Causes of Acute Head Tilt?

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Nimise

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Feb 10, 2009
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My 5ish yr old male chinchilla developed a head tilt and had to be hospitalized in one day :( When I asked the vet how it happened, or what caused it, she told me she didn't know...does anyone know what could have caused the ear infection? His cage gets cleaned weekly (he has his own cage) and I had not noticed any unusual behavior until the morning of his hospitalization, but I have 2 other chins in separate cages and I'm worried that they might get sick too.

Also, please let me know if there is anything I need to look out for. The vet prescribed antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, critical care, and sub-cu fluids, which I am administering right now. Should I try to hand/syringe feed him fluids in addition to the sub-cu fluids? And how painful is an ear infection? Sorry for the 20 questions but I'm kind of in shock and stressed out...
 
I don't know that there is a definitive cause for why an ear infection happens. Sometimes it just does, like any other illness. I highly doubt it's anything that you could have prevented.

Yes, it's painful and it's also very hard to treat in chins. It's good that you found it immediately and got him in because you may have a long road ahead of you. Be aware that even though you may be able to cure the ear infection, the head tilt may never go away. It does the same thing in rats frequently.

I would just stick with the subcu fluids and allow him to drink out of a bottle if he feels like it. If a chin struggles or gets upset, you run the risk of aspiration by forcing fluids by mouth. The subcu does a better, faster job anyway. Once you cut back on the subcu a bit, then you can put a little bit more liquid in the CC to get more in that way.

What kind of "anti-inflammatories" did your vet give you? It's not recommended to use steroids with chins unless it's an absolute last ditch effort. Did he give you anything for pain, like Metacam? If he didn't, I would definitely get some.

ETA: The Metacam will also act as an anti-inflammatory.
 
Antibiotics: trimethoprim sulfa
Anti-inflammatory: meloxicam

Nothing was mentioned about pain medication, mostly they said he was very dizzy. He seems better than when I brought him in, but still very sick :( I don't think I've seen him close his eyes at all today, is that normal? Even if his head tilt never goes away will he still have the same personality?

I have him in a QC metal carrier with some pine shavings, water bottle, small bowl of pellets, and a little bit of hay. I also rolled up a tshirt and stuffed it in there to make it more "cozy" so he won't flip around too much. If there's anything else I am missing or can do to make his situation better I'd be so grateful to know...thanks so much!!
 
I cannot speak to whether or not he will have the same personality after treatment, but I would assume so. I don't say this as discouragement, but just a fact - the ear infections I treated did not survive. There were only 2, thank God, but they did not make it so I cannot give you anything about the personality after. I can tell you that my rats that had head tilt did not change personality much. They were their usual selves except they might be a little more jumpy when you reached around to pick them up if you moved too fast.

It's odd that he would say you didn't need anything for pain, because Meloxicam is Metacam. So you already have him on something for pain, which is good.

You sound like you have it handled pretty well. The only thing you might want to consider is putting him on a light colored fleece instead of the pine shavings, so you can monitor his pee and poop better. It's hard sometimes to keep track when they are on shavings as everything gets jumbled up together.

I also want to add that I don't know that trimethoprim sulfa is going to be strong enough to treat an infection that is causing head tilt. In this case, Baytril may be the better choice.
 
One of the rescues here developed a head tilt a week after arriving. I was very lucky that I caught it early and was successful in treating it. Tippy, he was named at his vet appointment, was put on baytril and metacam. He recovered 100%. Since he was new here, I didn't notice a change in personality.

I too have had rats that have developed head tilts. Some have recovered 100%, some have not. Those that still had a tilt have always had a balance problem and I've had to be careful when picking them up as they get disoriented.
 
Give the trimthoprim a chance, I've seen vets prefer it's use over Baytril for ear infections before. There's something about the inner ear that Baytril may not be able to help - at least not orally. There are Baytril ear drops that are put directly in the ear - that can really help and it's topical instead of impacting the digestive system. Maybe that would be worth asking about?

Chances are that the damage is already done and the chin is going to stay a little tilty, but that's alright. I have a chin named Pearly, who has a permanent head tilt and he does just fine - he had an inner ear infection as a young chin. His personality stayed about the same, but he does sort of run in circles now. ;)
 
AZChins said:
Give the trimthoprim a chance, I've seen vets prefer it's use over Baytril for ear infections before. There's something about the inner ear that Baytril may not be able to help - at least not orally. There are Baytril ear drops that are put directly in the ear - that can really help and it's topical instead of impacting the digestive system. Maybe that would be worth asking about?
Click to expand...
Actually not only the vet that treated Tippy but a highly respected out of state chin vet I consulted said baytril was better for an ear infection than the trimeth. Since ear infections can go bad quickly, you need to hit it hard. The anti-inflammatory is given to reduce the swelling and pressure on the ear drum to help combat the tilt.
 
Get the ear drops, too...they really do help. Ear infections get bad in a hurry and can start impacting all sorts of other things. About maybe 6 or 7 years ago I had a vet prescribe something other than Baytril on a chin with a pretty bad ear infection because the Baytril wasn't working. Sometimes something like Septra can actually get into the ear better than Baytril. Still, ear infections are no joke - the infection can spread so easily.
 
So should I inquire about using Baytril and antibiotic ear drops?

He seems stabilized when resting in his carrier, but when I have to pick him up to feed him he's a mess and looks so sick :'( Yes I was going to say I'm surprised at how fast he got sick, literally overnight his condition went from normal to terrible...
 
I had a foster chin who I treated for it, the vet Rxed chloramphenicol in addition to the baytril, the chin also got a anti-nausea drug which I cannot remember and metecam and while I had the chin for 30 days the chin moved back to the rescue and was treated for 6 months more before there was a sign of improvement, I do not know the final outcome.
 
Thanks for the info everyone, my chinny is starting to look better. Still tilted and lethargic, but I saw him trying to groom himself and do a few nose swipes. He is also starting to sit up instead of lying down, so his progress is very encouraging for me :)
 
Are there any signs of deterioration that I should look for?

This morning he had enough strength to try wiggling out of his medication time, but I noticed that his breathing seems more labored (like panting) and now his head is bobbing around a little more than yesterday. He can sit upright on 4 paws and actually ate a small bit of treat I put in front of him, but I'm worried that his heavier breathing is a sign of deterioration...
 
He was squeaking earlier this morning when he was breathing, does that count as wheezing? He's not wheezing now, just taking shallow & frequent breaths. If he has a respiratory infection will his antibiotics take care of that?
 
That would probably count as wheezing. He REALLY needs to get on Baytril immediately. I would make a guess that it may have started out as a respiratory infection, spread to his ears, but the vet went with the obvious issue - which is the ears. Either way, as Susan said, they generally are all related.

Sulfa is not strong enough to combat both a URI and an ear infection, and it does sound as though his is progressing. Can you call your vet and just ask for the Baytril? It's easiest on the chin if you give it by injection rather than orally, especially since he's already having issues. Can you be comfortable giving an injection? You would need to rotate it between right and left shoulders and right and left hips so no sore spots develop and you would need to cut it with saline.
 
Also while you are on the phone, ask about that vets opinion on anti-nausea drugs, I looked it up in my records and the chin was given benadryl, the idea of using it is not accepted by all vets, since chins cannot vomit we do not know if they feel nausea. In other animals that can vomit with head tilt do feel nausea and vomit.

I agree, this chin needs the big guns as far as antibiotics go, and it needs the ASAP.
 
Okay I am contacting the vet right now. I was giving him fluids through sub-q injections, but I think it made him feel really miserable to the point that I am hesitant to give more injections. Would it still be okay to give him fluids or the antibiotics orally?
 
Baytril oral can cause loss of appetite, whether its from the flavor or the kill off of the gut bacteria we don't know 100% but when they lose the appetite it becomes a real bear to hand feed.
 
I think he's just feeling miserable overall, whether you are using a needle or not. If you can, get a needle with a removal tip or a butterfly type needle, and put the Baytril and the fluids in at the same time. Baytril only needs to be subcu, it doesn't have to be intramuscular.
 
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