An Experiment With Panda Pig

[Sue and Smartie]

Panda is old, the girls are not. I feel he is at times feeling his age and have seen him bunny hop with his back legs. This can be a sign of pain. So off we went this morning to see the vet. She is a very good vet who does acupuncture on animals. She has acupunctured cats of mine, and a pony, so I thought I would see if it also works for Panda. She has not done this on a guinea pig before but said the points should all be the same.
Panda had to sit still on the table for about 20 minutes. He is very good at sitting still and didn't try to run about or anything. The only thing he did was tremble which shook quite a few of the needles out as soon as they went in. With the cats they do start to relax after about five minutes, and it was the same with Panda. My hands were next to him at all times, and I could feel his belly settling more and more onto the table
The idea is that this will provide pain relief without having to give him Metacam. It's much kinder on the digestion than medicine and the effects (in the cats) usually last about 3 months. I can't say yet whether it's made a difference as they have all been fast asleep since we got home, but I will be keeping a close eye on Panda to see if he is looking better. I did take my camera, the vet took the pics as I had my hands full

 

[piglette]

This is excellent! How I wish we had this in Australia - we're flat out getting standard vet care for piggies here (in Brisbane certainly).

I'd be really interested to hear how Panda goes after the acupuncture. He is a lovely pig - the golden old boys are fantastic

 

[7squeakers.]

Very interesting. I'd like to hear how Panda gets on too. He's a lovely old boy. How old is he?

 

[Sue and Smartie]

I have been watching Panda most carefully and have noticed the following things since his treatment.
1) he is taking bigger steps with his back legs
2) he popcorned He only went up once but that's not bad for an OAP
3) he's letting Tufty share his hidey. He always used to chase her out - could the absence of grumpiness be because he's not hurting as much?
He does seem much brighter.
7squeakers he is at least 5, but could be older.

 

[GPTV]

Very interesting. I'd like to hear how Panda gets on too. He's a lovely old boy. How old is he?

Ooh I agree sounds like there's some improvements.
I had my dog treated when he was about 14 he would nearly doze off on the floor after the first couple of needles had gone in. He was a Labrador X. and lasted until he was nearly 17 so he did well had about 3 treatments in total. He eased up &was far more mobile afterwards.
I also tried magnopulse collars they also helped-
Wonder if they have been trialled on guinea pigs?
... Not sure how they would be attached though?


Keep us updated on this very handsome guinea pig "guinea pig" experiment
Xx

 

[Cookies&Glitter]

Wow I wish I could find an awesome vet to acupuncture my pets here that is awesome! Keep updating us.

 

[GPTV]

Wow I wish I could find an awesome vet to acupuncture my pets here that is awesome! Keep updating us.

It was a relatives osteopath that happened to mention in conversation that he practiced osteopathy on horses &dogs as well as humans. Then it came about that he was a qualified acupuncturist too.
It doesn't always have to be only vets that practice it.
The osteopath unfortunately moved away to work more on racehorses to help heal them too

 

[Cookies&Glitter]

Still awesome! I definitely need to do more networking where I am now. Until not even three years ago I live in Minnesota and I now moved all the way to the east coast and live in Maryland. Most of what and who I know are not out here .

 

[7squeakers.]

@Sue and Smartie , how is the big boy Panda doing now? Is the acupuncture still working on him? Any idea how long the effects will last with him? Does it cost a lot to have a piggie treated in this way?

 

[Sue and Smartie]

Sorry for being so slow to answer 7squeakers, I haven't been online much this week.
Panda is still doing very well, I am really pleased with how it's all going. I'm not sure how long it will last, with the cats I would take them every 3 months or so.
It was £25 for the treatment.