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Newbie With A Poorly Guinea

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Jaxlow

Jaxlow

New Born Pup
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Sep 26, 2014
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Glasgow
Hello everyone,

We rescued out two boars: Anakin (my son named him) and Chester, 2 weeks ago. They are currently in a hutch in the garage (no car, plenty of light). Out in the run every day if possible.

Last night when we said goodnight, we noticed Anakin had the slightest head tilt. I took him to the vet this morning after reading on here about possible ear infections. The vet believes it to be an internal ear infection and gave me the look of doom!

She has prescribed baytril 0.2ml twice a day (she warned me about it and the side effects) and gave me fibreplex 1ml 3x per day.

So far he is still very active, eating normally. Kids have been told to stay away as vet said both need to be kept as calm as possible ( Chester obv hasn't been handled very much at all and is petrified of us. Anakin keeps his distance but won't run off and is happy to be hand fed.)

Both are approx 2 years old.

Should I be very worried? Anakin is such a gorgeous little Guinea, almost like a little puppy. The vet just had this look that told me this isn't going to go well.
 
Hi and welcome!

Ear infections can kill or leave a piggy with a permanent head tilt if left untreated, so it depends on whether and how long the ear infection has been festering before you got them. You are a very observant and caring mummy, so he should have a good chance. You may want to up his vitamin C to help boost the immune system, too. Your vet seems competent, giving your fibreplex with baytril. See your vet asap if there is any deterioration.

With members from all over the world, we find it very helpful always in giving the best advice possible for your location straight away if you added your country, state or (for the UK) your county/city. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thanks!
 
did you get probiotics as well.They need given an hour after the baytril.Fingers crossed for you
 
She gave me fibreplex to be given just 3 times a day. She didn't mention an hour after the baytril. At least I don't think she did. But I think I will make sure it's an hour after.

He is holding his head straight when he eats. It's really only when he is moving or if the other boy is being bossy.
 
Oh what a gorgeous little boy! Fingers crossed for him x
 
Fibreplex does contain pro-biotics.

Inner ear infections are difficult to treat because you can;t take a swab to find out the bug responsible or what antibiotic it responds to....unless there is also pus in the outer/middle ear and the ear drum has perforated (sorry to be so graphic)..but if this was the case then Anakin would be in severe pain and not eating.
If Anakin has been in proximity to rabbits, the infection "could" also be caused by a protozoal infection ( E caniculi) rather than a bacterium for which different treatment would be needed.

So I'm assuming the vet had a really good look in both this ears and didn't find any pus or mites (i.e. in the outer ear) and that the ear-drum was intact.
You have been given appropriate "first-line" treatment and you now need to weigh Anakin daily and monitor his food intake/poop output to ensure he isn't deteriorating. I would also suggest that in any case you approach the vet about providing metacam pain relief - inner ear infections can be very painful and can stop a guinea pig from eating properly with the added complications of gut stasis and subsequent dental problems.

If there is no improvement after 3-4 days please go back to the vet and ask them to reconsider the treatment plan, perhaps using a more aggressive antibiotic if they think it is bacterial infection and also adding in the pain relief. Antibiotics to consider would be marbocyl, azithromycin or....as a last resort...gentamycin. ( I say this last one because I have had several piggies with middle ear infections/head-tilt that, when cultured, revealed a multi-drug-resistant Pseudomonas that was resistant to every antibiotic but gentamycin ...)
If there is a possibility this could be E caniculi because of association with rabbits, then panacure together with anti-inflammatories would be the way to go.

Hopefully his current treatment should rectify the problem (although he may be left with a permanent head tilt - but my Ginger who is now 6 years old has never had issues with his head tilt.....it just gives him a rather endearing (and somewhat "cocky") look!)

The most important thing now is to provide proper daily observation and supportive care (including if necessary pain relief) to keep him eating properly. If his weight goes down or things don;t improve then feel free to print out this post and show it to your vet to aid any future discussion

Fingers crossed for the little fella
x
 
the vet weighed him, he is 1kg exactly. Is that an ok weight?

He doesn't seem in immense pain, more uncomfortable. But yes the plan is, if he gets better he will be seen in a week but any extra symptoms that occur he is to go straight back.

He was kept in the same shed as other guineas and rabbits needing rehomed, but the girl who runs the rescue has said he was never in any contact with the rabbits.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome!

Ear infections can kill or leave a piggy with a permanent head tilt if left untreated, so it depends on whether and how long the ear infection has been festering before you got them. You are a very observant and caring mummy, so he should have a good chance. You may want to up his vitamin C to help boost the immune system, too. Your vet seems competent, giving your fibreplex with baytril. See your vet asap if there is any deterioration.

With members from all over the world, we find it very helpful always in giving the best advice possible for your location straight away if you added your country, state or (for the UK) your county/city. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thanks!
Click to expand...

done. I think.
 
Jaxlow said:
the vet weighed him, he is 1kg exactly. Is that an ok weight?

He doesn't seem in immense pain, more uncomfortable. But yes the plan is, if he gets better he will be seen in a week but any extra symptoms that occur he is to go straight back.

He was kept in the same shed as other guineas and rabbits needing rehomed, but the girl who runs the rescue has said he was never in any contact with the rabbits.
Click to expand...

A kilo is a decent adult weight! Hopefully the baytril will kick in in a day or two and make him feel better.

Please notify us or the vet if you notice loss of appetite or loose poos; baytril can have these side effects. it would also be good if you weighed your boy (what is his name, by the way?) daily at the same time instead of just once weekly, so you can keep a close eye on his food intake. Any weight loss over 50g in a day means that he is not eating and drinking properly and should be seen by a vet.

Thanks for adding your location. That helps us and our Scottish members giving you local recommendations.
 
His official name is Anakin Skywalker (my Stars Wars daft son to blame there). I thought Angus or Hamish was nicer but I was outvoted I'm afraid. I will weigh him tomorrow morning or afternoon. I had a cuddle with him tonight and gave him some extra veg along with his meds, he does not like the Fibreplex at all. So I made put it in a little piece of little gem lettuce which he took, I made sure it was an hour after his baytril. So I guess I will see what awaits in the morning. Thank you for all your help everyone.
 
Just a little update, he still seems absolutely fine. Lots of poo, all his pellets have been eaten during the night. I have two bowls for each of the guineas and they both tend to spend time at opposite ends of the hutch. I hand fed him some veg this morning just to make sure and he demolished it.

Question: It looks like its going to be a really nice day today, should I just keep him in his hutch or let him out in the run for a while? It is so hard to tell when he is acting poorly.
 
As it is getting on in the year up here, we would keep him warm and snug in his hutch. All our out-door runs have been put away for the winter, as at this time of year the grass is always too damp for our piggies..

Lisa & Ali..
 
image.webp Yeah it's got a little windy now. I have put a picture of him here, his head isn't as tilted today. So I am hoping he will be ok.

I also weighed him and he is 1021g this morning. So he hasn't lost any weight, but then again there is no signs of any runny poos.
 
Fingers crossed for little Anakin - I feel the force is strong with this one (sorry I couldn't resist a little Star Wars reference there!)
 
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