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Guinea Pig dragging legs

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Jackie F

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We have a lovely 2 year old guinea pig named chocolate, on friday night we noticed that he couldn't move around very well, he could barely climb up the ramp to his hutch(we are helping him now) and he seems to be dragging his hind legs, I can't work out if he has any use of the legs or not, his weight has dropped and he has a big bald patch on his rear.

he does usually suffer from mites but his mate spike shares the same hutch and has never had a problem. Chocolate had a bath about a week and a half ago using head lice shampoo (mild and well rinsed) and he was absolutley fine afterwards. We hadn't checked him for a probably the best part of a week so we are a bit shocked at his state in such a short time.

He is at the vets tonight but I just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on this

any advice on this would be appreciated - although we are preparing ourselves for the worst.
 
i can't offer any advice i'm afraid :( but i'l wish chocolate all the best x please keeps us updated x
 
Perhaps Chocolate has somehow injured his spine by falling from the ramp?

All the best on your visit to the vets.
 
Good luck for the vet visit, do update us as and when you can. :)

From your description my thoughts are that it could be spinal or local trauma to the legs, or even bladder related (a badly inflamed bladder, with or without stones, can affect mobility of the back legs). Scurvy or other vitamin/mineral deficiency could be another possibility.
 
Thanks for your advice and good wishes.

The vet suggested that choc had soft tissue damage as he could still move his legs, so he had an anti-inflamatory injection and seemed a lot brighter on monday night moving around slowly but a lot better than previously.

But on tuesday and today he is really struggling and not even trying to move around.

His appetite is still good but I noticed last night and this morning that although he hasn't been moving around there is not a lot if any wees and poos.

His mate spike has just been sitting with him like a little lost soul i'm sure he knows that something is wrong, it's really heartbreaking.

The vet wanted to see choc again at the end of this week.

Thanks again for your kind words
 
Get well soon Choc! Poor lad sounds like he's going through it.
 
You need to weigh your boy daily in order to monitor his food intake as just watching him eating can be deceptive.

Hia appetite can be down due to pain - bruising can often be more painful than a clear break or lack of mobility. A piggy can have changes of about 30g/1oz daily just because of a full bladder/guts; what you are looking for a is a slow downward trend over several days or a sudden big loss of weight within a week.

You can get children's nurofen from the pharmacy and give up to 0.2ml twice daily to an adult piggy if you think that it's pain that may be the cause. A gentle belly massage can help with the guts.

If you are not happy about Choc take him back to the vet.
 
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Hi

choc went to the vets on monday night and had an anti-inflamatory injection. The vet thought that it was soft tissue damage and he still had control of his legs.

Choc really perked up after the injection and was moving around a lot better than he had before, but on tuesday and today he can barely move at all. He still has a good appetite. I noticed that although he isn't moving around there are not wees or poos where he is.

His mate spike has barely left his side and just wants to sit with his mate it a really sorry site.

Thanks for your advice and good wishes. I will keep you informed
 
Hi! I just answered you double post.

One of my piggies badly sprained her shoulder last December and was in a lot of discomfort for about a week and limping badly. It took over two weeks to disappear.
 
^
That's one thing that was in my mind as a possibility when I mentioned mineral deficiency.

Given there was some improvement after the anti-inflammatory, would the vet consider giving a course of anti-inflammatories to give at home? How's he doing today Jackie?
 
Hi Three little piggies,


I read the article and it seemed very useful - but do you know where I could get osteocare from?

Thanks
 
Thanks for all your help and advice but sadly chocolate passed away yesterday. He stopped eating and just couldn't do anything it was very distressing for everyone including his mate spike.

I am fairly new to forums/chatrooms so if I am not thanking people in the correct way - sorry.

My problem now (apart from trying to console a very upset 7 year old daughter) is what to do for spike?

Should I get him a new mate? he was always the more feisty of the two and sometimes we felt there was a territory issue but chocolate was so placide up to a point and then he would snap back and everything would be fine.

If we do get another, should it be more mature or a young one?

He spent about two hours last night running around trying to find chocolate I don't want him to get lonely - he needs a playmate.

Any thought - thanks
 
I am so sorry for your loss; you must feel so gutted after all your efforts!

You can always post a tribute for Chocolate in our Rainbow Bridge Pets section.

It would be good if you could find Spike a new friend. As Spike is obviously a dominant character, pairing him with a - hopefully laid back - youngster would be best, so there won't any question of dominance. Give Spike a few days to grieve while you look for a new friend. It would be great if you would consider going rescue.

Here is a list of rescues; it might be advisable to ring up all rescues within your reach as they sometimes have more animals in the pipeline than on their website; ideally, you want to find one where you can take Spike for some boar dating. Hopefully, the search for a new friend will boost your daughter's mood again. It won't take away from your grief for Chocolate.

http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp
 
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