Dead leg

[Pepperdog]

Toffee my comment said "could be arthritis would need an xray to confirm" not it is arthritis use this.

At no point did I suggest just popping pills into him!

and to be fair I assumed you had sought vet advice and diagnosis before using a suppliment to help. I use suppliments for the dog of course but its only now that she has needed anti inflammatorys on vets advice under constant vet check ups of her condition as this is a condition that can only be diagnosed by a vet

 

[AgentF]

In that case Toffee I apologise for reading your comment the wrong way,this is the first thread I have seen so dont know the history.

@ Pepperdog yes his arthritis was confirmed by x-ray at the vets and a rodentologist recommended Potters Tabritis with the proviso it works really well for some piggies and not at all for others luckily it worked for my boy.

 

[Toffeewoffee]

No problem at all, If you do some digging Agent F you'll soon learn what were on about.... x

 

[Sue_P]

Is inflammation a visible thing? Would me seriously studying and comparing the size of my rodents legs be of use?

 

[Toffeewoffee]

 

[Sue_P]

I mean for me to look hard and see if the left leg is smaller than the dodgy right leg. I.e. that maybe his right leg is inflamed if inflammation is actually a visible thing in rodents.

 

[Sue_P]

Oh, you changed your post.

 

[Pepperdog]

Is inflammation a visible thing? Would me seriously studying and comparing the size of my rodents legs be of use?

no but the cause of inflammation can be a variety of things which is why it needs to be diagnosed by a cavy savy vet

I do agree that this sounds more spinal and it certainly needs to be looked at by a vet

 

[Toffeewoffee]

A vet visit would be far more useful, or even better surrendering your "rodents" to a rescue, which i know has been suggested to you many times before.

 

[Sue_P]

Surely an area that is inflamed would be red hot? Would this rule out inflammation seeing as my rodent’s foot is unusually cold? & where does arthritis usually occur? In hip joints or further down legs and feet?

@ Toffeewoffee - You say I'm a troll but everytime I come here you stir and stir and attack and attack. Looks more like its the other way round to me.

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Where do you get your ridiculous smilies from, they could have come in useful for my reply!

I am not trolling i am asking you to take your "rodents to a vet"

Lets see how many people agree with you about our roles as trolls being swapped shall we?

Your coming on here asking for advice, trying to come up with home remidies and self diagnosis, you are wasting everyones time, and ignorning all of the advice given to you, - as usual!

 

[Jerrybelly]

Surely an area that is inflamed would be red hot? Would this rule out inflammation seeing as my rodent’s foot is unusually cold? & where does arthritis usually occur? In hip joints or further down legs and feet?

@ Toffeewoffee - You say I'm a troll but everytime I come here you stir and stir and attack and attack. Looks more like its the other way round to me.

I don't know about guineas, but in humans it is possible to have inflammation of the joints, but for the area to be freezing cold (from personal experience).

As all of this is purely speculation, I think that a trip to a cavy savy vet will be the best option for a proper diagnosis (as suggested by several people above)

 

[Pepperdog]

inflammation can be caused by a multitude of things, this can be visibly seen in some places and may also come with a feeling of red hot, however it may not always be the case as it depends on the reason of inflammation.

My dogs arthritus does not have hot spots, her joints are absolutely gone from the normal but there is no visable signs other than a change in behaviours and gait. Any thing else that crops up would not be arthritus and any change in her would be a vet trip due to her age.

With the pigs ANY change in normal is a vet trip regardless of what it is

 

[AbbyGuinea]

It's funny...

If there is something wrong my one my wonderful guinea pigs I am straight onto the phone making an appointment to the vet. I then come on this forum asking for some extra advice (Like I have done recently with one of my pigs having ring worm - I have had some amazing advice and it's helped alot) to go along side what the Vet has said. Like any other tips to help the piggy feel better.

I'm unemployed - But in the last month I've had to go the vets 2 times. Once because a small abscess on a piggy (cleared up in days!) and the second time because of the ring worm which is quite expensive. I'm going back to the Vet in 2 weeks and then again in 3 weeks. And I'm doing this why? Because I have chosen to have Guinea Pigs and I am not a vet, so even if I think I know what I'm doing I am still going to have the advice of a qualified individual. I chose to bring these animals into my life so I'm going to do what they need - Provide them with treatment when they require it by an individual. And even live on microwave burgers as they are cheap LOL |)

 

[milhaven]

us Keighley lot are pretty rough.

Speak for yourself!!

 

[milhaven]

You're not wrong.

Tut tut Suzy, and I thought we were friends...

 

[Suzygpr]

LOL - ok so only 50% of the people I know there are :a19:

 

[hazeyg]

From the picture you posted, I honestly dont see anything visibly wrong. Hence I dont think your vet has missed something. Dragging is not normal. Sleeping with their legs splayed out to the back is. Arthritis is diagnosed from an xray and then contrilled with pain meds. But the only way to tell is to get an xray.

 

[Sue_P]

I breathed a sigh of relief last night, his foot was warm again.

I think that confirms my suspicions that his foot was cold due to him sleeping with it sticking out, he must have lied in a better position again. Although it doesn’t explain why he’d want to lie with it sticking out all the time.

Where do you get your ridiculous smilies from, they could have come in useful for my reply!

I am not trolling i am asking you to take your "rodents to a vet"

Lets see how many people agree with you about our roles as trolls being swapped shall we?

Your coming on here asking for advice, trying to come up with home remidies and self diagnosis, you are wasting everyones time, and ignorning all of the advice given to you, - as usual!

You’re wrong, I don’t ignore everyone’s advice, just peoples’ that I don’t value.

I don't know about guineas, but in humans it is possible to have inflammation of the joints, but for the area to be freezing cold (from personal experience).

You’re quite right, I should have just felt my own fingers. I’ve got 7 swollen up (I should probably take myself off to be checked out ), the swollen bits on me are cold at the mo.

& perhaps his foot going cold isn’t too serious. I panicked at first thinking it didn’t have a blood supply and may need amputating. But as I was about to have a shower last night I looked down at my own feet. My toes were dark bloomin’ purple and stone cold. Back to normal now though. His feet getting cold is probably acceptable and not a serious health risk, it’s just a good job he lives indoors and doesn’t have to brave the elements outside, he might wake up to it iced up one day.

 

[Sue_P]

inflammation can be caused by a multitude of things, this can be visibly seen in some places and may also come with a feeling of red hot, however it may not always be the case as it depends on the reason of inflammation.

My dogs arthritus does not have hot spots, her joints are absolutely gone from the normal but there is no visable signs other than a change in behaviours and gait. Any thing else that crops up would not be arthritus and any change in her would be a vet trip due to her age.

I wanted to compare my rodent’s leg sizes last night but was hindered cos he peed all over one and the hair was flat so it was hard to tell. Will try again tonight.

With the pigs ANY change in normal is a vet trip regardless of what it is

Hmn, in that case I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s been a change in the norm for my black rodent then cos he’s always walked oddly and frankly it’s the first time I’ve ever checked the temperature of his feet, I imagine his sticking out foot has been cold heaps of times, it would explain why it sometimes look dead.

It's funny...

If there is something wrong my one my wonderful guinea pigs I am straight onto the phone making an appointment to the vet. I then come on this forum asking for some extra advice (Like I have done recently with one of my pigs having ring worm - I have had some amazing advice and it's helped alot) to go along side what the Vet has said. Like any other tips to help the piggy feel better.

I'm unemployed - But in the last month I've had to go the vets 2 times. Once because a small abscess on a piggy (cleared up in days!) and the second time because of the ring worm which is quite expensive. I'm going back to the Vet in 2 weeks and then again in 3 weeks. And I'm doing this why? Because I have chosen to have Guinea Pigs and I am not a vet, so even if I think I know what I'm doing I am still going to have the advice of a qualified individual. I chose to bring these animals into my life so I'm going to do what they need - Provide them with treatment when they require it by an individual. And even live on microwave burgers as they are cheap LOL |)

It’s nice that some people care for rodents like that.

LOL - ok so only 50% of the people I know there are :a19:

I can guarantee that there’s more than a 50% population of rough Keighley-ers.

From the picture you posted, I honestly dont see anything visibly wrong. Hence I dont think your vet has missed something. Dragging is not normal. Sleeping with their legs splayed out to the back is. Arthritis is diagnosed from an xray and then contrilled with pain meds. But the only way to tell is to get an xray.

I wish I knew how much pain rodents with arthritis are in and what they think about it. I mean they’re not like us are they? If I get an injury then I get dramatic about it and whine and whimper a lot but rodents just seem to get on with it, the vets said they’re hardy creatures.

 

[Jerrybelly]

It is definitely not the case that guinea pigs experience pain any less than us, but as prey animals they have to hide their pain. In the wild, an ill guinea pig showing any signs of weakness would be the perfect target for a predator.

When my guineas had their bladder operations I could tell from their behaviour that they were feeling pain on the inside, even if they were doing their best to hide it on the outside. I did everything possible to help keep them comfortable.

Please don't think that because your 'rodent' isn't outwardly in pain, that he is not suffering in some way.

 

[Toffeewoffee]

Members, please do not waste too much time on this thread, it doesn't matter what you say or advise, the "rodents" will always carry on being neglected. And this member will get what she truely wants - to annoy us animals lovers. It is very sad, but please focus more on the genuine members.

 

[Claire W]

As with most rodents, degus, gerbils and hamsters etc, guinea pigs can hide pain very well. My degu broke his leg but showed no sign of pain even though he obviously was.

If you want to stick with your existing vet, that's your choice but please look around for an exotics vet just in case. My vet is not cavy savvy although they do have some knowledge with guinea pigs. However, they are also in touch with a cavy savvy vet who they are only too happy to contact for advice and I know I can take my piggies there should I ever need to.

There is nothing wrong with asking advice before seeing a vet. Just yesterday, I was asking members opinions on one of my girls which resulted in a vet appointment yesterday afternoon. It turns out, the pig in question doesn't have what we first thought and it is more likely to be an allergy. I am so pleased I took her though as now I have peace of mind.

If you have noticed something unusual, it is definitely worth a vet visit. Your pig could be in pain without you realising.

 

[Sue_P]

What do you think about the intelligence of rodents?

Say if my rodent had a cold foot and it was feeling uncomfortable with it, would it understand that to make it feel better it would need to move its foot under its body to heat it up or are they not that bright? Can they put two-and-two together like that?

Because if so then surely my black rodent would chose to keep his dodgy leg under his body when sleeping so that it wouldn’t go stone cold. Presumably he doesn’t care if it gets cold.

Ditto with his snotty nose. When my fudge coloured rodent sneezes he wipes his nose himself yet my black rodent literally is caked in black snot every day. Frankly if I didn’t pick him up and wipe his nose myself at least twice a day I’m quite sure it would block up. Now either he’s not the full shilling or his snotty nose isn’t bothering him.

I mean if it did get fully blocked maybe he’d bother to wipe it off himself, I dunno, never tested the theory. Wish I could give him an IQ test.

 

[Claire W]

What do you think about the intelligence of rodents?

Say if my rodent had a cold foot and it was feeling uncomfortable with it, would it understand that to make it feel better it would need to move its foot under its body to heat it up or are they not that bright? Can they put two-and-two together like that?

I would say that most animals are intelligent enough to move if they are feeling uncomfortable in any way. However, the problem you have is may be your black guinea pig simply can not move his foot to somewhere warmer or he could quite easily have lost feeling in his foot therefore if his foot does feel stone cold, he may not even feel it if his foot is already 'dead' Guinea pigs simply do not show pain like other animals even if they are in pain.

I can not stress this enough but you are obviously concerned so please see a vet.

 

[Guinea pig slave]

My first instinct was poor blood supply to his limb but again, only a savvy vet can confirm.
Good luck with your boy, hope he is ok

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Members, please do not waste too much time on this thread, it doesn't matter what you say or advise, the "rodents" will always carry on being neglected. And this member will get what she truely wants - to annoy us animals lovers. It is very sad, but please focus more on the genuine members.

I can assure everyone that the 'rodents' aren't neglected. However, if you are going to get wound up by this member it is probably best you don't respond to the posts.

 

[Claire W]

Personally it doesn't bother me what people choose to call their animals.

At the end of the day, all we can do is offer advice and support as this is what the forum is intended for.

 

[Sue_P]

@ furryfriends – I’d love wound up members to quit talking to me. Thanks.

You know I rearranged my pen so that my black rodent’s bed area was closer to his food and water bottle so that he wouldn’t need to do much walking about but I’ve just been reading about humans with poor circulation and it says that exercise is good.

If my rodent has arthritis is it best to limit movement or is it a good idea for me to encourage him to walk about more and to massage his leg and thigh area and move it around a bit? Does that make it worse or better? When I massage his foot to get it warmer he’s fine with it and doesn’t grumble at all.

On to another thing… since I moved my black rodent’s bed area my fudge coloured rodent has decided he’d rather sleep in it too and they’ve taken to being under the same box at the same time a lot but I keep on hearing my black rodent grumbling about it. He makes the same noise as he does if ever I pull up his box and get a hold of him there and stroke him, it’s a disapproving sound. My rodents like to argue a lot with their brrring sounds and hip swaying but my black rodent now makes the other noise a lot. I’ve started to wonder if he’s ok and will go in to see if he’s getting picked on but I haven’t seen the fudge coloured one giving him a hard time as such but he has been grumbling a lot in the past few days. He was doing it for a good 3 or 4 minutes straight this morning and neither of them got up and left, they were just lying there still, I kept popping my head in to have a look. & every time I looked he stopped but then started again after I left. I just left them and he stopped eventually. It makes me happy to see them together in the same bed, its good if they’re friends and can keep eachother company but I wouldn’t want the relationship to be one way and the black rodent unhappy that he’s got someone else in his bed. Although the black rodent spends half his time under that box and the rest in the cat basket which is a one rodent facility.

Oh and BTW, there’s been a couple of times when I’ve spotted the fudge coloured rodent going up to the black rodent’s face in a bed area and licking up the milky guw that comes from his eye with the blocked tearduct. That’s surely got to be a sign that they’re bonded. When I first saw it I freaked thinking that one of them was gonna bite the others face cos they have always made lunges at eachother but nope, I believe the fudge one has been just licking around his eye.

 

[Sue_P]

Been reading a couple of interesting things about arthritis…

http://www.rodentswithattitude.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=10259&highlight=arthritis

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/oldage.htm

and it says that pain relief should be a temporary thing. I was thinking my rodent would have to have it every day for the rest of its life. You know I may get some Potters Tabritis just to try them and not even bother taking my rodent to the vets for an x-ray. It should keep the costs down and apparently Potters Tabritis tablets aren’t harmful and rodents like the taste. The thought of forcing my rodent to drink pain relief medication every day was saddening.

He always detested having to have baytril, is the pain relief medication just as yucky tasting?