Guinea Pig Experts? Help poorly piggy

Laura2184

Laura2184

Active Member
Mar 1, 2005
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Cheshire
www.cheshiretackroom.co.uk
My mum has a guinea pig who has been perfectly healthy until the other day he woke up and his back legs were paralysed, we did a bit of research on the net and found that it could be calcium deficiency so we went and got some and he's been having that for 2 days.

His legs appear to be getting a bit better but he is still dragging them. He is fine in all other ways, still squeeking at you in the morning, weeing/pooing normal, eating and drinking fine.

Going to take him to vets today but just wondered if any of you could shed some light. My mum isn't looking forward to taking him to the vets as she had to have his friend put down last year and it wasnt very nice :cry:
 
i would suggest possibly some kind of stroke. Had it happen a few times when i had a full breeding stud of guineas. Sometimes they would regain good control back, sometimes not.
Best take him to the vets and see what they suggest.
 
Sorry, but paralysed back legs would have me getting the piglet straight to the vets, even if it needed an emergency appointment.
 
The hind legs are paralysed. The pig drags itself forward by the front legs while the hind legs are floppy and dragged behind the pig.
The most common is due to fall.
Other causes are vitamin C deficiency, and vitamin D toxicity .. a virus causing guinea pig paralysis has been described, but is rare..
This has come from Guinea Pig Lopedia (book).. there is a chance your piggie has scurvy, get him checked out asap, and try to get vitamin C down him (lots of greens like broccoli, cabbage, if he likes it oranges, but bare in mind some guinea pigs react to the acid in the juice, but it's rare..
If the injury is due to a fall, then the likely hood of your piggie recovering is slim, but from what you describe, it's the above vitamin def.. check out the over dose of D because not sure what that does to a guinea pig.. hope this helps :)
 
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Thanks for the replies guys. The vet has said its something neurological apparently. He gave him a cortisone injection and the wknd to see whether it helps but it hasn't. He's booked in for tomorrow to be put to sleep. Its so sad as he appears absolutley normal otherwise. :(
 
Laura2184 said:
Thanks for the replies guys. The vet has said its something neurological apparently. He gave him a cortisone injection and the wknd to see whether it helps but it hasn't. He's booked in for tomorrow to be put to sleep. Its so sad as he appears absolutley normal otherwise. :(
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How old is he? Is he happy other wise? Eating, has he still got that glint in his eye? Could you not get a second opinion? Vets see piggies as the disposable pet, and I know that its a hard animal to treat, but a few days if he's otherwise happy won't hurt him.
I know how hard it must be.. see what the little fella's like in the morning..
 
Well I've cancelled the appointment to have her pts today. She is showing no signs of distress and is absolutley fine in every other way. She seems to be standing on them a bit better today but still not walking with them. Going to give her a few more days then take her if no improvement.

Going to try her on some vitamin C. The vets diagnosis was purely guess work as he didnt really examine her and have been reading on guinea pig forums that this has happened to a few people and they do eventually start working so Im going to give her a few more days. Like I said she is showing no signs of distress so dont see what harm this can do.

The strange thing is she used one of her back legs to itch yesterday as though nothing was wrong with it?
 
guineapigs dont produce vitamin c (or not enough of it)themselves, which is why guineapig food is usually enriched with vit c (eg rabbit food etc is not suitable for guineas for this reason). scurvy/vit c deficiency is a common (if not the most common) cause of deaths in guineas so its always a good idea to gove extra vit c by means of eg. peppers etc.

hopefully yours will be ok, glad to hear the back legs seem to be working again!
 
When my old guinea was acting a bit poorly just a bit down in the dumps my vet gave him a vit c injection which did wonders for him. I had a hamster that lost the use of his back legs and vet said as long as he is bright, eating and passing urine/droppings not to have him pts unless sores start appearing or he gets down - but then a hamster is not very heavy so he never got sores, but a guinea might not cope as well by pulling itself around. I hope he picks up soon.
 
Oh I'm glad you've given her another chance.. like I said, if she's not given up on life, then there's hope for her yet:biggrin: and yes, being able to scratch herself is a VERY good sign:wink:
 
My mums got some vitamin c stuff and is giving it her via syringe. She gave her a bath today as she was getting a bit messy as she she just sort of flumps to one side.

Its weird as she does try to move the legs and if you lift her gently at the stomach she can walk on them but as soon as you let her go she just flumps to one side?..

Heres hoping the vitamin c and tlc works...
 
we used to have g/pigs and found that our vet (old vet) was totally useless with anything to do with them. Glad that you're going to give her a few days to see if she improves, as long as she's eating etc which you say she is - I dont blame you for trying.

Fingers crossed that she gets better soon
 
Get some metatone tonic - you can get it from the chemist - very good for perking up poorly piggies and helped mine in the past - my friends vet also had her feed diluted Ribbena to her pig which also helped.
 
We use to put one of those disolvable vit c tablets in the water bottle but you need to change it every day.
 
Get her exercising those legs! Pick her up, and let her paddle them.. the more she uses them, the stronger they'll get, or fill the sink with warm water, and let her paddle in there, supporting her.. that's what they do with dogs when they've a problem with the back end:wink:
 
Laura2184 said:
just got a phone call of my mum to say she is starting to use her legs again!! :dance:

Early days but fingers crossed she can get those little legs strong again!!

Thanks for all your replies! :cloud9:
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That's brilliant news! great to hear the little piggie is on her way to a full recovery:dance::dance:
 
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