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Hard to tell if my guinea pig has head tilt - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Hard to tell if my guinea pig has head tilt (/Thread-Hard-to-tell-if-my-guinea-pig-has-head-tilt)



Hard to tell if my guinea pig has head tilt - sakee - 04-23-2013

Ok more with my motley crew of misfit guinea pigs, LOL.
Burrows is an older piggie. He lost sight in one eye from an infection. Lately, I have been noticing him flopping his head down quickly when I pick him up. I was just thinking he was being very snuggly, but I see him holding his head slightly to one side when walking. I know it's rare for them to get head tilt, which is from mites or infection in the ear.

So I'm thinking maybe he is doing this to compensate for having sight in just one eye. He holds the side with the good eye down more to the ground. Does this sound right?


RE: Hard to tell if my guinea pig has head tilt - Rube - 04-24-2013

Have you inspected his ear and his good eye? If these appear clean, and there is no sign of mite infestection, it could just be his way of seeing where he's going. Also make sure that there is nothing wrong with the blind eye. If the infection has returned to his blind eye, it could be causing him some discomfort.


RE: Hard to tell if my guinea pig has head tilt - sakee - 05-10-2013

(04-24-2013, 10:37 PM)Rube Wrote: Have you inspected his ear and his good eye? If these appear clean, and there is no sign of mite infestection, it could just be his way of seeing where he's going. Also make sure that there is nothing wrong with the blind eye. If the infection has returned to his blind eye, it could be causing him some discomfort.

Thanks for the reply. I have looked in his ears, they seem fine. His bad eye looks normal as well. I guess this is how he is adjusting. He doesn't seem as startled when first seeing me anymore like he did for while after becoming blind in that eye, so maybe that is it.