[Gpdd] HEALTH: "Goofy" Little Pig

[pat schuett]

Oh my goodness, what have I gotten myself into now???
 
I volunteer with a group that feeds feral cat colonies, but the group is called just "People for Animals" so we often get calls from people trying to solve problems with other kinds of animals.  The group's website mistress called me yesterday afternoon at work because she had received an inquiry from a local pet store, wanting help with a young guinea pig that they had received in a new shipment last week; she asked me to contact the employee who had called and see if I could sort it out.
 
When I spoke to the employee, she told me that she believed this little piggy was brain-damaged, and she was concerned that the manager was going to "put it down" because he felt it could not be sold in that condition.  She had gotten his agreement to give it away if she could find someone willing to take it immediately.  She told me that the piggy got around okay and had a very good appetite, but was always a bit wobbly on her feet, sometimes looked disoriented and ran in circles when stressed.  
 
After work, I set off for the store, carrier in hand.  The woman I had talked to was gone for the day but had told the evening staff person that I would be coming: when I explained who I was, he said "Oh right, you're taking that goofy guinea pig", and got her for me.  I didn't get a chance to see her walking around there, but even holding her, I could see she was bobbing her head in an unusual way, almost as if she was seeing me through a haze and was trying to get a better look.
 
Once she was set up in a cage at home, I did see the circling behavior the woman talked about --- the piggy (I'm calling her Primrose for the moment --- she's sort of buttercup-colored) would start out running in circles which got progressively smaller until she was just spinning in one spot.   She only did that a few times; most of the time she trotted from place to place in a straight line, but she does have a bit of a lurching gait that looks like that of a much younger piggy (the pet store believed she was 2-3 months old).  Her head doesn't appear to be tilted.
 
I spoke to a different employee this morning who told me that she had arrived at the store in this condition and has not gotten better or 
worse in the time they've had her (about ten days).  He said they had sometimes received animals which had been injured in transport because the breeders put too many in one box, and they felt this was likely what had happened.
 
I'm planning to take her in to have my vet have a look, but wanted to get an idea of what is "normal" for her by watching her for a few days first.  There are no really experienced guinea pig vets in town and I've found it helps if I can get some ideas beforehand of specific things to have the vet investigate.
 
Does this sound familiar to anyone?  This is new territory to me.  She certainly has an excellent appetite and is quite active in her way.  I've been keeping her downstairs (the other piggies have their own room on the second floor) until I can tell whether this might be caused by anything contagious to them.  MANY thanks in advance ---
 
                                                                                                                                                                Pat S.