About Guinea pig physio

[Carlos28]

hi guys, I’m new here. Actually already saw tons of stuff on this website for about 3 years and I just love it. So I have a question for you guys who are more expedient than me (I have my piggies for about 4 years right now).
I have two females and one of them are spayed and she had for about two months dental problems because she was scared of my niece and was very stressed avoid eating. We had much problems for about 3 weeks because after surgery she was with diarrhea and was eating less because of the pain. Now she’s ok! She’s doing fine and eating much hay as she can and not scared at all anymore with the baby! But she had a paresis after surgery, and wasn’t walking with her left back leg. We started to do physio and she’s going well in the treatment. There is no fracture and she’s going to be better. But I wanna ask if you guys can tell me if anyone around here had a problem like that. Cause she was waking very good before surgery and after the surgery she wasn’t walking with this leg. I didn’t found out nothing about paresis on Guinea pigs and was decided to share my problem with you guys so I could help any other person that has this problem. The vet is doing Acupuncture and moviment exercises with her and she can already walk!
Wanna ask if any one already experienced this and how can I help her to heal faster or if is there any other exercises I can do at home? My vet said that in other contries you guys knows more stuff and have more equipiment than here. So I tought maybe anyone could help us finding out any more e exercises that could help her? And if any one could teach me how I can send a video It might help other people seeing what I’m talking about. Sorry if I don’t have a great English thoe, I learned with my sister who lives in usa and never learned at school how to write better English texts

 

[Wiebke]

hi guys, I’m new here. Actually already saw tons of stuff on this website for about 3 years and I just love it. So I have a question for you guys who are more expedient than me (I have my piggies for about 4 years right now).
I have two females and one of them are spayed and she had for about two months dental problems because she was scared of my niece and was very stressed avoid eating. We had much problems for about 3 weeks because after surgery she was with diarrhea and was eating less because of the pain. Now she’s ok! She’s doing fine and eating much hay as she can and not scared at all anymore with the baby! But she had a paresis after surgery, and wasn’t walking with her left back leg. We started to do physio and she’s going well in the treatment. There is no fracture and she’s going to be better. But I wanna ask if you guys can tell me if anyone around here had a problem like that. Cause she was waking very good before surgery and after the surgery she wasn’t walking with this leg. I didn’t found out nothing about paresis on Guinea pigs and was decided to share my problem with you guys so I could help any other person that has this problem. The vet is doing Acupuncture and moviment exercises with her and she can already walk!
Wanna ask if any one already experienced this and how can I help her to heal faster or if is there any other exercises I can do at home? My vet said that in other contries you guys knows more stuff and have more equipiment than here. So I tought maybe anyone could help us finding out any more e exercises that could help her? And if any one could teach me how I can send a video It might help other people seeing what I’m talking about. Sorry if I don’t have a great English thoe, I learned with my sister who lives in usa and never learned at school how to write better English texts

Hi and welcome

There are no established medical therapies for guinea pigs with partial or full back leg paralysis; guinea pigs are still far too much considered short lived children's pets and any medical interest or research is only really starting, lagging well behind other pet species. Any therapies are still very much in the experimental and ad hoc (i.e. individual cases) stage, sadly.

Back leg paralysis in the wake of an operation is pretty rare but not unknown. The operation may have likely caused some minor damage somewhere in your case. If there is a pain issue with the leg or spine, gabapentin/neurontin (the drug is produced under a number of brand names) can now be used safely in guinea pigs as well (like neurological problems but also arthritis in the spine).

Thankfully many cases of back lef paralysis improve over time or at the best disappear again fully. Your vet is doing very reasonable rehabilitation therapy and it looks like the prognosis is good. There are no tips on how speed up the process.

We do have detailed practical care advice for guinea pigs with limited or no mobility, whether that is for temporary situations (like a crisis in an illness where a piggy stops moving around to loss of mobility in one or both back legs and the recovery period) or chronic/progressive issues, like arthritis in the sping or legs for instance.
Here is the link: Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility

You (and your vet) may also like our new updated syringe feeding guide for guinea pigs with full or partial loss of appetite. We also have a post-op care tips and a crisis/emergency care advice guide.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
Tips For Post-operative Care
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

 

[Carlos28]

Thanks! I did feed her for about two weeks with critical care and saw this post here. She told me how to do it but still I’m always looking for info online too! Thanks for your patience and your answer gives me hope that she’s doing good! Have a good day

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks! I did feed her for about two weeks with critical care and saw this post here. She told me how to do it but still I’m always looking for info online too! Thanks for your patience and your answer gives me hope that she’s doing good! Have a good day

Our new syringe feeding guide is just a few days old.
You may want to bookmark our emergency advice so you have it handy whenever you need it. Crises usually happen at the worst time possible.

All the best for your girl! Just keep going with her.