Meningitis In Guinea Pigs.

[igor10916]

To all the members of tgpf,
As you can see by the title this post is about meningitis in piggies. My piggie, Gleb, got diagnosed with meningitis in June 2016. We took him to the vet after he suddenly couldn't walk and kept falling over when trying to walk and slumping when we held him. The vet didn't think that he would survive the night - but he did and made a recovery. However, in September 2016, Gleb, seemed to be showing the same symptoms and we phoned the vet and again he told us the my Piggie wouldn't survive the night and this time, unfortunately he was right. We later found out it was a stroke in connection with the meningitis he had previously had. I'd like to mention also that meningitis is recorded that well in piggies and not many people know of its existence (I certainly didn't know when I found out).
Please look out for:
Slumping when holding
Unable to walk
Weight loss
Fur loss

Of course these can be related to other piggie ailments - but please do look for the connections.

Lots of love and good luck

 

[Mother Hubbard]

I've never heard of this.

 

[rome_italy]

thank you very much for this information. The lady who runs the rescue where my piggies come from had a similar trouble with her beloved piggie and the final diagnosis of meningitis/encephalitis came out after an expensive post-mortem examination. It was an infection caused by Streptococcus Pneumoniae which usually causes common URI... In fact the piggie started with symptoms similar to a cold, but developed serious neurological symptoms later...

 

[igor10916]

I've never heard of this.

Fortunately, it is uncommon in Guinea Pigs, however it is worth checking for in your piggies. It is very important to get it treated quickly, it can be building up over a long period of time unnoticeable to you and the Guinea Pig, until suddenly it deteriorates rapidly.
Thanks
Xx