Silly Question:head Tilt

[Bgfloyd]

Hi,
Sorry this is quite long winded.

I got a piggy from Facebook "free to a good home" as I was worried who would collect him. His name is Percy and is lovely, he bonded well with my pig Jasper.

When we went to get him I noticed he 'stumbled' when the guy went to pick him up. They also admitted that their son who hash learning disabilities use to terrorise him. During the car journey home I thought it looked like his head tilted slightly. He continued to have times where he loses his balance, mostly when picked up and put down. I treated both pigs with Beaphar Spot On with ivermectin to be on the safe side incase of any exterior mites and gave percy a hair trim.

I took Percy to the vets, who said it could be a number of things and we decided we would treat him for an ear infection with Surolan for two weeks. During this time his head has stayed tilted but he has improved slightly on balance though he still falls(wether from settling in or the Surolan I don't know).

I took him back to the vets today for a check up and he said that only a CT scan will show up if the is an ear infection or mites and a MR scan would show neurological problems. If there is an ear infection it would require surgery to drain it. Because he is eating and drinking fine they suggested to not have the scan as it may show nothing (not be an infection).

He also mentioned about a parasite that can come from rabbits but is hard to treat and can infect my other pig too.

I'm now so worried. What should I do for the best? Is a CT scan the only way to test for an infection or mites? Is it likely Jasper could also get a parasite?

Thanks in advance

 

[TheLottiediarys]

Hi,
Sorry this is quite long winded.

I got a piggy from Facebook "free to a good home" as I was worried who would collect him. His name is Percy and is lovely, he bonded well with my pig Jasper.

When we went to get him I noticed he 'stumbled' when the guy went to pick him up. They also admitted that their son who hash learning disabilities use to terrorise him. During the car journey home I thought it looked like his head tilted slightly. He continued to have times where he loses his balance, mostly when picked up and put down. I treated both pigs with Beaphar Spot On with ivermectin to be on the safe side incase of any exterior mites and gave percy a hair trim.

I took Percy to the vets, who said it could be a number of things and we decided we would treat him for an ear infection with Surolan for two weeks. During this time his head has stayed tilted but he has improved slightly on balance though he still falls(wether from settling in or the Surolan I don't know).

I took him back to the vets today for a check up and he said that only a CT scan will show up if the is an ear infection or mites and a MR scan would show neurological problems. If there is an ear infection it would require surgery to drain it. Because he is eating and drinking fine they suggested to not have the scan as it may show nothing (not be an infection).

He also mentioned about a parasite that can come from rabbits but is hard to treat and can infect my other pig too.

I'm now so worried. What should I do for the best? Is a CT scan the only way to test for an infection or mites? Is it likely Jasper could also get a parasite?

Thanks in advance

Hey there, it sounds like Percy is lucky to have been found by you and he's really going through the ringer isn't he?

So it sounds like you've got a couple of choices here, usually when you go to the vets they would advice you on what the best option is but they don't seem to have been very helpful here do they?

As for the parasite, my rabbit has it right now, as far as I'm aware it's not overly common in Guinea Pigs unless their in contact with a sick rabbit,

Hopefully someone can offer more advice on what to do next, I'm not massively knowledgeable about this stuff so I can't offer much advice except it's less likely to be a parasite from a rabbit then some kind of ear infection or mites,


But what I know of Head Tilt is that it can have lasting effects that means the animal has head tilt for life but it's quality of life is not effected by it :/

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

It sounds like your piggy would benefit from a course of antibiotics. Something such as Sulfatrim, or Zithromax. It might also be worth treating with Panacur, just in case it is a brain parasite. However, it may be that your piggy got the head tilt a while ago and the infection that caused it has long gone. Many piggies and rabbits can live a good life with a head tilt. We have a guinea pig here at TEAS who has quite a severe head tilt but she seems totally unaware of this. Sometimes she loses balance when she is picked up and put back down, but soon gains her balance again and is fine.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,
Sorry this is quite long winded.

I got a piggy from Facebook "free to a good home" as I was worried who would collect him. His name is Percy and is lovely, he bonded well with my pig Jasper.

When we went to get him I noticed he 'stumbled' when the guy went to pick him up. They also admitted that their son who hash learning disabilities use to terrorise him. During the car journey home I thought it looked like his head tilted slightly. He continued to have times where he loses his balance, mostly when picked up and put down. I treated both pigs with Beaphar Spot On with ivermectin to be on the safe side incase of any exterior mites and gave percy a hair trim.

I took Percy to the vets, who said it could be a number of things and we decided we would treat him for an ear infection with Surolan for two weeks. During this time his head has stayed tilted but he has improved slightly on balance though he still falls(wether from settling in or the Surolan I don't know).

I took him back to the vets today for a check up and he said that only a CT scan will show up if the is an ear infection or mites and a MR scan would show neurological problems. If there is an ear infection it would require surgery to drain it. Because he is eating and drinking fine they suggested to not have the scan as it may show nothing (not be an infection).

He also mentioned about a parasite that can come from rabbits but is hard to treat and can infect my other pig too.

I'm now so worried. What should I do for the best? Is a CT scan the only way to test for an infection or mites? Is it likely Jasper could also get a parasite?

Thanks in advance

Hi!

How piggy savvy is your vet?

Ear infection is the most common cause for head tilts and balance issues especially if the inner ear is infected. That is the reason why a head tilt should always be seen by a vet straight away and why it should be treated for immediately to prevent things from going further into the brain. Only once potentially fatal issues are out of the way should a vet look for further problem and work their way down the line of other causes.

Unfortunately, if an inner ear infection has been left untreated for too long, the damage in a survivor can be permanent. A course of strong antibiotic is in any usually the first thing any good vet will treat for. Guinea pigs can live with a permanent head tilt and mild balance issues. A scan can show up whether there is permanent damage to the inner ear.

Rabbit ear mites are usually visible; they can cause a head tilt.
E. cuniculi (rabbit brain parasite) can also come into play if there has been a rabbit around; it can be passed onto guinea pigs.
Strokes and neurological issues are the last resort as they are very difficult to diagnose.

 

[Bgfloyd]

Hi thanks for all your replies,

With there being a chance of the parasite it meant I had to tell a rescue I couldn't adopt a third piggy, which is fine as I've only ever had two, but would have been nice to help another pig.

I've messaged his previous owners who said they got him from pets at home and they said they've never had him in contact with rabbits themselves.

Reading about head tilt on the internet and this forum it seemed to me like no one else had a CT scan first and no one used Surolan (I volunteer at a hedgehog rescue and we use Surolan there for many things) I was also lucky enough for the lady I volunteer with to check Percy's poo for mites which she found none.

This is a vet that has been recommended by a GP rescue and also spoken highly of by others :/

I'm really worried. I lost Bailey beginning of this year and it just seems like there is no hope with any vet around here

 

[Wiebke]

Hi thanks for all your replies,

With there being a chance of the parasite it meant I had to tell a rescue I couldn't adopt a third piggy, which is fine as I've only ever had two, but would have been nice to help another pig.

I've messaged his previous owners who said they got him from pets at home and they said they've never had him in contact with rabbits themselves.

Reading about head tilt on the internet and this forum it seemed to me like no one else had a CT scan first and no one used Surolan (I volunteer at a hedgehog rescue and we use Surolan there for many things) I was also lucky enough for the lady I volunteer with to check Percy's poo for mites which she found none.

This is a vet that has been recommended by a GP rescue and also spoken highly of by others :/

I'm really worried. I lost Bailey beginning of this year and it just seems like there is no hope with any vet around here

If there has been no rabbit around, then you are pretty unlikely to deal with rabbit ear mites or e.cuniculi. But not knowing the background of your piggy, we have to mention it as a possible cause of the symptoms you are describing.

The most likely cause for the head tilt and balance issues is an untreated ear infection. THAT is unfortunately not quite as rare...

PS: Surolan is mostly used for fungal skin infections in guinea pigs although its use has now been overtaken by oral itrafungol, which is less stressful and invasive but much more effective especially when treating ringworm. For dips we have found imaverol/enilconzole both milder and more efficient than surolan.
P@h seems to have got fairly well on top of mange mites and URI in the last couple of years from what we are seeing on the forum, but they seem to struggle massively with ringworm at the moment.

If you are in rescue circles, The Littlest Rescue should know the current best vets in your area. Several piggy savvy vets have sadly moved to other locations in recent years.
Here is our recommended vets locator: Guinea Pig Vet Locator

 

[piggieminder]

I hope Percy improves soon, he is very lucky to have found you. I see you are in Bristol, I can recommend the vet we use. My guineas (and me) love Jemma at Highcroft, Whitchurch. She is very piggy savvy, kind and gentle. Highcroft's details are on the vet locator.