General Advice Please, Head Tilt, Different Eyes...

[LB14]

Afternoon all

First off I'll say I've taken on my last guinea pig for the forseeable.
After having my fingers burnt big time rehoming Dougals cage mate I've given up for now as it was really stressful!

So I went to a rescue to adopt this little disabled guy (other half has called him) Indy. Indy is a PEW and the backstory is whoever the breeder was seemed to deal with PEWs, and after a while Indy and another PEW female were dumped back on the doorstep of the breeder. Now the breeder apparently cannot trace who it was as they breed PEW and have homed many...

So Indy came into the care of Cavy Capers and has a head tilt, which tilts to the right. His left ear is seriously tatty, and his eyes are both a different size. His left eye is smaller and when I shone a light on is cloudy and uneven looking in terms of pupil size etc. His right eye is much larger and darts around like a human eye scanning for something. His head not only tilts it seems to curve inwards a little towards his body along with the tilt. Teeth look good but bottom jaw feels misaligned - probably due to the tilting - think sticking your bottom jaw to one side and thats how it feels to me.

His hearing is good, he responds well to sound but to movement with the eye facing up which looks not right - he doesnt respond if say you were to wave your hand infront of it really fast. My experience is this would startle a piggy.

So upon reading on here and good ol' Dr Google, i wondered what peoples thoughts were. Part of me wonders if he is a lethal and owner has perhaps realised this hence how they dumped him?
Or he has been neglected in terms of having an untreated ear infection etc causing the head tilt. not sure that would cause the eye issues though? Or my other thought was has he been attacked with previous owner and with the tatty ear and neck issues been seriously injured.

I know nobody here is psychic or a vet, but he is a curious little guy and I'd love to be able to try piece together his story if I could. He seems to eat ok and drink ok, and is a good size so I don't think there is an issue there at all thankfully. He just needs a lot more care an attention obviously
x

 

[Wiebke]

Have you had your boy checked by a competent piggy savvy vet? Your boy may need a regular dental check if his teeth are misaligned. Please weigh him weekly to check his weight and be able to syringe feed and organise vet treatment promptly.

His eye and head tilt also need investigating. The signs are not quite typical for a lethal, as they tent to have two smaller eyes and a cleft with is causing the dental problems.Iit is worth investigating whether the blind eye is congenital or has been damaged.

A head tilt can have several reasons; a bad/untreated ear infection is the most frequent one. I know that one of the residential TEAS sanctuary's lethals has got a permanent head tilt. http://www.teasnorthampton.co.uk/
@furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary

 

[LB14]

The rescue I got him from has had him at vet and was given antibiotics incase of ear infection but I think to be honest the damage was already done when she got him. He'll be seeing my vet just to be registered and given the once over but his eating is ok and his teeth are looking good, he lets me have a good look. Obviously I wont be able to see the back of the mouth but I've watched him eat and drink and he can manage that fine. The reason I first suspected an element of blindness was when I put him in the outdoor pen and he seemed really stressed, ran into the bars of the pen and then ran alongside it using his body to feel, and banged face first into the next corner then readjusted his route until he had gone right round and was back to the start. There he just sat looking bewildered and frozen to the spot so I took him out.

The jaw is almost like because he is tilting his head the bottom of his jaw is pushed over to the side instead of being central if that makes sense? I have sat with him and straightened his head ever so gently and he doesn't bother at all so I had wondered if he could even feel it. He is very very mellow and seems more relaxed when he has someone or another piggy to lean on.

he's a wee soul!

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Some of the lethal piggies here have normal ish looking eyes, and others have just small sockets with no proper eye inside them. It does sound like he could be a lethal gene piggy or maybe just one with neurological problems. Quite a few of the lethal piggies here at TEAS have head tilt. Some very pronounced and others where it is very slight and intermittent. You do need to get him checked by a guinea pig savvy vet, and ideally one who is aware of lethal gene piggies. All the lethal piggies here live a good life although some need occasional dental treatment. Generally their dental problems have been incisor based with good molars.

 

[LB14]

He is with the vet this afternoon at 4:50. They seem very very good at what they do and I've only ever taken my piggies there, and they've been right on the ball so I'm happy they will advise me properly. Plus they are just 2 mins drive down the road which is good considering I'll need to walk with all the kids lol

His incisors look absolutely great, they are not overlong and are in good condition. He munches away on hay and pellets fine along with the softer veg etc so I'm confident they are getting worn down as they should.
His eyes just look odd without being rude to him. One is very large and bright, with a clear pupil etc, the other is very small and white cloudy, hard to make out pupil and iris compared to any other piggy I've checked out.

His head tilt is very obvious and he almost flops, as though he has not got good muscle control in his neck at all. It is actually as if something is weighing down the side with the large eye. Obviously I'm new to head tilts and I want to make sure I give him the best care possible. I took him on knowing full well he was a wee disabled piggy.

 

[LB14]

Also thank you for taking the time to reply @Wiebke & @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary . I'm aware how busy you both are and it is much appreciated x

 

[Wiebke]

Best of luck! It is worth checking whether the problems are congenital or caused by neglect. He can still have a perfectly happy life. The lethal gene affects piggies to different degrees.

 

[LisaAli]

Hi How did you get on at the vets tonight ? We know it is a bit of a distance from you but Apex Vets ( Glenn ) in Denny have a vast experience with special needs piggies and would be worth contacting in the event that your little piggie needs more experienced advice

Lisa & Ali..

 

[LB14]

Hiya

The vet was very thorough with him and wanted to know every bit of info I had. She said she doesn't necessarily think he is a lethal as lethals tend to be smaller, and he is a good size and weight etc. his heart, lungs and guts all sound perfect too. His eyes responded to lights being shone in them and she said he is generally a healthy piggy. His teeth were also perfect

So all in all a good visit. She said that as he gets older or as time goes on if his balance gets worse or he starts to randomly fall over then he'll need some more indepth care but for now as he is eating, pooping and socialising then she doesn't want to be pumping him full of drugs in the hope of "treating" something that might not even be there.