Head shaking

[Kay701]

Hi everyone, my guinea pig Honey has been randomly shaking her head/body unusually for the last three days. She didn't show any other symptoms until this morning I noticed she was acting less energetically than normal and kept scratching her head/ear/eye area. She's still running around, eating, wheeking, but there are some subtle changes that definitely indicate to me she's not feeling well e.g. hiding more in an area of the cage they go to to avoid each other, letting me touch her when she usually wouldn't, sitting down more frequently while moving around. I can't see anything obvious in her ears but she didn't like me touching them, particularly the left side, which is where she's been scratching.

I've got a vet appointment booked for tomorrow but just wanted some advice about what to ask about/expect. I'm mostly worried they won't find anything because we go on holiday next week and I don't want any piggy emergencies while we're away! I'm thinking she's either got an ear infection/mites, wax buildup, something stuck in her ear, keep something wrong in her mouth.

Other information that may be useful is that she just did a pee that smelled very fruity, she's lost only 10g since yesterday, and she's had a bacterial ear infection once before (2 years ago she came to us with one). Also her sister was in antibiotics a few weeks ago for a respiratory infection.

I'm also worried maybe we're not getting the temperature control right for them in our new flat if they're getting infections. In our old flat they had a radiator right next to their area. This flat doesn't have any radiators close to them, and it gets quite hot so I tend to have the windows open sometimes during the day (none of the windows are really close to them but they can cause a breeze through the flat). We haven't had the heating on for months now. Any tips on this?

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry Honey is poorly. But it’s great you’ve got her into the vets quickly.

I won’t try and guess what’s wrong as the vet will get to the bottom of the issue tomorrow.

I don’t think infections are caused by room temperature. If you are comfortable then they will be too. Do you have a thermometer you could put by them? Also if you think the breeze is too strong you could try putting a blanket over half their cage.

Good luck at the vets.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

Any shaking of the head could point to a problem with the ears. Something stuck inside or an infection.
But it can probably have different causes too.
It's good you're seeing a vet as soon as possible.