Inner ear infection/back leg paralysis

[boxinghobo]

Fluffy, my bestest pal of over 5 years, seems to be having a lot of medical issues at once and I'm not quite sure what I can do for him anymore.

He developed a pretty bad head tilt, complete with a horizontal nystagmus. Also, oddly enough, he seems to have some back leg paralysis going on. He used to drag himself around by his front legs, but now he's not moving around much on his own. He stays in the same spot and rotates around to get food if need be.

I took him to the vet (Center for Avian and Exotics in NY) who said it was either an inner ear infection or a neurological problem. She told me that a skull x ray wouldn't be able to help us determine which of the 2 it was. Fluffy and I went home with baytril, baytril otic eardrops and metacam. It turns out that he's intolerant to baytril so we put him on chloramphenicol instead which he takes pretty well. I've been giving him probiotics to counter whatever the antibiotics are doing to his digestive tract.

He's been on the antibiotics for over about 9 days or so and I haven't seen much of an improvement. What also concerns me is the nystagmus and the fact that he's not moving around much anymore. I've been giving him glucosamine and chondroitin because a body x ray showed that he had a slight bit of arthritis but nothing that should really be slowing him down.

I know he's old, but I don't want to give up on him and put him down because he genuinely seems like he still wants to keep going. He still has a really good appetite and will eat most fresh veggies that I put in front of him and he's always nibbling on hay. He will devour any fresh grass that's put in front of him and his poops look fine (and plentiful). He also tries to drink water on his own and will chug down water mercilessly if I syringe feed it to him. He won't eat pellets on his own, but I do feed him CC via syringe (around 5-6 times a day) and sometimes when he's in a good mood, he'll eat it willingly. He's still alert and sniffs around and he's still always happy to see me.

Is there anything else I can do for him to make him feel better, or at least a little more comfortable?

Is baytril otic a good choice for his ear infection? Or is there something more effective out there?

Also, is there anything that I can give him that will help with the nystagmus? There are times when he seems really dizzy and I'd like to be able to help him with that.

And lastly, is there anything that can be done about his immobility? Maybe some sort of leg exercises or stretches that we can do to help his legs regain some strength?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated by Fluffy and I.

Thanks
-Indira and Fluffy

[Dee_E]

I have no advice to give. But Fluffy is so beautiful and I wish you both good luck!

[pinky]

Is your vet sure he didn't have a stroke? One of my females had a stroke a few years ago and she had a head tilt and paralysis in her back legs.

[boxinghobo]

She didn't mention anything about a stroke. How does one tell if their piggie has had a stroke? I was always under the impression that survival odds of a stroke are very slim.

What are the signs of a stroke and how can we check to see if that's the case?

Thank you ^_^