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Seizure when frightened?

H

Hallie

Junior Guinea Pig
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Jul 14, 2019
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Lancashire, UK
My two female guineas live in a big c&c cage indoors and they both just suddenly ran super fast like something scared them but there was nothing out the ordinary to spook them.

One of my girls ran to her igloo and the next thing I knew she was flailing about, like rolling about uncontrollably and her eyes rolled back. I picked her up and held and she came around within a minute and was fine and wondering what had gone on.

Is there any evidence of guineas having fits when really frightened?

I’m going to take her the vets in the morning but it’s really late and there’s none around open. (Uk based) no sign of mites 😫
 
Hallie said:
My two female guineas live in a big c&c cage indoors and they both just suddenly ran super fast like something scared them but there was nothing out the ordinary to spook them.

One of my girls ran to her igloo and the next thing I knew she was flailing about, like rolling about uncontrollably and her eyes rolled back. I picked her up and held and she came around within a minute and was fine and wondering what had gone on.

Is there any evidence of guineas having fits when really frightened?

I’m going to take her the vets in the morning but it’s really late and there’s none around open. (Uk based) no sign of mites 😫
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You guinea pigs can run around like mad; we call it zoomies. 'Popcorning' and 'zooming' - joy and exuberance (videos)

Guinea pigs also have much finer hearing and a much more highly developed sense than us, so something out of our range can suddenly spook them without you being aware.

What is not normal at all is the fit; it is definitely not caused by mites as that is different. It looks more like an epileptic fit; which is rare but guinea pigs can be epileptic - however, that is for a vet to decide; it is usually quite a difficult process to come to a diagnosis though. :(

It is good that you are having you piggy vet checked!
 
Hallie said:
My two female guineas live in a big c&c cage indoors and they both just suddenly ran super fast like something scared them but there was nothing out the ordinary to spook them.

One of my girls ran to her igloo and the next thing I knew she was flailing about, like rolling about uncontrollably and her eyes rolled back. I picked her up and held and she came around within a minute and was fine and wondering what had gone on.

Is there any evidence of guineas having fits when really frightened?

I’m going to take her the vets in the morning but it’s really late and there’s none around open. (Uk based) no sign of mites 😫
Click to expand...
Definitely needs a vet check, but we have a piggy who has a sort of floppy paralysis fit when she is scared- when we first brought her home I actually thought she had died... but the vet said she was just scared! We still have no idea if this is a neurological problem as she was an inbred breeder's reject piggy, or just a behavioural fear response as the breeder kept big dogs too...
The vet can advise best but some animals including piggies do have odd seizures or paralysis when they are scared or excited, like the Tennessee fainting goats if you ever saw or can google search that? If the vet rules out anything obvious and medical, you might just have a special piggy with something like that...
 
PigglePuggle said:
Definitely needs a vet check, but we have a piggy who has a sort of floppy paralysis fit when she is scared- when we first brought her home I actually thought she had died... but the vet said she was just scared! We still have no idea if this is a neurological problem as she was an inbred breeder's reject piggy, or just a behavioural fear response as the breeder kept big dogs too...
The vet can advise best but some animals including piggies do have odd seizures or paralysis when they are scared or excited, like the Tennessee fainting goats if you ever saw or can google search that? If the vet rules out anything obvious and medical, you might just have a special piggy with something like that...
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This sounds like what happened to her - or at least I hope. She got a fright with my other guinea and was flipping around on her sides and I thought she dying. She was super affectionate when she came around like she was thankful for the cuddles.

My other guinepig SiSi popcorns like there is no tomorrow but Coco is much more serene in her personality, so I knew something wasn’t right when I saw the igloo moving about.

I’ll definitely get her checked tomorrow but you’ve put my mind a bit at ease that it may have been fright triggered.
 
Thanks for your help last week. To update - my guinea developed a head tilt in the days after her fit. She’s happy enough, eating an drinking - just a bit wonky.
It’s now been discovered she has a growth in her ear and will require surgery :-(
 
Hallie said:
Thanks for your help last week. To update - my guinea developed a head tilt in the days after her fit. She’s happy enough, eating an drinking - just a bit wonky.
It’s now been discovered she has a growth in her ear and will require surgery :-(
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I am very sorry for the bad news!

All the best for her operation!
Here are our post-op care tips: Tips For Post-operative Care
 
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