Conditions Head tilt/walking in circles

[madimelts23]

Hello. I got a guinea thats tilting her head and tends to be wobbley and walks in circles. She was giving an oral treatment for a possible ear infection but it hasnt changed her behaviour. Any ideas? The vet we take her to doesnt want to do anything but check her for ear infections. The store my mom got her from said they recieved her with this issue and they adopted her out to us

 

[bpatters]

There are several things that cause head tilts. The most common is ear infection, and that's probably why your vet treated for it. But it may be an older infection, and the tilt could be permanent. Or the organism that's causing it is resistant to the antibiotic the vet is using, and it isn't doing any good.

Other causes can be something lodged in the ear, or a neurological problem such as stroke, tumor, or a virus that affects balance.

Unfortunately, there's no easy, affordable way to know what the problem is unless the vet finds something in the ear or the antibiotic clears things up.

Do you have any idea how long she's been this way? How bad is her head tilted? And how much is she circling?

Do you know how old she is?

 

[madimelts23]

There are several things that cause head tilts. The most common is ear infection, and that's probably why your vet treated for it. But it may be an older infection, and the tilt could be permanent. Or the organism that's causing it is resistant to the antibiotic the vet is using, and it isn't doing any good.

Other causes can be something lodged in the ear, or a neurological problem such as stroke, tumor, or a virus that affects balance.

Unfortunately, there's no easy, affordable way to know what the problem is unless the vet finds something in the ear or the antibiotic clears things up.

Do you have any idea how long she's been this way? How bad is her head tilted? And how much is she circling?

Do you know how old she is?

They said she was like that since she was shipped to the store. According to them shes 3 or 4 months old. Anytime she starts to walk she will do 1 or 2 circles and then continue to walk to wherever she wanted to go to. Her tilt is around 45degrees. Ill attach the only photo of it i currently have (the photo was when she was in the store in a tank) i have a video of it as well but im not sure how to upload those

 

[ItsaZoo]

Bpatters is correct, there are a number of things that could cause these symptoms. I recently lost my little Gidget who had head tilt and chronic ear infections. The most likely cause is an inner or middle ear infection that the antibiotic is not reaching.

Ear infections are painful and cause vertigo. Your vet should be prescribing Metacam or a similar pain medicine. You can get Meclizine over the counter, which is for motion sickness and dizziness. Your vet can recommend the dosage based on your guinea pig’s weight.

Some guinea pigs have ear canals that are not intact and are prone to ear infections. An exotic vet will do a physical exam and see how the ear canals and ear drum look. If there is debris or pus, they can do a cytology to determine the type of bacteria. They may also recommend sedating and irrigating the ear canals, which is the only way to get deep into the ear and remove the infection.

Once the infection is flushed out, the antibiotic Chloramphenicol may be prescribed. It is very powerful and can reach infection in bone, which is basically what happens in these cases. However, this antibiotic is toxic to people, so gloves must be worn when using it.

I hope your vet can help you get this under control.