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Stubborn double-ear infection

L

lucifermp3

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all!

My new guinea pig, Cory, has been dealing with a nasty double-middle ear infection since before we first got him; his previous owners were very nice, but didn’t have any experience with guinea pigs & didn’t know what to look for other than him being unresponsive/not eating. The day we got him, he was wobbly and tilting his head to the side. The previous owners said that he had an ear infection about a month prior (which evidently never fully resolved), but got better on antibiotics. Needless to say, I took him in immediately.

Long story short, he’s been on enrofloxacin/meloxicam for the past 2 weeks, was admitted to the hospital last week due to extreme loss of balance & given intense supportive care, and also had a CT scan (results pending). The hospital vets added in metronidazole & meclizine, which he’s been on for over a week at this point. Have been syringe feeding since we got him, and thankfully he’s not lost any weight!

Tonight, I noticed milky white pus coming from his right ear for the first time. I have an appointment with his usual vet for tomorrow, but am wondering if anyone else has dealt with an ear infection this nasty?

I’m really that he gets through all of this; he’s an extraordinarily sweet piggie!
 
ive had two piggies with ear infections,we gave sulphatrim for several weeks.Lewis was left with a head tilt.the Rescue he came from stated he had eye infection which i had taken to the local exotic vet ,given antibiotics.the infetion cleared up but returned a year later.he had scans of his ears which showed middle ear infections.it was a chronic infection.we just continued with antibiotics when it was active.The Rescue that he came from had questionable practises,ive not had any more piggies from that rescue,as i had a few piggies from there that all had health problems.
my vet stated he could operate on Lewis ears,but i opted to leave him with his head tilt and he managed very well.
 
eileen said:
ive had two piggies with ear infections,we gave sulphatrim for several weeks.Lewis was left with a head tilt.the Rescue he came from stated he had eye infection which i had taken to the local exotic vet ,given antibiotics.the infetion cleared up but returned a year later.he had scans of his ears which showed middle ear infections.it was a chronic infection.we just continued with antibiotics when it was active.The Rescue that he came from had questionable practises,ive not had any more piggies from that rescue,as i had a few piggies from there that all had health problems.
my vet stated he could operate on Lewis ears,but i opted to leave him with his head tilt and he managed very well.
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Thank you for this! I’m glad to hear Lewis did well despite the chronic ear infections. I’ve just finished up with the vet & he said that this would likely be a chronic thing for us to manage with Cory 😢
 
I hope you can manage it well with guidance from the vet and he can still have a good life. I’m sure he will now he’s with you.
 
Siikibam said:
I hope you can manage it well with guidance from the vet and he can still have a good life. I’m sure he will now he’s with you.
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Thank you! We got the CT results back today, and it confirmed that both bullae are thickened (right moreso than left), and that his right cochlea is pretty much destroyed, so he’s definitely deaf in that ear. Hope we can get him in a stable place & stay here for a while 🤞🤞
 
I'm sorry your boy is poorly and it looks like a long term issue. I don't know if this will help, I hope it's useful, but it sounds from your mention of the thickened bullae that he might have Calcified Bulla Syndrome, which is described here CBS (Calcified Bulla Syndrome) and Neurological Problems - Symptoms and Care
I hope you are able to keep your piggy comfortable and stable for a good long while yet, you are clearly doing the very best for him.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
I'm sorry your boy is poorly and it looks like a long term issue. I don't know if this will help, I hope it's useful, but it sounds from your mention of the thickened bullae that he might have Calcified Bulla Syndrome, which is described here CBS (Calcified Bulla Syndrome) and Neurological Problems - Symptoms and Care
I hope you are able to keep your piggy comfortable and stable for a good long while yet, you are clearly doing the very best for him.
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Thank you! This was very helpful; his right bulla did have noted mineralization on the CT so that’s unfortunately the direction that side is going…
 
Not-so-great update on Cory.

In the past two days, he’s declined significantly. He had been stable for a good week, but since Monday, he’s been unable to stand on his own, is laying on his side and getting soaked in his own urine no matter how often I change the bedding, sleeping a lot, and is having trouble eating on his own.

Today, he seems so painful in his ears/jaw that he’s pushing my hands away when I go to pet him near his eyes/under his chin. It’s breaking my heart.

We have an urgent care appointment with his normal vet in about an hour and a half, and I think that we’ll be discussing quality of life. I’m destroyed.

Will keep everyone updated, but I’m almost certain we’ll be saying sorry to my sweet, vibrant boy today.
 
I’m sorry he’s taken a turn for the worse. Wishing you all the best at the appointment.
 
Cory crossed the bridge tonight. Not quite ready to post anything in that forum yet. He was a sweet silly boy until the end. 💔
 

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Take good care of yourself. It’s hard when you lose a piggy. And take your time posting a tribute. Remember you did everything and all you could for him.
 
Sorry for your loss. You did everything you could for Cory and I’m sure he knew how much he was loved. Sleep tight Cory x
 
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