Cause of minor fits happening only occasionally

[Gingerscruff]

I have a two year old Swiss guineapig who was rescued from an unscrupulous breeder over a year ago. He'd had a bad start in life being treated badly by the breeder. He's now living happily with my four year old Peruvian boar and the pair are inseparable. However, just in the last few months, very occasionally, he taken what seems to be a little fit lasting no more than a minute or two and then seems okay once more. He's bathed regularly and doesn't show any signs of skin trouble.
I'm puzzled as to what may be the cause of these episodes. Does anyone else have experience of something similar in cavies.
Thanks

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Our Health team will be along shortly, but if you have any concerns a trip to the vets is always recommended

 

[Piggies&buns]

You will need to have your piggy checked by a vet. There could be a wide range of causes and we can only speculate.

 

[Claire W]

I agree that seeing a vet is your best option as it could be a number of things

 

[Wiebke]

I have a two year old Swiss guineapig who was rescued from an unscrupulous breeder over a year ago. He'd had a bad start in life being treated badly by the breeder. He's now living happily with my four year old Peruvian boar and the pair are inseparable. However, just in the last few months, very occasionally, he taken what seems to be a little fit lasting no more than a minute or two and then seems okay once more. He's bathed regularly and doesn't show any signs of skin trouble.
I'm puzzled as to what may be the cause of these episodes. Does anyone else have experience of something similar in cavies.
Thanks

Hi!

Please only bathe piggies when absolutely necessary for medical reasons. you are destroying the protective skin microbiome and grease layer on the skin each time. In most cases, a bum bath with plain baby warm water is all that is needed. Bathing is also not necessary in the prevention of parasites or fungal; generally promoting a strong immune system with a good grass hay based diet and limited preferably green veg is much more effective.
The stance on regular bathing has changed a lot in the last decade as the importance of the skin microbiome has become clearer.

I would strongly recommend that you speak to a vet. It is more likely a neurological problem, which will be rather difficult to diagnose or impossible to treat but we can certainly not diagnose sight unseen or replace a vet; we can only tell when you should see one. Guinea pigs can very occasionally suffer from epilepsy but there can be other causes. If you could take a video (which I know is asking a lot when something happens only occasionally and shortly) but it would also help a vet with their job.
Fitting in connection with mange mites only happens in an advanced outbreak; if there is an active reservoir at the very start of an acute outbreak, then the reaction is directly linked to you touching the sensitive area in the skin.