothing more you can do.

I hope your vet can find the cause and she will be okay ❤
 
She does look wobbly but she's also eating well and still appears alert. I would certainly have her checked for ear infection but I had an older boy who was diagnosed with some sort of growth in the brain and he was fine for a few months before he got to the point where we had to pts. He wobbled around but still enjoyed life. In the end though he began to have fits one evening and I took him in.

In the video she wobbled when she stretched up. Make sure her bottles/bowls are low enough that she can reach without too much of a stretch so she doesn't get dehydrated. Apart from that all I can say is good luck. It might not be the end yet just because she's older 💕
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

I am very sorry about your worries. Please keep your gorgeous girl quiet and as normal as possible. Check once or twice overnight in case she has fallen over and cannot right herself or is deteriorating fast. Contact an out-of-hours vet clinic in this case.

Unfortunately, it needs a hands-on vet diagnosis as to what is going on and whether your vet thinks they can treat or not. I am very sorry but I cannot give you the reassurance you are looking for, as much as I wish to.

What I can tell you is that if you are confronted with the worst news, you will always find the strength in your heart to do what is necessary for a beloved one because their wellbeing is more important than your own heartbreak at that moment. We are there for you afterwards to help you deal with it all.

I sincerely hope that it is one of the treatable issues but try to focus on your girl's welfare and not on your own fears. When you feel swamped and overwhelmed by your emotions and worries, imagine gently pushing her on a soft cosy across a sun lit summer pond so she is feeling warm and relaxed; so gently that you are not making any waves. This will hopefully also help to calm yourself down.

Here is our practical emergency, crisis and bridging care advice, which you may find helpful: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
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Thank you so much for your kind and beautiful words. I’ve made her as comfortable as I can, she’s currently munching on the fluffy bits of hay which are her favourite.
 
I hope you get on OK at the vets. Let us know what the vet says. If you have to make the hardest decision, it will be made out of love for Pip so it won't be the wrong one.
 
Dilly's Piggies said:
Aww what a sweet baby you have, it hurt my heart a little seeing her fall and she's not even mine.

I can't give medical advice or even guess whats going on as I've never experienced it, but I would do the same as you've already done, as long as everything is easy for her to get and on one level on soft fleece with soft beds so she can't hurt herself there's nothing more you can do.

I hope your vet can find the cause and she will be okay ❤
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Awh I know it hurts my heart every time. Her cage is full of comfy beds but she loves sleeping in her hay, typical!

Thank you, I hope she’s okay too 💗
 
Free Ranger said:
She does look wobbly but she's also eating well and still appears alert. I would certainly have her checked for ear infection but I had an older boy who was diagnosed with some sort of growth in the brain and he was fine for a few months before he got to the point where we had to pts. He wobbled around but still enjoyed life. In the end though he began to have fits one evening and I took him in.

In the video she wobbled when she stretched up. Make sure her bottles/bowls are low enough that she can reach without too much of a stretch so she doesn't get dehydrated. Apart from that all I can say is good luck. It might not be the end yet just because she's older 💕
Click to expand...

The fact that she’s eating and alert is what I’m trying to hold onto to stay positive and optimistic. I will definitely ask about an ear infection with the vets. She drinks from a bowl and she’s been eating and drinking from her bowls fine which is great.

Thank you 💗
 
I hope Pip has something very treatable. Earlier this year my new piggy Miffy had a stroke. She suddenly lost movement on one side of her body, and so was kind of swimming around, nothing like Pip. Strokes don't all look the same of course.

The video of Pip looks exactly like I did when I had severe labyrinthitis for a few days. If I tilted my head even slightly, I lost my balance. Fingers crossed it's just something like that.
 
Black piggies said:
I hope Pip has something very treatable. Earlier this year my new piggy Miffy had a stroke. She suddenly lost movement on one side of her body, and so was kind of swimming around, nothing like Pip. Strokes don't all look the same of course.

The video of Pip looks exactly like I did when I had severe labyrinthitis for a few days. If I tilted my head even slightly, I lost my balance. Fingers crossed it's just something like that.
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Rivervixen said:
Best of luck at the vets for beautiful pip xx
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weepweeps said:
Good luck at the vets. Hope Pip is ok. ❤️
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David Piggie Lover said:
Sending you and piggie lots tlc
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Thank you for your kind comments 💗
 
Update:
The appointment went surprisingly well, I went in expecting the worst and it turned out to be almost the opposite. The vet had a look inside Pip’s ears and found that one of her ears was quite swollen and irritated between the outside and inside part of her ear. This made it very difficult for the vet to see the inside of the ear and also meant that Pip wasn’t able to have ear drops but has oral medication instead. The vet said it was an ear infection and was pretty confident it wasn’t a stroke which is great.

She‘s been prescribed Metacam and Co-trimoxazole for now and we’re going back to the vets next Thursday once the swelling has hopefully gone down and the vet can see the inside of her ear better. Feeling very lucky and happy that she’s home and hopefully on the mend. 🤍
 
PipandOreo said:
Update:
The appointment went surprisingly well, I went in expecting the worst and it turned out to be almost the opposite. The vet had a look inside Pip’s ears and found that one of her ears was quite swollen and irritated between the outside and inside part of her ear. This made it very difficult for the vet to see the inside of the ear and also meant that Pip wasn’t able to have ear drops but has oral medication instead. The vet said it was an ear infection and was pretty confident it wasn’t a stroke which is great.

She‘s been prescribed Metacam and Co-trimoxazole for now and we’re going back to the vets next Thursday once the swelling has hopefully gone down and the vet can see the inside of her ear better. Feeling very lucky and happy that she’s home and hopefully on the mend. 🤍
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So pleased it appears to be nothing too serious.
 
I thought I would just post an update as Pip had her follow up appointment today. She’s been doing really well this last week and regained most of her balance, she only looses her balance slightly when cleaning herself. The vet said her ear is looking better and is happy for the antibiotics to stop. Pip still has her head tilt slightly but the vet said she may have that forever.

She‘s been prescribed metacam for what we think will be the rest of her life as she has ovarian cysts and we’ve decided to not go ahead with any operation, draining or hormone injections which the vet has agreed on. She’s always up at the bars wanting food and happy which is the main thing. I do feel very lucky to still have her as last week I was thinking the worst.
 

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Aw, such a lovely update, so glad Pip’s made such a great recovery, clever little lady 😊
 
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