Hi there. I am new to this forum. I have been searching high and low for answers. So my 2 year old guinea pig kevin( a rescue, short haired piggy) for on and off 2 weeks has been falling over completely on his side and struggling to get up. Then he's ok for a while. Especially on carpet. He's better on the flat. I took him to the vets. Well twice. Once a week. He's on Baytril. Twice a day 0.2 ml. He has also lost weight. Now weighs 920g. He has critical care 70ml min a day. He lives indoors so I spend a lot of time on him. The vet couldn't give a diagnosis for why he keeps falling over however she said it's not a stroke. I was researching vestibular problems linked with inner ear infection and Menieres disease came up and the symptoms sound very similar. I was wondering If anyone has had similar problems and what treatment they gave? And also any tips for getting his weight up? Thank you in advance. Rachael.
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Help Guinea Pig With Symptoms Of Vestibular Disease!
- Thread starter Rachael s
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Hi and welcome! I am very sorry about your distressing time!
I am tagging an experienced member for you who may be the most likely to answer your question. @Abi_nurse
Please be aware that a guinea pig in its prime that is not eating at all needs around needs about 120 ml in either solids or syringe feed per day to keep the weight stable. You may find the recommendations in our syringe feeding guide helpful.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Abi_nurse
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Hello here,
Sorry to hear about your little one. Firstly I would agree with Wiebke and suggest that your piggie really needs around 120ml of syringe feed daily. Every 4hrly feeds.
This sounds to me like an inner ear infection. This is hard to diagnose but often can be seen on an X-ray, but more ideally a CT scan (this is more pricey so not done so often).
Sadly your vet has jumped straight onto the Baytril bandwagon here. This drug is far too overused and antibiotic resistance is becoming a problem due to this. I would suggest the following things.
- a stronger antibiotic which is better suited to ear infections (I think septrin or metronidazole have been used before, but Zithromax is a good one too)
- a course of anti inflammatory (metacam), this may well help releave some of the symptoms by bringing down some of inflammation in the ear
- a 28d course of panacur wormer, this is cover for a parasite called e.cuniculi, which is seen in rabbits and has neurological symptoms, it is also seen in Guinea pigs but not been documented well but I would still advise a course of this
- potentially some anti-vertigo medication call prochlorparazine. It will help releave the symptoms and help your little one eat.
You need to go back to your vet and ask for more to be done because I'm afraid that just a course of baytril is not going to solve the problem.
Hope this helps and hefeels better soon.
x
Sorry to hear about your little one. Firstly I would agree with Wiebke and suggest that your piggie really needs around 120ml of syringe feed daily. Every 4hrly feeds.
This sounds to me like an inner ear infection. This is hard to diagnose but often can be seen on an X-ray, but more ideally a CT scan (this is more pricey so not done so often).
Sadly your vet has jumped straight onto the Baytril bandwagon here. This drug is far too overused and antibiotic resistance is becoming a problem due to this. I would suggest the following things.
- a stronger antibiotic which is better suited to ear infections (I think septrin or metronidazole have been used before, but Zithromax is a good one too)
- a course of anti inflammatory (metacam), this may well help releave some of the symptoms by bringing down some of inflammation in the ear
- a 28d course of panacur wormer, this is cover for a parasite called e.cuniculi, which is seen in rabbits and has neurological symptoms, it is also seen in Guinea pigs but not been documented well but I would still advise a course of this
- potentially some anti-vertigo medication call prochlorparazine. It will help releave the symptoms and help your little one eat.
You need to go back to your vet and ask for more to be done because I'm afraid that just a course of baytril is not going to solve the problem.
Hope this helps and hefeels better soon.
x
Hi thank you so much for replying. I should have said kevin is eating readi grass and hay and soft salads however not going for his usual burgess nuggets. I took him tonight to the vets. She has decided to syringe his ears and given me a weeks supply of a steroid called prednicare. I will definitely up his feed dose though. Thank you so much for your advice. I will ring my vet asap in the morning and tell her the drugs you mentioned. I really pray they work. Hate seeing him like this. Thank you again.
We have just recently stickied this warning about the use of steroids in guinea pigs:
The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.
@Abi_nurse
If you wish to see another vet for a second opinion, please consult our recommended UK vet locator on the top bar or see whether you have got a recommended vet within your reach in another country via the Guinea Lynx vet list: Veterinarians - The GLX-Files
Could you please add your country, state/province or UK country to your details, so we can help you better and adjust any advice to what is available in your country; we have members from all over the world. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!
Hi there
I saw the vet that came up on your vet locator. Ann O meara in ewell. She is the main guinea pig specialist vet in surrey. Which is where I live.
Hey I'm going to get the panacur that abi advised. Which one is it? As they dnt make one for piggies. What about panacur rabbit? And if so what's the dose for a g pig ? He's weighs 900 g. Ta. X
@Abi_nurse
@Abi_nurse
If she is using it, then it should be OK. Thank you for clarifying that point. Anne O'Meara is indeed highly thought of.
It is important for us to make sure that the vet you are seeing is piggy savvy enough to not make a fatal mistake; we get members from all over the world, so the quality of vets can vary enormously. We just had a case where a steroid injection by an emergency vet contributed to the death of a very ill guinea pig.
Awww that's really sad. Poor pig. I do not want that to happen to kevin. Anne did say she was unsure on his actual diagnosis and he's too weak for a blood test so can't get true answers. However I want to buy the panacur asap so please let me know if the piggies can have panacur for rabbits and what dose. I was reading up on e cunecili the one abi mentioned and the symptoms sound exactly the same as what kevin has. Alot of owners are saying the panacur helped resolve the balance problem but the course was prescribed for 28 days.If she is using it, then it should be OK. Thank you for clarifying that point. Anne O'Meara is indeed highly thought of.
It is important for us to make sure that the vet you are seeing is piggy savvy enough to not make a fatal mistake; we get members from all over the world, so the quality of vets can vary enormously. We just had a case where a steroid injection by an emergency vet contributed to the death of a very ill guinea pig.
I have tagged Abi into your post, so she is going to get the alert the next time she comes on. I have unfortunately no experience with it myself and therefore cannot advise on the appropriate dosage.
Abi_nurse
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The panacur 10% solution is better to use. Giving 0.2ml per kg of body weight. Once a day for 28 days.
I'm still a little uneasy that your piggie has been put onto steroids.
Hope he feels better again soon though.
x
I'm still a little uneasy that your piggie has been put onto steroids.
Hope he feels better again soon though.
x
Ok thank you Abi I will ring my vet this morning and discuss the other medications. Thank you again. X
Abi_nurse
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