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brain damaged?

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piggyqueen

My pig was in his snuggle sack yesterday evening and his cage friend decided to jump onto his sack.
He got a real big fright and dashed out of his sack and ran into the plastic side of his indoor cage :... he rebounded off the side and sat there looking quite shocked for a few moments as I rushed over to see if he was okay...
He seems ok still eating and drinking but..he seems to be well..a lot more dopey? :red he's walking into things now, seems to be walking slightly...crab like? and seems to have a small head tilt.
I will be making him a vet appointment as i held off today so i could watch him today to see if it was just an initial owie but can they do brain scans on pigs?
if he is brain damaged will they try to put him to sleep?
 
As far as I know there are no scans for guinea pigs.

What happens will depend on how well your poor boy will recover from his crash and whether he'll have fits and become aggressive at some point in the future (worst case scenario). I doubt that your vet will put him to sleep immediately.

I am so sorry - you must be very upset!
 
This is from my own experience, my old pig Leo I got from P@H and he had many problems, one was an inner ear infection which frankly I don't think ever went away, I don't know if it could, but am quite sure he got brain damage from suffering from it for so long (bad vets) had a tilted head, ran like a drunk man, bumped into things (like me! lol) he didn't live as long as I hoped but never became aggressive, seemed to improve somewhat before he died (of a heart attack, unrelayed). I hope this helps in the sense that even if he/she has brain damage, they can live normal lives until well whenever is their time to pass on<3
 
I'm so scared I'm going to lose my little man :(
it doesnt make a difference to me if he has brain damage or not I will always love him, I'm just scared he will need to be put to sleep

thanky ou for sharing your story beautifulmess
 
you described how my little man is acting now in what you said about leo...
 
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We took in a guinea pig with a head tilt and supposed brain damage. Motley was definately more confident than most pigs, but she interacted well within a group of 4- initially 4 girls, then 3 girls and a boy. I do think it even helped her recover from an ovarian/hysterectomy.
Basically, i'm saying he may go on to live a happy life, but hopefully it is concussion and he will be back to normal in a couple of days. I would expect you vet to give a steroid injection and see how that goes.
 
thats ok, I doubt they'll put him down, I'm used to vets saying, it's only if they are in pain, incontinant, and or are starving to death (not eating or drinking) when they do usually. He seems alright other then the drunken walk and cute tilt?!
 
I really hope that he will be OK in a few days and recovered from a severe concussion.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your vet visit tomorrow. Let us please know how you get on!

Lots of vibes xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
I had a pig who almost knocked herself out by running into the side of her cage (wood). She was a bit odd for a day or two, head tilt and wonky, but she gradually recovered. If he's eating and drinking then I wouldn't worry too much -nature is a marvellous thing! Hope he's ok

Sophie
x
 
Hopefully your little man will be OK. I know it isn't he same thing but I had a gerbil once who acted exactly the same way as you describe your piggy. This happened after he had a small fall in his tank. I took him to the vets and I was told that it could be one of 3 things:
1) a stroke
2) an inner ear infection
3) brain damage

The vet prescribed baytril just incase it was an infection and he was back to his normal self within a week.

Good luck at the vets tomorrow and please do keep us updated xx
 
I very much doubt that he has done any permament serious damage to himself. You are probably more concerned than he is!
 
could it be this?

"Acquired torticollis

Acquired torticollis occurs because of another problem and usually presents in previously normal Guinea Pigs

* Trauma to the neck can cause atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation, in which the two vertebrae closest to the skull slide with respect to each other, tearing stabilizing ligaments; this condition is treated with traction to reduce the subluxation, followed by bracing or casting until the ligamentous injury heals."

Mvc-872s.jpg
 
How is your boy today? I hope that he feels a bit brighter!
 
Hi there :) I am so sorry to hear about your boy. It seems to me that he has concussion, its alot like humans when we suffer it. Dizziness,, loss of direction etc My brother is a vet (newly qualified :)))and he said if it has not gone within 3-4 days you need to take him to see his vet.My brothe also said that you should seringe feed him his water and veggies as it is very important he gets his fluids and vit c. My guinea pig Snuggles suffered a very bad ear infection and because of this he had a permenant head tilt, he lived fine with it, he grew to accept it and he had a happy life, I lost him 5th Oct this year to a bladder stone, but he was ok with the head tilt.
I hope this helps!
 
no vet will put an animal to sleep without your permission
having a guin with brain damage is no **** unless he
becomes aggressive
forget how to eat
is in pain

head tilts often mean ear probs perhaps this is why he lost his balance before his crash in to wall

fingers crossed he has recovered

venice
 
What did I do wrong?
a word was removed ( i didnt swear ) and was replaced with * can anyone tell me?

venice





no vet will put an animal to sleep without your permission
having a guin with brain damage is no **** unless he
becomes aggressive
forget how to eat
is in pain

head tilts often mean ear probs perhaps this is why he lost his balance before his crash in to wall

fingers crossed he has recovered

venice
 
Hi venice was it a shortened version of the word problem? That happened to me too and I don't know why!

Cheers
Alex
 
Thanks
Let me warn you I am a dren (opposite to nerd) and I dont know waht you mean by a shortened version of the word programme.:{

venice



Hi venice was it a shortened version of the word problem? That happened to me too and I don't know why!

Cheers
Alex
 
No not programmes :) - what I meant is I had the same thing happen when I typed out the first four letters of the word "problem" - it gets asterisked as though I have said something very naughty but since when has "p r o b" had a rude meaning - but if I type it out normally it doesn't like it: ****

Strange eh!
 
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