calico guinea acting weird

Question
My guinea pig, Brittney has been throwing her head back and keeps falling over to her right side. She also keeps running around in circles and then falling over. I was told that since she is a calico, she is more proned to have problems. Is that true? Do u think she had a stroke? She is eating and drinking, but she has a problem with her head keep being thrown back. I'm so worried about her. This one is my daughters birthday gift last year. We are very attached. What do I do? There are no good vets out here where I live and they don't know much about piggys. Any answer u can give me will be very much appreciated! Thankyou!

Answer
I'm not sure what a "calico" pig is but that's a coloring, not a breed.  There shouldn't be any genetic issues that could cause what you're describing. If I could see a picture of her I'd get a better idea of what you're trying to describe.

The running in circles and falling over seems to indicate pressure either in the inner ear or in her brain. Yes it's possible it could be some kind of stroke, although that kind of thing typically causes loss of motor function, not head tossing.

I've had pigs that got inner ear infections and it causes a loss of balance and a head tilt. The mechanism in the ear that's telling her which way is up gets injured or compromised by illness, much like humans get that terrible vertigo when they have an inner ear infection.

I've had some luck using Prednisolone on a couple of pigs that were affected like that, but it's not a permanent and total cure. At this point there really isn't much you can do but wait and see if she compensates for this on her own and learns to walk straight.  

I know you're hoping I can give you a definite answer, but I'm afraid I cannot. It's very difficult to treat these little guys for neurological issues, and just trying isn't inexpensive.