Arthritis and severely reduced mobility

[hana<3pigs]

Hey darlings,

Hoping to get some advice on how to make my 6.5 year old piggy more comfortable.

After finishing a round of antibiotics for a URI in April, she developed swelling on one toe and one finger on her right side. Shortly after this, she started limping and then flat out refused to put any weight on her left front paw. I brought her to our specialist exotic vet right away, and the vet believes it's all related to her arthritis. For treatment, she has received laser therapy, was prescribed 0.25mL of meloxicam daily, and put on bed rest. In addition, I have been grooming her, feeding critical care twice daily with 4cyte joint supplement mixed in, and providing lots of microwave heat pads to keep her warm. What else can I do?

*Should also mention the following: I will be taking her back to the vet soon for another round of laser, as well as to discuss alternative pain medications and getting x-rays done (I'm pretty nervous about this, given her age and the fact she'll need to be sedated). Also worried about her weight. She's always weighed in at 960g, but since February, she's been dropping. I thought that she'd bounce back once the URI cleared up, but I haven't seen any improvements in the last few weeks. She now weighs in at around 870-900g.

 

[Piggie Mom]

About the weight I can say that my Nöpö didn't gain back his weight after his second URI, he was also around 6+ years old and even with critical care and a bunch of treats he didn't go up. I'd not worry too much as long as she doesn't start losing a lot of weight really quickly, you can of course ask the vet what they think of her weight loss, but hopefully it's only that her body is getting to a point that it doesn't take up as many nutrients as before. Hope the treatment works and the sedation goes without problem!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this

It is very normal for older piggies to never regain lost weight post-illness. Instead what you are usually looking at is stability at a lower rate, rather than a continued loss.

If her pain relief isn’t enough (and 0.25ml once a day particularly if cat version, may not be enough for significant pain) then that can cause reluctance to eat and hence continued weight loss. Definitely discuss pain management with your vet

I have added our guide below with further details on mobility issues

I hope she is ok

Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

 

[Eriathwen]

Luckily there's a good amount of wiggle room with pain relief, so I'd definitely ask about increasing the meloxicam, I have also added in gabapentin and paracetamol for chronic pain. Cartrophen injections have proven very effective as well in several of my piggies with severe arthritis. One of which suffered with severe impaction due to the arthritis in his knees, these injections completely removed the need for me to clean him out.

You could also ask about trying an injection of ketamine, a small amount given as a single dose can reset pain receptors and reduce pain. What can happen with chronic pain is, while the actual pain levels remain the same, the pain receptors become sensitive and make the body/brain percieve the pain as getting worse.