Arthritis And Cold Temperatures

[Pets Palace TV]

Hello,

I know the cold season is quite a long way off yet, but I have a few questions I would like to ask regarding guinea pigs with arthritis in the Autumn/Winter season. I took one of my piggies to the vets today as she has lost weight, showed signs of pain & has started bunny hopping instead of walking. Our vet diagnosed her with arthritis and gave us treatment.

After doing some research into arthritis in guinea pigs, I have found out that cool temperatures can make it worse/more painful. I own a herd of 9 piggies - 8 sows & 1 neutered boar. They live in a playhouse all year round. During the Winter they will have hutches where I will put them overnight for extra warmth.

So I am wondering if it is okay to keep pigs with arthritis outdoors all year round? I have microwaveable heat pads that may help too. I would ideally like to keep her outdoors with the others during the cold season but I am worried that this will make her arthritis worse. We are currently building the hutches and making the playhouse suitable for Winter which is why I am planning so far ahead.

Thank you!

 

[helen105281]

I think it's a case of see how she goes once the colder weather hits. I would definitely use the heat pads though and give plenty of hay for warmth. Fleecy cozies and beds are good too. You could also look at giving her vegan glucosamine or I think Oxbow may do a supplement for joints.

 

[Pets Palace TV]

Update:

So Multy did not respond to the treatment so my vet did some further investigating. Multy had been put under GA because she has been losing weight & not eating much hay (though she never has eaten as much as the others?). Her teeth are perfectly healthy and there is nothing abnormal here. She has examined everything else and has not found anything else which could suggest what the problem might be. Something I have noticed lately is that she is making these strange sounds. It is like a congested/clicking sound. We also noticed that she coughs quite a bit & another thing is the strange teeth grinding (not like what my other pigs do). Here is a video of this:

When we went to cavy corner they said it could be an internal fungal infection? She has bumble foot on one foot as well. She also has a little bit of a bunny hop which may be associated with that? I could talk myself in circles of what it could be... Just wish she was better! She seems to sit in the same hut everyday & she is always so desperate for food but doesn't often eat hay! I have been syringe feeding her and got her to gain 10g in a few days.

 

[helen105281]

Has her heart ever been checked? coughing can be one of the many symptoms of a heart issue and so is Bumblefoot.

 

[helen105281]

The noise sounds very nasal to me though. There are very mixed opinions in the piggy world regarding systemic fungal infections, Vedra is one of the people who diagnoses them and I know Cavy Corner have done the rodentology training. I am a believer myself and have had issues with my own pigs but not all vets would agree.

 

[Pets Palace TV]

No, her heart has never been checked. Though she was under GA last week so wouldn't they have noticed something then? I will mention this to my vet seen as some of the symptoms seem to match up.

 

[helen105281]

Most likely yes as heart pigs tend not to do that well under GA. There are exceptions though, my Fuzzy came through her GA for an emergency spay really well. Each pig is different. I can type out a list of symptoms if it helps?

 

[Pets Palace TV]

That would be great if you don't mind

 

[helen105281]

Ok the symptoms are as below, these were provided to me by someone I knew that helped diagnose my heart pigs.

Laboured diaphragmatic breathing.
Rapid breathing
Body rocking (head nodding) back and forth as they breathe
Hooting - sometimes followed by a cough
Repeated upper/lower respiratory infections.
Fluid on the lungs or around the heart
Drooling without any evidence of a dental problem
Pea eye
Bumblefoot
Blue tinge to mouth, nose, tongue, ears and feet
Difficult to rouse from sleep
Random coughing, particularly when eating
Poor physical appearance/low weight
Abdominal bloating due to sucking in air

 

[Pets Palace TV]

She had an X-ray today but this showed nothing abnormal and our vet says that everything looks healthy. The confusing thing is that the sounds she made on the video clip is not a constant thing, but happens occasionally. She is still losing weight, doesn't move around that much & is coughing regularly. I am so confused right now, feels like we will never come to the bottom of this