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Head tilt only when eating

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Sue_P

Sue_P

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Got any ideas why my guineapig has suddenly started eating with his head tilted at a 45% angle? It came on a day ago, he’s got a great appetite and is happy and is willing to try eating anything but something is causing him bother. He can eat some foods easier than others, he doesn’t have much of a problem with cucumber, tomatoes or his pellets. With beans, carrots and cauliflower leaves he has his head tilted over 45% and then with melon he’s practically falling over cos his head is tilting that much over. His front teeth look fine, there’s no obvious lumps to his cheeks and he doesn’t show pain when I press on his cheeks but something must be wrong. Ideas please!
 
It could be that he is struggling to eat on one side? I found this when my boy had a dental issue, he had an abscess on the left hand side of his jaw so he tilted his head to the right. even before the abscess was apparent he would do this, i would ask the vet to check his teeth. Speeding recovery wishes on their way! xx
 
Thanks for your thoughts Toffeewoffee. I haven’t actually taken my rodent to the vets, I intended to on Sunday as soon as they opened but within the time I was waiting for them to open he stopped doing the head tilt. I too had suspected an abscess or tooth pain being the cause initially because it made sense but he’s not tilting his head at all now. Then I thought perhaps it was a bit of hay stuck in a back tooth which had been causing him discomfort and then it shifted out. I hope that’s the end of it but I haven’t ruled out an ear infection as he’s been doing a bit of head shaking (like how dogs shake when they come out of water). I’ve looked in his ears this morning and saw a loose lump of debris (ear wax by the look of it) in one ear which shifted as he was shaking about and it got lodged in a fold in his ear. I tried flicking it out with tweezers but he wouldn’t sit still and it seemed too hazardous putting a metal instrument into his ear when he kept shaking like that so I left it. It’s nearly out anyway, it’s not blocking the ear canal. I’m wondering if it was that that could have been causing him not to balance right?
hmn.gif
I’ll look about on this site in a mo and research ear problems.
 
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