Blind Piggy?

[Elliegirl]

Before anyone asks Milly is under the vet but wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar issue/experience.

Yesterday morning 9 month old Milly was laying quietly in the hutch not leading the breakfast wheeks. She seemed well in herself but I had a huge concern over whether she was blind. If she is it had happened overnight. After a morning of close observation I took her to the vets, he was undecided about her sight but was concerned over gut stasis. She was given pain relief and a gut stimulant and I bought her home. I gave her a couple of rounds of recovery diet and poo soup and she started eating her vegis. Watching from afar its obvious the other 3 pigs she's with have picked up on something and at bedtime I caught Merry push her out of the way and pinch her carrot.

I've left them all together as she snuggles with the others who seem to want to comfort her. This morning I've separated her out and she's eating and pooing but is still very quiet in her movements, sitting still far more than ususal. She is now back with the others snuggled up.

I suspect (only from VN knowledge and gig experience) she's had a micro stroke that's knocked out her sight, she's not eaten because she's been unwilling to move about and maybe feeling a bit wonky therefore upsetting her gut which we caught very early. She seems remarkably bright and hungry yet again bringing me back to sight issues.

My plan of action:

waiting to hear from vet regarding a second appointment (worth it or wait and see) - he says monitor over the weekend and go back Monday if I still have concerns.
separate her out from time to time to allow access to food/water to ensure she gets plenty
monitor group dynamics and if really pushed put her and one other in separate hutch, I want to avoid this because they are all snuggling with her
watch her pee and poo output/ food input
lots of cuddles and reassurance
wait and see, one of my old boys had a major stroke, was totally blind but sight came back.......

Interested to know peoples thoughts and if there's anything else I've missed that I should be doing

Tracy x

 

[Wiebke]

Before anyone asks Milly is under the vet but wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar issue/experience.

Yesterday morning 9 month old Milly was laying quietly in the hutch not leading the breakfast wheeks. She seemed well in herself but I had a huge concern over whether she was blind. If she is it had happened overnight. After a morning of close observation I took her to the vets, he was undecided about her sight but was concerned over gut stasis. She was given pain relief and a gut stimulant and I bought her home. I gave her a couple of rounds of recovery diet and poo soup and she started eating her vegis. Watching from afar its obvious the other 3 pigs she's with have picked up on something and at bedtime I caught Merry push her out of the way and pinch her carrot.

I've left them all together as she snuggles with the others who seem to want to comfort her. This morning I've separated her out and she's eating and pooing but is still very quiet in her movements, sitting still far more than ususal. She is now back with the others snuggled up.

I suspect (only from VN knowledge and gig experience) she's had a micro stroke that's knocked out her sight, she's not eaten because she's been unwilling to move about and maybe feeling a bit wonky therefore upsetting her gut which we caught very early. She seems remarkably bright and hungry yet again bringing me back to sight issues.

My plan of action:

waiting to hear from vet regarding a second appointment (worth it or wait and see) - he says monitor over the weekend and go back Monday if I still have concerns.
separate her out from time to time to allow access to food/water to ensure she gets plenty
monitor group dynamics and if really pushed put her and one other in separate hutch, I want to avoid this because they are all snuggling with her
watch her pee and poo output/ food input
lots of cuddles and reassurance
wait and see, one of my old boys had a major stroke, was totally blind but sight came back.......

Interested to know peoples thoughts and if there's anything else I've missed that I should be doing

Tracy x

Hi! I cannot say about blindness; strokes can affect the visual centre of the brain.

Please weigh her daily at the same time, ideally either before or after her dinner, so you can check the actual food intake - pee and poos usually reflect what has happened a day or two before (especially if gut stasis is involved and the digestion is very slow); while they are a valuable source of information on the state of the guts, they do not give you up-to-date information.
Please make sure that you top her up with syringe feed and water whenever necessary. Up to 80% of the daily food intake is hay, which is very hard to control, so just having her alone from time to time to eat is not necessarily going to work. You can offer her veg while you syringe feed, but you need to make sure that she is getting plenty of fibre, especially if her guts have been affected. They are what is needed to rebalance the guts. Here is our detailed step-by-step syringe feeding and watering guide: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Give her time to recover from the stroke, and keep her as comfy as she needs. Make sure that you spot clean her corner frequently and change any cosies daily, so she is not sitting in her own pee and poo.

Sudden blindness comes as a huge shock to anybody. Hopefully it is just temporary, as it takes time for the other senses to kick in and compensate. Once the sensory adjustment has happened, a guinea pig can live a perfectly normal life; I have seen that with all the cataract piggies that I have had and have adopted over the years.

 

[Elliegirl]

Don't worry I'm a pro at syringe feeding, yes I'm topping her up and I've seen her nomming hay in the hutch, she's also had some of her favourite readi grass, it's more the vegis I take her out for so she gets hers without being pushed out of the way. She hasn't lost weight as yet (weigh twice weekly anyway), She's moving around the hutch now so she's getting it down.

I can believe especially in a prey animal sudden sight loss is terrifying but its so good to see her hutch mates snuggling with her

Thank you for your help x

 

[Elliegirl]

I wanted to give you an update. Milly picked up really quickly although still seeming to be blind but on Monday night I found her having had a full on stroke. After a night of monitoring I took her to the vets just to ensure I couldn't be doing anymore for her.
She's in a hutch alone all day but with the others at night for snuggles and warmth. She is eating with her usual gusto, everything from oats to vegis, readigrass and pellets to hay I've seen her too. Wee and poo is plentiful. Every day she seems slightly better and this morning was leading the shout out for breakfast for the first time in a week! If she continues at this pace I won't need to have her alone for much longer and life will hopefully continue to improve for her.

Thanks for you help

T and Milly x

 

[helen105281]

I'm really sorry she has had a stroke but it's great that she seems to be recovering well.

 

[Elliegirl]

I'm really sorry she has had a stroke but it's great that she seems to be recovering well.

TY, these guineas do like to keep us on our toes!

 

[Wiebke]

I wanted to give you an update. Milly picked up really quickly although still seeming to be blind but on Monday night I found her having had a full on stroke. After a night of monitoring I took her to the vets just to ensure I couldn't be doing anymore for her.
She's in a hutch alone all day but with the others at night for snuggles and warmth. She is eating with her usual gusto, everything from oats to vegis, readigrass and pellets to hay I've seen her too. Wee and poo is plentiful. Every day she seems slightly better and this morning was leading the shout out for breakfast for the first time in a week! If she continues at this pace I won't need to have her alone for much longer and life will hopefully continue to improve for her.

Thanks for you help

T and Milly x

I am very sorry that Milly had another big stroke! Fingers firmly crossed for a full recovery!