guinea pig leans on one side

Question
hello, i have two male guinea pigs and one of them is leaning on one side his right side. he is walking fine, eating, drinking and pooping fine as well. however the other male keeps riding him. I've read online that it seems like he has ear infection yet there is no puss on his ear, or anything lodge inside. there is no head shaking, no puss in or coming out. he just has his head tilted nothing else. do i just need to clean his ears or take him to the vet

Answer
You're right, he probably as an ear infection. But what he has is an INNER ear infection. That's why you see no pus or anything inside the ear. It's way deep inside the part of the ear that controls our balance.  

If you think about a glass filled half way with water. Tip the glass to one side and the water will always maintain absolute level. No matter which side you tip the glass the water levels itself. That same dynamic occurs in the inner and middle ear. It's not necessarily a 'water level' but it's the same principal.

Now add inflammation to that space in the ear and the 'water' is displaced causing a tipping over to one side effect. Your pig's leveling mechanism is compromised and his head is tilting to what feels like level to him. That's a very rudimentary way of explaining it, but you get the picture.

I've had two or three pigs that were affected by this. They were treated with antibiotics and a steroid (usually Prenisolone) to reduce the inflammation. The infection process can be healed, however the head tilt typically never completely resolves. I had one of my prized show boars that developed a severe head tilt enough that if he moved too quickly he fell over. He would have a difficult time getting back on his feet.

Most of the head tilt went away after the treatment, leaving just a small tilt to one side. If I picked him up and held him straight up on his back legs he would tip his head completely to one side. So I had to be extremely cautious that he was always held with all fours underneath him.  He lived happily with this for 2 1/2 years. He ate, drank and behaved normally except for this affliction.

Your vet will probably treat your pig with the same medications. Just be aware that the head tilt may never completely go away. But he will live happily and be healthy in spite of this problem. When you lift him do it very slowly. Any quick movement will make the tipping (and the dizziness that may go with it) worse. So yes you need to take him to the vet.

Having said that I think you also have to rule out the possibility that he has a piece of hay or a foreign body in the ear that might be causing this as well. You wouldn't be able to see inside far enough without an otoscope. If he's not scratching or rubbing at that ear it's probably not a foreign body, but your vet will be able to determine that.

As far as the other boar mounting him, that's a natural response. Very often when one pig becomes ill the other pig will somehow think or smell something different about him and do this mounting behavior. I would separate them just to give the other some peace and quiet. They can be next to one another, but not in the same cage.

I hope this helps you out. I would be interested to hear what your vet says. Please do let me know.