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Post by jenjen on Nov 4, 2011 9:14:59 GMT
Hi everyone. My Fluffy has a bit of a head tilt when I hold her, she seems fine otherwise, lively as usual and eating normally. I noticed it about a week ago, but it was so slight that I didn't really think much of it, and it seemed to disappear. Today I got her out and it seems to have come back. She's been really frisky lately, chasing Honey about and trying to mount her so I thought maybe she's on heat or something and the head tilt could be something related to that? I don't think she's sick, but should I take her to the vet anyway? I'm in Germeny and the vets over here don't seem to be very good at dealing with small animals
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Post by piggylover on Nov 4, 2011 9:34:10 GMT
I'd say a vet trip is a must, as she could have a ear infection so something else which is causing the tilt
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Post by Kayleigh on Nov 4, 2011 16:42:01 GMT
It could be an ear infection so she will need checked out as if left untreated it could cause a fair bit of damage.
Kayleigh
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Post by jenjen on Nov 8, 2011 14:52:53 GMT
thanks girls, Fluffy went to the vets on Saturday, she's been given antibiotics. I was advised to take her back after 5 days if there's no improvement. She's happy in herself and eating, and I think there's a slight improvement but she's still a bit wonky. Hoping she's better still by Thursday so we don't need to take her back x
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Post by gizzy on Nov 8, 2011 15:28:10 GMT
Hi , l have had several pigs in the past (one little sow at the moment ) that have come to me with head tilt , The condition medically known as torticollis, there can be several reasons for it , most of them warrant examination by a vet , as some can be quite serous , Middle/inner ear infection , being the most common followed by congenital/birth trauma torticollis, here is a link that explains it in Rabbits , www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.htmlunfortunaly there is little documented in GP's , but that's nothing new
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Post by jenjen on Nov 9, 2011 7:43:51 GMT
Thanks gizzy, that's interesting. Fluffy is her normal self and hungry as ever so I'm guessing that's a good sign. She doesn't seem to be gaining much weight though, compared to her friend Honey who's a lot bigger than her now, but only about 4 weeks older.
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Post by Orlaith on Nov 9, 2011 16:22:41 GMT
I hope she improves. Some pigs are permanently left with a head tilt after a bad ear infection so bear that in mind if she keeps doing it after her treatment.
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Post by jenjen on Nov 11, 2011 23:28:13 GMT
Hi Orlaith, I was wondering about this as my mum has a cat who had a nasty ear infection about a year ago and is still a bit lop-sided. Fluffy seems well, but still has the tilt. I want to do what's best for her, obviously, but I'm reluctant to take her back to the vets to put her through blood tests etc, if the head tilt is just something that is a result of an infection which has already been treated. I'm not sure what to do, it's been a week now since she went to the vets.
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Post by Orlaith on Nov 13, 2011 3:40:44 GMT
I don't have any personal experience of ear infections but from what I've been able to read it seems pretty common that pigs are left with a little tilt after treatment. I'm not surprised that your mum's cat was the same as the ears are so involved in balance and any damage to the little hairs inside can trick your body into thinking it needs to tilt itself.
If Fluffy's ears look nice and clean on the outside with no wax or flaky debris then it's most likely she had an inner ear infection and not ear mites. Since she has had her antibiotics we have to assume that is all cleared up now, though only your vet can tell you for sure.
If you're satisfied Fluffy is in good form then there is no need to bring her back, but if there is any doubt or you would like peace of mind, you could bring her back for a check-up. It's likely she'll have the head tilt for life though, but it won't do her any harm. It's only very severe head tilts that cause problems as they mess up the pig's balance a lot.
From what I've seen there seems to be a decent cavy showing and breeding scene in Germany. It might be an idea to see if there's a local cavy club or show or even a rescue and then you could ask people if they can recommend a specialist vet or even just one with good piggy knowledge. It could come in handy just in case something more serious ever came up. I know myself it's not easy to find a vet with piggy knowledge. I only found mine through this forum, I was so lucky, and I can tell you that it gives good peace of mind to have that extra confidence :-)
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Post by jenjen on Nov 18, 2011 11:31:34 GMT
Thanks for all the advice Orlaith, thankfully Fluffy seems to have made a good recovery and only seems to have a very slight tilt sometimes when I'm holding her or holding food out for her. At least I know now that the medication has worked and I'm now happy that she doesn't need to return to the vets. We can live with the tilt, it just adds to her character and charm! x
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