Is my guinea-pig paralysed or has she broken a bone?

[Arisuna]

URGENT
Hello, I have a four year-old guinea pig named Iris. this morning I woke up to find her unable to move properly. She has been pushing herself around in circles by her back legs. At first I though she may have broken a leg but all four of her legs are working. she cannot move her head and her balance is off. she tipped onto her right side now isn't moving anywhere even though her legs are trying.
Unfortunately I am unable to take her to the vets for six hours.
Does anyone know what might be wrong? And if they do what are the chances she will make it to 16:00?
I'm very worried

 

[PigglePuggle]

Very sorry to hear this, it is definitely a case for an emergency vet trip. Without a hands on examination we are only speculating but possibly she may have fallen and injured her back or neck, though if she has lost her balance too this might suggest a stroke. Bad ear infections can sometimes cause a head tilt and balance issues, but I believe that is unlikely to cause such severe symptoms quite so suddenly. Please keep her warm and comfortable and if she is unable to eat for herself step in with feeding some mushed up pellets or recovery food every couple of hours until her vet appointment x

 

[Claire W]

I can’t add anymore to the above post but I do hope Iris will be ok xx

 

[Siikibam]

Fingers crossed it’s something she can recover from. Let us know how it goes with the vet.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I hope she makes a recovery from this. Best wishes and let us know how you get on at the vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Fingers firmly crossed for your poorly girl! Sadly without a hands-on examination we can only guess as much as you whether it is an accident, stroke/neurological problem, something affecting the balance organ in the inner ear (an infection is one of the most likely causes for her problems and the one that can be addressed with an antibiotic) or any combination thereof.

Please keep her as quiet, comfortable and warm but not hot as possible until you can see a vet. Step in with syringe feeding and water if she is able and willing to take any food.
Here are all our emergency care tips in one place, including how you can improvise feeding care in a pinch: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

The full link to our emergency care advice (which you can find at the top of this section): Emergency Resources and Critical Illness Care - Contents list and subforum link

 

[Freela]

Get your vet to check for an inner ear issue, which can be empirically treated with antibiotics. Balance issues can be caused by neurological issues (with the brain and nervous system) and the inner ear; infections can be covered with antibiotics, although they won't help an issue like a stroke or brain injury. What the vet can really do is treat for the treatable (infection, for instance) and keep your fingers crossed that if it's an infection it gets treated and that if it's something else, like a stroke or neurological issue, that it improves with some time. I would think it's unlikely to be a a back/spinal issue if the back legs are unaffected... spinal injury causes issues from the top down, not from the bottom up.

In the meantime, try to keep her calm and quiet and offer food or syringe feed as needed.

((HUGS)) and I hope everything works out for Iris!