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first post please help

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Baby Brillo

Hiya all, this is my first post and I'm hoping you will be able to help or give ideas.

My friend had two lovley guinea pigs given to her (they were unwanted). One is ok but the other walks round like hes drunk, hes been to the vets and had antibiotics (we think its an ear infection) but they didnt work. Hes been back again and had a steroid injection (vet thought protoza) but still has not helped him.

Hes going back tomorrow and the vet we think is going to take some blood.

Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem could be. Sorry for the long post.
 
I'm not expert but it sounds like he may have had a stroke.

However, does he walk all wobbly or does he run a bit crazy sort of making jerky movements and banging himself into things looking dazed? If it's the latter, it's a natural piggy behaviour called popcorning. Like so...



Many problems can make pigs walk funny, like kidney or bladder problems, so I would check his pee as well for traces of blood for example.
Finally, my vet says it's very difficult to draw a usable sample of blood from a pig, your friend obviously has a vet who's quite confident in that matter.
 
I have sent a PM to one of our medical experts, hopefully you'll get a better answer when she logs on.
 
Thankyou for getting back to me. Its not like to video, he kinda walks but then goes round in circles, and he fell off (well more like drifted) off the sofa.

Would blood test reveal a stroke, and is that what the vet would be looking for now?. Sorry for all the questions hes a lovley lil man and we desperately want him to be better.
 
Aww MrsM that video is so cute. I must admit i was a bit freaked out the first time i saw popcorning like that but its so nice when i see it now.

Baby Brillo, i hope its nothing serious, ive heard though that piggies who have had strokes (if thats what is it) can recover very well and still lead happy normal lives. We had a piggy once who had a birth deformed leg. She seemed happy enough with it and it didnt cause her any problems so we left it alone and she lived a very long life.

Hopefully someone who knows a bit more about this will post soon and give you some good advice, let us know what happens x
 
I don't know. i was hoping you'd say it was like on the vid.

Can he see in both eyes?

It does sound like the aftermath of a stroke from what I have read on here.

I really don't know about the vet, you may want to suggest that to him.

Good luck anyway.
 
THow old is the pig?
I took a pig in 3 years ago , he was about 2 months old and he could only walk in a clockwise circle! His head constantly moved up and down, rather like those "nodding dogs" you sometimes see on the backwindow of a car. I treated him for any condition I could think of, not a satisfactory way to proceed but there was nothing to lose.
Nothing has any effect on him, he was perfectly content and was always ready for food, he did live with another pig. As time went on his condition improved slightly and he could just about walk in a straight line, although he would fall over if he tried to reach upwards by just balancing on his hind legs. Sadly,Derek died on 29 July, from heart failure, just over 3 years old.
None of which helps your pig!
It is acknowledged that taking a blood sample from a gp is difficult, the usual way is to cut a toe nail short so that it bleeds. However the amount of blood is very small, fortunately pigs have both a short bleeding and clotting time. There is another way of obtaining a worthwhile quantity of blood, which is used on laboratory animals, but that is not for here.
Sometimes, if the condition is not life-threatening, it is better to wait and monitor the problem.
 
Continued!
Do not think that because there is a problem that "Something must be done sooner than later"
Knowing when to treat is as important as knowing how to treat.
I appreciate that you have not been able to give a full account of the pig's condition but if he were mine I would watch him for a little while longer, with no treatment. Occasionally medication can cause side-effects which themselves need to be treated and so the vicious circle continues.
Whereabouts are you?
 
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muffinbaby said:
Aww MrsM that video is so cute. I must admit i was a bit freaked out the first time i saw popcorning like that but its so nice when i see it now.

Baby Brillo, i hope its nothing serious, ive heard though that piggies who have had strokes (if thats what is it) can recover very well and still lead happy normal lives. We had a piggy once who had a birth deformed leg. She seemed happy enough with it and it didnt cause her any problems so we left it alone and she lived a very long life.

Hopefully someone who knows a bit more about this will post soon and give you some good advice, let us know what happens x
Click to expand...

Thankyou, i do feel calmer now, will let his mum know. I think hes a happy lil chap in himself- bless him
 
MrsM said:
I don't know. i was hoping you'd say it was like on the vid.

Can he see in both eyes?

It does sound like the aftermath of a stroke from what I have read on here.

I really don't know about the vet, you may want to suggest that to him.

Good luck anyway.
Click to expand...

Aww that vid is lush, i really wish it was like that. I have sent his mum a message asking about his eyes. Thankyou for helping me will keep you posted.
 
alcesterpigs said:
THow old is the pig?
I took a pig in 3 years ago , he was about 2 months old and he could only walk in a clockwise circle! His head constantly moved up and down, rather like those "nodding dogs" you sometimes see on the backwindow of a car. I treated him for any condition I could think of, not a satisfactory way to proceed but there was nothing to lose.
Nothing has any effect on him, he was perfectly content and was always ready for food, he did live with another pig. As time went on his condition improved slightly and he could just about walk in a straight line, although he would fall over if he tried to reach upwards by just balancing on his hind legs. Sadly,Derek died on 29 July, from heart failure, just over 3 years old.
None of which helps your pig!
It is acknowledged that taking a blood sample from a gp is difficult, the usual way is to cut a toe nail short so that it bleeds. However the amount of blood is very small, fortunately pigs have both a short bleeding and clotting time. There is another way of obtaining a worthwhile quantity of blood, which is used on laboratory animals, but that is not for here.
Sometimes, if the condition is not life-threatening, it is better to wait and monitor the problem.
Click to expand...

Not sure how old he is (if i had to guess i dont think that old, the person who gave them to my friend said her brother had got bored of them)
I'm sorry to hear about derek:(.
blimey i didnt realise it was that bad to take a blood sample, kinda puts you off doing it (i have 4 rabbits and just thought it was the same). Thankyou for your relpy, everyone on here has been brill:).
 
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