Accupuncture

[Amanda1801]

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of accupuncture in guinea pigs?

Big Dave is getting on a bit - he's at least 5 years old now. I noticed recently, that he'd squeaking unhappily and after a bit of watching, have put it down to squeaking when he's walking around. He's had a trial of metacam, which worked well - he is still squeaking, but he's moving around much more than he was before, so there's a defininte improvement there, even though it's not solved the problem 100%.

I don't want to increase the metacam dose further, because of his age and potential for kidney damage. I work with a vet who does accupuncture, and a lot of people have reported good results, including a lady with a guinea pig.

I was just wondering if anyone else had tried accupuncture, particularly on a pig, and what your thoughts/experiences were? It's not cheap at £40 a session, so I don't want to go chucking money down the train, as Big Dave isn't insured!

 

[doglovinpiggylover]

Wow thats expensive! Ive never heard of it in pigs, but i know loads of people that have had it and really rate it

 

[Cat&ThePiggies]

My vet does accupuncture and has done it on a few guinea pigs. Some of them its helped. I personally haven't had it done on any of my piggies. £40 does sound rather expensive though!

 

[Amanda1801]

My vet does accupuncture and has done it on a few guinea pigs. Some of them its helped. I personally haven't had it done on any of my piggies. £40 does sound rather expensive though!

I'm going to have a chat with him tomorrow...I may be able to swing it for free

 

[karonus]

I've had acupuncture on my knee and it made a huge difference

 

[Wiggie]

I do acupuncture on humans and know nothing about its use in animals. I dont think I would have a vet treat my piggies with it. There will be a risk of infection ( in humans however this is really low as you use sterile needles, single use and the person has clean skin) and I would have thought you would want them to keep still. I think it is a excellent treatment in humans when treating the right problems with it. I was a sceptic about acupuncture before I experienced it and then trained. I am not sure if animals have the same side effects this is important to look into, people can feel light headed, have allergic reaction to the needles, rare occassions faint ( I have never had a patient faint with my treatments, but I know people who have). I would want to know how long has it been used in animals and how long in guinea pigs. I am not sure if there would be laboratory studies on the use of acupuncture on guinea pigs? Would other treatments be more effective and safer? £40 is a typical cost for humans so I would not expect any different. I would want to also ensure that you are confident where the pain is coming from, could it be abdominal which causes pain when walking. You therefore would not want to give the wrong treatment. I would want to be confident the vets assessment was as robust as possible to know whats going on. Good luck with your decisions, I know how much are Piggies mean to us. x

 

[Sue and Smartie]

I have never had it done on a piggy but my cat used to have it for her arthritis and it took years off her. At 15 years old she could still run and jump like a young cat. She used to go about once every three months for a treatment. Have had a pony treated with it too.
The needles are single use, they come sterile wrapped so you know they are new, and the vet should throw them away after use. Our vet charges less than £20 per session so I think yours is a bit dear. However, finding a vet who does it can be tricky as there aren't that many of them, and you must use a vet for this.
I was very happy to take Milly Cat in every three months, she really enjoyed the sessions and would often go to sleep (unusual behaviour at the vet!) and like you I was a little concerned about long-term use of Metacam, as well as the dangers of trying to get medicine into a pet who has sharp claws and teeth.

 

[GPTV]

afraid i dont know if it would work on a pigley, but my last dog had acupuncture for his walking problems & was greatly improved afterwards,
he didnt take any notice of the needles, kept dozing off most of the time too(think he was about 12+ when he had it done & lived until just under 17 - not bad for a labrador cross) he had a few sessions & yes they were 'one use' sterile needles. they were also very fine flexible needles, so even when he did move they didnt cause him any discomfort.

Cant remember how much i paid, but it was a human osteopath who was also qualified to treat animals & had just trained for acupuncture too. i remember thinking it was worth it & not that it was that expensive though.
Good luck with the freebie if you do decide to go ahead with it & hope Big Dave is back to full health soon.xx