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Arthritic knees

Freddy & Holly

Freddy & Holly

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 13, 2017
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Location
Co. Antrim
We took our 51/2 year old male GP to vet this evening as he had gone off his food and was quite quiet. Vet gave him a thorough examination plus X-Ray. Turns out poor GP has severely arthritic knees. Poor wee mite xx
 
Freddy & Holly said:
We took our 51/2 year old male GP to vet this evening as he had gone off his food and was quite quiet. Vet gave him a thorough examination plus X-Ray. Turns out poor GP has severely arthritic knees. Poor wee mite xx
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Poor lad, have you been given metacam painkiller? Works wonders and can be given long term. Also oxbow glucosamine tablets can bring arthiritic pigs back to being ok again. It has to build up over time though.

They are called oxbow joint support tablets, they are like a hay type biscuit but hard.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Poor lad, have you been given metacam painkiller? Works wonders and can be given long term. Also oxbow glucosamine tablets can bring arthiritic pigs back to being ok again. It has to build up over time though.

They are called oxbow joint support tablets, they are like a hay type biscuit but hard.
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Metacam oral to be given from tomorrow as he had some injected at vets. Also fibreplex. Treatment only for a few days then need to discuss long term treatment. He has really perked up though, which is great to see. Will suggest oxbow glucosamine. Thank you
 
Freddy & Holly said:
Metacam oral to be given from tomorrow as he had some injected at vets. Also fibreplex. Treatment only for a few days then need to discuss long term treatment. He has really perked up though, which is great to see. Will suggest oxbow glucosamine. Thank you
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Read the reviews of it on amazon. They are very good
 
Freddy & Holly said:
Metacam oral to be given from tomorrow as he had some injected at vets. Also fibreplex. Treatment only for a few days then need to discuss long term treatment. He has really perked up though, which is great to see. Will suggest oxbow glucosamine. Thank you
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Arthritic guinea pigs can be on metacam long term. Unlike with cats or dogs, their kidneys are not affected. The pain medication really makes all the difference. You can consider the joint care as an addition but not as a replacement to the pain medication.

Please also make sure that you check/clean the genitalia area more often if your piggy has problems with cleaning itself. The same goes for the underside of the foot pads if mobility is becoming a problem.

All the best!
 
Wiebke said:
Arthritic guinea pigs can be on metacam long term. Unlike with cats or dogs, their kidneys are not affected. The pain medication really makes all the difference. You can consider the joint care as an addition but not as a replacement to the pain medication.

Please also make sure that you check/clean the genitalia area more often if your piggy has problems with cleaning itself. The same goes for the underside of the foot pads if mobility is becoming a problem.

All the best!
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Thank you
 
Wiebke said:
Arthritic guinea pigs can be on metacam long term. Unlike with cats or dogs, their kidneys are not affected. The pain medication really makes all the difference. You can consider the joint care as an addition but not as a replacement to the pain medication.

Please also make sure that you check/clean the genitalia area more often if your piggy has problems with cleaning itself. The same goes for the underside of the foot pads if mobility is becoming a problem.

All the best!
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Definitly agree with the cleaning. My old boy sky couldnt clean very well anywhere on his body and would sit in his pee, so i had to change his shelter hay about 10 times a day
 
Little Freddie is as bright as a button today. He has responded really well to the pain and fibre meds from yesterday. I spoke to the vet earlier and she recommended keeping him on Metacam for the next couple of days to relieve his painful knees, but to stop for 2 days to make sure this is what was wrong with him before starting meds long term. Any thoughts?
 
Freddy & Holly said:
Little Freddie is as bright as a button today. He has responded really well to the pain and fibre meds from yesterday. I spoke to the vet earlier and she recommended keeping him on Metacam for the next couple of days to relieve his painful knees, but to stop for 2 days to make sure this is what was wrong with him before starting meds long term. Any thoughts?
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if your vet wants to be sure that it is really the metacam that is making the difference, then please humour them if it gets you the long term metacam.
 
Wiebke said:
if your vet wants to be sure that it is really the metacam that is making the difference, then please humour them if it gets you the long term metacam.
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I have been monitoring Freddie and he goes downhill in the run up to the next dose of meds. I’ve spoken to another vet and they are happy to continue with Metacam without break. He also said Freddie is 110 in GP years. Is this true?
 
Freddy & Holly said:
I have been monitoring Freddie and he goes downhill in the run up to the next dose of meds. I’ve spoken to another vet and they are happy to continue with Metacam without break. He also said Freddie is 110 in GP years. Is this true?
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The average life span for guinea pigs is about 4-7 years but guinea pigs can live even longer than that. Your guinea pig is a good age, but not not yet extremely old. I would put him in his 70ies, still a bit below the average life expectancy but definitely a pensioner! ;)
You may find our fact guide about guinea pigs very interesting: Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview
 
Wiebke said:
The average life span for guinea pigs is about 4-7 years but guinea pigs can live even longer than that. Your guinea pig is a good age, but not not yet extremely old. I would put him in his 70ies, still a bit below the average life expectancy but definitely a pensioner! ;)
You may find our fact guide about guinea pigs very interesting: Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview
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Thank you
 
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