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epilepsy/fitting/nystagmus in guinea pigs

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NASH

NASH

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Spent 2 1/2 hours at the emergency vet today as Frank suffered a very strange episode. He was eating and drinking as usual and came out for some floor time whilst his home was being cleaned, after about 20 minutes he was picked up for a cuddle and settled down on a nice fluffy dressing gown for a nap when I noticed that he didn't look quite right, he was curled up as usual but just slightly off he didn't look as comfy as usual, i picked him up and noticed both his eyes were flickering from side to side (nystagmus) there was something obviously wrong but he was not twitching or kicking his legs. I rang the emergency vet and took him straight down, he was still "fitting" when we arrived at the vets so they were able to see it. The vet observed him over the hours and said that he had seen something similar when someone had fed their rabbit a rather large amount of dock leaves - this was not Franks problem he was not fed anything unusual or poisonous - and if it was poison the fitting wouldn't have stopped as it had in Frank. Frank had not overheated, banged his head, been scared, he does not have motes or an ear infection or anything that we could think of. The conclusion reached was it is either epilepsy or a genetic issue causing fitting and it could just be a one off (fingers crossed and wishes that that is the case please) but we should keep him quiet and observe him, should it happen again to place him somewhere quiet and dark to recover and to time the length of the fit and of course bring him back for further testing. Has anyone else ever heard of this type of fit or ever seen it?
 
I'm so sorry I can't be of help on this one, it must have been an absolute horror to find him like that! hopefully someone with some know how will be able to respond! I hope he doesnt suffer another bout anytime soon.

How's he doing now?
 
Thanks for replying, it wasnt a very pleasant experience. last night Frank was sat in his home munching on a nice fresh salad wondering why 3 of his human servants were watching him so closely. Today we have been extra careful not to get him too excited - which is quite hard when his best friend Fluffy is a very greedy pig who shouts with excitement whenever she spots anyone just in case they have food for her.
I would be very interested if anyone else had ever seen this horrible eye movement. All we can do is hope that it was a one off.
 
i don't know sorry. i hope it was just a random one off and won't happen again. x
 
Gee, all I can do is throw out a bunch of ideas, maybe a stroke, does Frank ever roam outside? Has there been a change in the weather? How old is he? Does he have any history of a previous illness? Where did you get him? Have you made any changes whatsoever in your home or his bedding? Is he normally a really active piggy? Have you thought of getting an xray to look at his heart? It is quite possible he will go back to normal but I would get an xray. When you took him in did the vet do an exam? You could do a blood, urine and full fecal smear. I would also keep an eye on his stool and urine. A full checkup would rule out possibilities. Is your vet an exotic specialist? Has his cagemate had any illness? Please keep up posted. :)
 
Thanks, yes we thought of a stroke but Frank doesn't seem to have any after effects. No he never goes outside. No change in weather. 2 years 8 months. No history of illness other than the odd sebaceous cyst. He was bought form a breeder who shows pigs. No changes to home or bedding. He is a rather large piggy so doesn't like exercise but he does like wandering around doing piggy business. The vet carried out a very good exam but we declined blood tests as poor Frank was quite distressed and exhausted if he has another attack then he will have the full battery of tests. Fluffy his friend is fine. It was very strange that in 25 years of being a guinea pig slave we have never seen and hope never to see it again.
 
No no x ray, being an emergency vet they would have insisted on sedation to x ray and we really didn't want Frank being put through it at that stage he was confused and distressed without us adding more misery for him. Should it happen again we would have an x ray after he had had a day or so to recover.
 
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