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Severe head tilt in 8 month guinea pig

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Gina

Gina

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Hi my guinea pig Basil who is 8 months old has severe head tilt the vet gave me baytril he is eating parsley and carrot and is weeing but only pooing a little bit. The vet is keen to put him to sleep in a few days but I don't agree, he enjoys being stroked and being in his run but sadly runs in cycles please any advice on his chance of recovery and things I can do to help him thank you
 
Hi! Where are you located? For members in Britain, we have a piggy savvy vet locator on the bar underneath the forum logo. You may want to get a second opinion.

It rather sounds like Basil has got an ear infection as he is not falling over; his symptoms are typical for it. With your good care and a good antibiotic, his chances of recovery are good, even if at worst he may retain a slight head tilt; it won't keep him from leading a perfectly happy life!

Baytril can be very harsh on the guts and is well known for causing loss of appetite and loose poos. Please get some probiotics like fibreplex or bio-lapsis, either over the internet or from a pet shop. If you have got other piggies, you can also give him poo soup; made from soaking fresh poos from a healthy piggy in water; this contains all the good bacteria etc. to help his guts, as disgusting as it is! Most piggies actually enjoy it, as it is resembles the way they themselves will stock up after an illness by snatching another piggies poos.

Weigh Basil daily to monitor his food intake (which hopefully includes lots of hay) and if necessary hand feed him with either mushed up pellets or recovery food from your vet or from the internet. Cut the narrow bit off a 1ml syringe for this. You can get syringes from a pharmacy if necessary. Feed him little but often and always offer solid food first, so you only need to top him up.
Here are more tips: http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
 
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Hi thank you I live in Bedford England the vet gave me some recovery food. I'm abit worried to give him hay as he isn't drinking much? I've given him parsley soaked in water and cucumber do I need to syringe water into his mouth?
 
If you're syringe feeding, make sure you also offer water in a syringe to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. Cucumber has lots of water in it, but it still might be useful to give water via syringe. I would also suggest seeking a second opinion if your vet thinks euthanization is necessary for an ear infection. Hopefully this won't be an issue, but if it is, a more cavy savvy vet could shed some more light. Good luck!
 
First thing I would say is find another vet. A guinea pig should not be put down because they have head tilt. One of my girls, Minky got a head tilt on October 4th & she has improved beyond belief from those early days. See - http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?107354-Minky-s-got-a-Head-Tilt&highlight=

I got her to the vets within a hour of discovering she had the head tilt & she was given injections of painkiller & antibiotics. I took her back the next day for an x-ray where it was discovered she had a small white mass near her ear which was some sort of infection. She was put on Baytril 2.5 in 0.5ml doses twice a day & also on a pain killer. I put her in a separate cage & used puppy pads on the floor with soft bedding & hay at one end. I used saucers for her food because she was finding it difficult to eat out of the regular bowls. She didn't seem to be drinking but was probably getting plenty of water from her veggies & fresh grass. I gave her a 1ml syring of water 3 times a day to supplement any lack of water. Her head was over at more than 90 degrees but she did manage to get round, though sometimes going in circles. She was back at the vets the following week & her pain killer was reduced then back again on October 24th she had her pain killer stopped completely. I then decided to see how she got on with the other guinea pigs & she was totally OK with them, being very bossy & holding her own. At the same time I was introducing a new male who was very gentle so Rex was put in with Minnie & Minky. After that her improvement came on leaps and bounds & now after nearly another 4 weeks she has adjusted well. Her head has only a slight tilt & she's due back at the vets on Thursday. She's still on Baytril, I actually got a prescription from the vet so I could get a 100ml bottle of Baytril from Vet UK. Even though I paid £7.50 for the prescription it has given me a saving of over £50 on what the vets charge for 10 small 10ml bottles of Baytril.

I would suggest you either check the Vet Locator at the top of this page or ring Bramley Animal Rescue on 07814 204221 or Millhaven Guinea Pig Rescue
on 07956 254231 to ask them for the name of a good guinea pig savvy vet. These rescues are both within 10 miles of Bradford so their vets should be close enough for you. They may even be able to give you practicable advise of how to look after Basil. When I changed vets earlier this year to the vet I was recommended by my local rescue it made a big difference to my guinea pigs & ended up being cheaper as I now wasn't paying for unnecessary or incorrect treatment. I now have a vet I am fully confident in & know that I can ring or call in & get what's right for my piggies.
 
I just realised I'd mis-read you town as Bradford not Bedford so the 2 rescues I mentioned won't be of much use to you. If you check the Rescue Locator at top of the page see if there are any rescues close to Bedford who can recommend a local vet.
 
Sending healing vibes to Basil. I agree with the others - you need to see another vet. Euthanasia seems a bit extreme for head tilt.

Let us know how he gets on x
 
If you can get to Broxbourne, then Vets and Pets is guinea pig savvy or if you can get to Northampton go to the Cat and Rabbit Clinic and see Simon Maddock.
 
Thank you everybody for your kind words and advice. I've made the poo soup and syringes water and vet food I won't be taking him to his next vets appointment unless he seems in pain or stops eating. Luckily I have extra baytril from when my older guinea pig had mites which I can use when this runs out
 
As a matter of interest. What dose of Baytril has your vet prescribed for Basil? There are 2 strengths 2.5 & 10 so you'd probably be on something like 0.8 to 1ml per day for the first or 0.1 to 0.25ml for the second. A lot of vets don't seen to give enough. My last vet diluted it in Abidec infant supplement & said only with 0.4ml once a day which in it's diluted form would have been minuscule.
 
has the vet checked for ear mites i had a wee piggie who had a severe head tilt and i realised it was mites and got the xeno 50 as he was just 4months at the time and it healed quite well, his tilt went away. xx
 
The vet didn't think it was mites I'll order xeno to be on the safe side the baytril I have is 3.00 baytril 2.5 oral 100 whatever that means!
 
It's 2ml of baytril twice a day and I've ordered some probiotics today
 
That's right sorry. Changed my
hours to part time to try and help him get better
 
He is a little bit better but there's hardly any poos and the ones there are, are small and hard is this normal?
 
Has the probiotic arrived yet? it sounds like the Baytril is having a bad effect on the gut. If there is hardly any poo output you may need to speak to the vet again about a gut stimulant such as Emeprid. Though it is possible that he is eating the poos that you aren't seeing as when my Millie has an upset tummy she eats most of her poos. Definitely think you need to discuss with your vet.
 
It should hopefully be here by tmrow I've got an appointment with an exotic vet tmrow morning and get some advice from a lady on face book who recommended I request Zithromax metrocam and tiacel eye drops also btw how do I put photos up and put a profile pic up x
 
Wishing you all the best! Please mention the problems with the poos your boy has been experiencing.

It would be good if you weighed him daily; that way you can get an idea of his real food intake and whether he needs topping up with hand feed. It is another point you can discuss with your new vet.
 
Zithromax is a good antibiotic, especially for respiratory infections and abcesses. Am not sure which one is usually best for an ear infection though, am thinking Marbocyl but I am not 100% sure. Metacam is good as that is pain relief, if you could ask your vet for the dose to be twice a day this will help him as piggies have fast metabolism.

Do you have a photobucket account? if so you can post photos using that. There is a sticky somewhere about how to do it.

For your avatar if you go into your profile there is a section for uploading an avatar.
 
Just isn't many poos and they are small and hard I'm hand feeding him everything but will weigh him :-)
 
Ask your vet if you should up the dose of Baytril. Minky has been on 0.5ml of 2.5 Baytril twice a day & she has improved tremendously over the 6 weeks. I find Fibreplex is best for getting their guts working if upset by meds. Your exotics vet will be more knowledgeable.
 
I'm so happy with my new vet Basil is on Zantac, metacam, septrin and baytril with viscotears gel for his eyes she checked his ears def a near infection as there's pus
 
I'm so pleased you have seen a vet you feel comfortable with and now have a proper diagnosis. Can I ask which vet it was? I am not that far from Bedford and also you could add them to the Vet Locator on the forum.

As he is still on Baytril, the probiotics are definitely needed. Did the vet say anything about them?
 
The septrim is for his gut but I ordered fibreplex anyway on your recommendation x The vets are Scots veterinary clinic and the exotic vet is called Natalie and was very kind and helpful and it's only £22 for the consultation
 
Septrin is an antibiotic. Maybe the vet meant the Zantac which is a stimulant.
 
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Basil seems to be getting the right treatment from the new vets. Is he with companions or by himself at present. It's sometimes best to keep them separate until they start to cope with the head tilt then introduce back gradually.
 
boarding service said:
has the vet checked for ear mites i had a wee piggie who had a severe head tilt and i realised it was mites and got the xeno 50 as he was just 4months at the time and it healed quite well, his tilt went away. xx
Click to expand...

Ruby had head tilt the cause was mites, baytril sorted it out and Xeno. I think you need a more sympathetic vet, go on your gut instinct, I do, if you don't feel pts is right at the moment I go with that, gut instinct as I have found is never wrong. Sorry you are going through this, it is horrid when they are ill x

I just remembered also my vet used a cotton bud and smelled it which I thought was strange but he said it showed it was infected.
 
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