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A trip to the vets....

Darcey15

Darcey15

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Looking for a little advice please...

One of my piggies, Lightening, has been dragging his back leg this week and has been suffering with a blockage (compaction) which was stuck and obviously not letting him pass his stools so I booked him in to see the vet today. After an examination the vet said that he is not bending his leg at all and it feels hard. She thought it could either be a break, or more likely a tumour which may be why he is struggling to pass stools normally. He hasn't had any accidents I am aware of or been dropped but he could have trapped his leg without me knowing. Anyway, the suggestion was to get him X-rayed to see what the problem is. If it is a tumour they might have to amputate his leg. I wasn't expecting that at all so it was a bit upsetting. I don't have any insurance and they said an x-ray would be £150 and the amputation if needed would be £100 on top. Currently I have been given pain relief for him which he took very well orally in liquid form- he seemed to like it actually! The vet also cleared the blockage by squeezing it out...that bit was nasty (and very smelly!) but he seemed brighter afterwards. Obviously if he continues not to pass stools because he can't put pressure on his hip or leg we are going to encounter the same issue again.

So I will take him for the x-ray next week and see what we are dealing with first. I just wondered if there were any other options other than amputation for a broken leg or tumour? I had a piggie with a cyst once who we injected routinely & happily lived for 7 years but this sounds more serious.

He is eating fine (he should have been the size of a hot air balloon with the blockage) & was grazing on grass all day yesterday so he doesn't look too distressed currently. He's 4 years old btw and mostly lives outside in a big secure run in the garden with his brother.

Has anyone been through similar and can offer advice please?

Thanks!
 
And i just posted it in the wrong place oops! Will try to move it
 
Looking for a little advice please...

One of my piggies, Lightening, has been dragging his back leg this week and has been suffering with a blockage (compaction) which was stuck and obviously not letting him pass his stools so I booked him in to see the vet today. After an examination the vet said that he is not bending his leg at all and it feels hard. She thought it could either be a break, or more likely a tumour which may be why he is struggling to pass stools normally. He hasn't had any accidents I am aware of or been dropped but he could have trapped his leg without me knowing. Anyway, the suggestion was to get him X-rayed to see what the problem is. If it is a tumour they might have to amputate his leg. I wasn't expecting that at all so it was a bit upsetting. I don't have any insurance and they said an x-ray would be £150 and the amputation if needed would be £100 on top. Currently I have been given pain relief for him which he took very well orally in liquid form- he seemed to like it actually! The vet also cleared the blockage by squeezing it out...that bit was nasty (and very smelly!) but he seemed brighter afterwards. Obviously if he continues not to pass stools because he can't put pressure on his hip or leg we are going to encounter the same issue again.

So I will take him for the x-ray next week and see what we are dealing with first. I just wondered if there were any other options other than amputation for a broken leg or tumour? I had a piggie with a cyst once who we injected routinely & happily lived for 7 years but this sounds more serious.

He is eating fine (he should have been the size of a hot air balloon with the blockage) & was grazing on grass all day yesterday so he doesn't look too distressed currently. He's 4 years old btw and mostly lives outside in a big secure run in the garden with his brother.

Has anyone been through similar and can offer advice please?

Thanks!
 
Hi, I'm sorry to hear about Lightening.

I had a pig with a broken back leg, right by the 'ankle' joint. The vet was a orthopaedic specialist but not a piggy savvy vet (I didn't know about those at the time) and offered either euthanasia or pinning the leg - amputation wasn't provided as an option. She had pins and an external fixator and was clearly the first 'small pet'' to have the procedure as her x rays were shared around all the vet locations in the practice and she was a bit of a celeb!

After a few weeks she was fine ( she was an old lady - sevenish) but hopped around as the site of the break meant that her ankle wasn't as flexible. She carried on enjoying life and lived another year or so. I'm sure I did the right thing.

It was expensive though, I think I paid over £400, seven years ago, even with a special deal from the vets. They knocked quite a bit of the price and gave me a payment plan when I asked; it was clearly the first op of its kind at the practice and I think apart from being nice to me, it was good experience for the vets. It's so sad that most people go for the pts option, if the alternatives are expensive. Had I been given a much cheaper amputation option, with a good prognosis, I probably would have gone with it.

I've also had a 6-8 year old boar who had mild but constant impaction, which needed cleaning daily or at least every few days.

So advice....

Impaction - It's easy once you and the piggy know what you're doing, but very smelly - I'd always do it in the garden if it was dry! You must keep on top of it though. If you do it daily, it's not bad.

Broken leg - See if they can pin the leg - but if they feel that your piggy would have a good and active life after an amputation then don't discount that. The prognosis seems good.

Good luck
 
Posyrose said:
Hi, I'm sorry to hear about Lightening.

I had a pig with a broken back leg, right by the 'ankle' joint. The vet was a orthopaedic specialist but not a piggy savvy vet (I didn't know about those at the time) and offered either euthanasia or pinning the leg - amputation wasn't provided as an option. She had pins and an external fixator and was clearly the first 'small pet'' to have the procedure as her x rays were shared around all the vet locations in the practice and she was a bit of a celeb!

After a few weeks she was fine ( she was an old lady - sevenish) but hopped around as the site of the break meant that her ankle wasn't as flexible. She carried on enjoying life and lived another year or so. I'm sure I did the right thing.

It was expensive though, I think I paid over £400, seven years ago, even with a special deal from the vets. They knocked quite a bit of the price and gave me a payment plan when I asked; it was clearly the first op of its kind at the practice and I think apart from being nice to me, it was good experience for the vets. It's so sad that most people go for the pts option, if the alternatives are expensive. Had I been given a much cheaper amputation option, with a good prognosis, I probably would have gone with it.

I've also had a 6-8 year old boar who had mild but constant impaction, which needed cleaning daily or at least every few days.

So advice....

Impaction - It's easy once you and the piggy know what you're doing, but very smelly - I'd always do it in the garden if it was dry! You must keep on top of it though. If you do it daily, it's not bad.

Broken leg - See if they can pin the leg - but if they feel that your piggy would have a good and active life after an amputation then don't discount that. The prognosis seems good.

Good luck
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Thankyou very much for sharing your experiences. I'll keep an eye on the impaction (not compaction 😂) and I'll see what the X-ray comes back with. I'd not heard of piggy savvy vets before so I will look at that too.

Your piggy sounded like quite the celebrity! I'm sure she gave you lots of joy even though the situation was challenging.

Thanks again- I'll post again once I have the information from the xray.
 
The Guinea Pig Guides on the green banner above gives a list of Guinea Pig Recommended Vets

Recommended Guinea Pig Vets They are usually specialist 'exotic' vets - anything that isn't a cat, dog or large animal.

I don't know where you are in Lancs, but I go to Ashleigh vets Chorlton Manchester.
 
Thankyou! We are in Rossendale. I'll take a look. Much appreciated 🤗
 
We adopted a piggy with an old badly healed leg fracture, guess the previous owners hadnt noticed it seeing as she lived in a tiny cage they didnt see her walk much. Luckily her leg is fine now just stiff and weak, but that's all pure luck- a more splintery fracture might have killed her. I'd say get the xray and then decide, lots of 3 legged piggies are fine but so are a lucky few with a clean break who keep the leg. If we had owned Clover when her fracture happened it's a tough call what we'd have done if offered amputation vs the pain of healing as you cant really persuade a piggy to wear a cast or stay still... Clover sends healing leg vibes and wheeks anyway but if it isnt a tumour that has spread then euthanasia shouldnt be a first thought, 3 legged and limping lopsided piggies can have a very good quality of life!
 
PigglePuggle said:
We adopted a piggy with an old badly healed leg fracture, guess the previous owners hadnt noticed it seeing as she lived in a tiny cage they didnt see her walk much. Luckily her leg is fine now just stiff and weak, but that's all pure luck- a more splintery fracture might have killed her. I'd say get the xray and then decide, lots of 3 legged piggies are fine but so are a lucky few with a clean break who keep the leg. If we had owned Clover when her fracture happened it's a tough call what we'd have done if offered amputation vs the pain of healing as you cant really persuade a piggy to wear a cast or stay still... Clover sends healing leg vibes and wheeks anyway but if it isnt a tumour that has spread then euthanasia shouldnt be a first thought, 3 legged and limping lopsided piggies can have a very good quality of life!
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Ah thankyou, Clover is a fab name for a piggie and her vibes are greatfully received ❤ I'm hoping it's not a tumour but we will see...I keep checking on him and he's having a lie down with the weight off his leg and still munching hay so all seems well.
 
Hi All, just an update on Lightening. He's been at the vets all day today to enable them to conduct an X-ray and detailed examination. It turns out that the lump on his leg is very large and looks like it's a calcified growth, it really is massive & I'm suprised he wasn't struggling for longer with it. They thought it might have been from an earlier break, however when they examined the rest of his joints, the same problem seems to be occurring in his other legs and even his ribs- crumbly almost which you can see clearly on the scan. They have ruled out vitamin C difficiency from diet because he has a rich diet of grass, vit c rich fruits & veggies and guinea pig pellets fortified with vit c which he loves.

So they now believe it to be metabolic bone disease 😥 they decided against amputation as this will cause further pressure on his other joints (which I'm quite relieved about to be honest). They have taken blood samples and have sent them for testing at the lab. This will confirm for sure if it is bone disease. The vet said there are a couple of white papers on the issue but it's quite unusual as he'd never seen a growth of that size so he's a special little fella!

So we will now wait and see what the results say (early next week probably). There is nothing they can do to fix this, only pain relief and a lot of love ❤. Obviously if he deteriorates, I will revisit the situation but currently although a little sedated, he is busy munching kale and settling down for the night in a cosy bed I've made for him.

I'll keep you posted when the results come in..
 
Not the best news to have.
Will be keeping you in my thoughts as you deal with the situation and give Lightening lots of love and care
 
Poor Lightening, that's not good news and probably not what you or any of us expected :( healing wheeks from me and all my piggies, hope the vet comes up with something that keeps him pain free and happy for as long as possible x
 
PigglePuggle said:
Poor Lightening, that's not good news and probably not what you or any of us expected :( healing wheeks from me and all my piggies, hope the vet comes up with something that keeps him pain free and happy for as long as possible x
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Thanks for your kind words 💚 yes I think just pain relief and making sure he is still enjoying his grazing time until dusk in the outdoor run until it gets too cold...
 
Hi All, just a little update on Lightening.

He's doing ok at the moment. The lump on his leg has solidified & he's lost complete use of his leg but has become quite adept at getting about despite it. He has been outside with his brother Domino on the sunnier days & has been grazing & eating normally which I am using as the main guage to see how he is generally. I've also got used to dealing with any impaction & on days when he's become a bit blocked, I can clear it fairly easilly- he doesn't always like it though! Who would!?

One thing I noticed of late is that Domino appears to have moved into protection mode as if he knows something is wrong with his brother. Lightening was always the dominant feisty one and they often slept apart, preferring their own territory at each end of their cage but now, they are together more often than not. I went to look this morning and Lightening was asleep with Domino sitting right next to him. So sweet.

Couple of pics to add.

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year x
 

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Aw, they are lovely photos of your two boys x glad to here Lightening is doing ok and his brother is looking after him, it’s so sweet. Bill was very protective over Ted after his operation for his teeth and would guard Ted, although I’m not sure it was wholly appreciated by Ted 🤣
 
Thanks for your lovely comments as always. I'm actually in a bit of a quandry right now with him. During the last few weeks his growth has become massive, it's certainly not getting smaller. I put the boys outside today as they've been inside alot over Christmas and he was dragging his leg behind him. I didn't see him graze either but it's been chilly today so perhaps they preferred the warmth of the hay in their house. As he's been dragging himself about and spending alot of time in a fluffy bed thing, he's become very dirty underneath, not helped by his impaction which I'm clearing each day. So I gave him a shallow warm bath & cleaned him up. He always likes this and I think its a relief from the pressure on his leg. I had quite a shock though as when wet and lifting him out, I could see just how massive the growth has become and he really is struggling to move with it (looks more like tumour) . Quite upsetting actually as I know I now have to consider whether putting him to sleep is the kindest option. I honestly didn't think he'd last so long and wondered whether he was actually in pain but I am giving him metacam each evening. He looks forlorn and he seemed to be labouring with his breathing. I know the inevitable is coming but I'm not sure how to raise the point about putting him to sleep- how do I know it's the right time? Silly thought but I dont want to feel like I'm ending his life prematurely but I also dont want to prolongue any pain and I feel now that he's not in a good place. My previous piggies have always died quite rapidly once ill or simply old age so I've never had to put a pet to sleep after all this nursing....feels harder this time. Any thoughts much appreciated as always x
 
I am so sorry you find yourself in this situation.
It’s never easy.
In the end go with your instinct.
You love Lightening and that love will guide your decision at the right time.
Holding you in my thoughts
 
Merab's Slave said:
I am so sorry you find yourself in this situation.
It’s never easy.
In the end go with your instinct.
You love Lightening and that love will guide your decision at the right time.
Holding you in my thoughts
Click to expand...
Thankyou ❤ xx
 
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