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Help! need advice for my poorly 9 year old girly

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rachael

rachael

Junior Guinea Pig
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Basically i have this beautiful guniea pig called Mizzie who has pretty much lost the use of her back legs. We took her to the vet a few months ago who said it was arithus and gave us so loxicom. This helped a little but it has got worse. I am determined to help her. In herself she is fine she loves her cuddles,going outside and her food. Her coat is healthy so i would feel like i was murdering her if i had her put to sleep. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice. I'm determined not to give up on this girly. She means the earth to me. Every time i help her she licks my fingers as if to say thank you. I wont give up on her. I'm scared to take her to the vet incase she says the only option is the putting her to sleep. I did a bit of massaging tonight which i think helped. please just help
 
Someone else that is new to the forum seems to be having the same problem with their piggies. I feel so heartbroken for them, because there is no advice I can offer, just friendship. I hope you find that your little girl will soon be on a speedy recovery, and be back to her old self soon. Best of luck!

-Ex
 
Thank you for your friendship. She is like family to me. She is my little girl. Thank you i hope so too. I have had her on these vitamin drops and seem to have helped a bit.but one of the legs she is just dragging. She keeps looking at me as if to say help me.
 
Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry. Back leg paralysis can have different reasons. If it is coming on suddenly ("overnight paralysis"), then it is often due to a sudden drop in calcium and can helped with osteocare and massaging. If it has come on more slowly, then it usually has other reasons. In any case, it should be seen by a vet so it can be treated as much as possible. Back leg paralysis is not uncommon in older piggies; in many cases they can recover.

Glucosamine can help with some forms of arthritis, the same as with humans. It may be something that you could discuss with the vet you are seeing.

There is a number of recommended piggy savvy vets on our vet locator in your area. No good vet should tell you to put your piggy to sleep; that is always your decision. http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/
 
Hey lovely people thank you for all your support. Mizzie says thanks too. I have made her an appointment for tomorrow. It's been more gradual. Below is a picture of my precious girl
 

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Have been to the vet and he admitted he didn't know much about Guniea pigs and said we could try steroids antibiotics. And if not maybe putting her down would have to be an option. I'm determined not to give up on her. I'm not putting a healthy girl down. I've heard osteocare helps but how much do you give her.
 
Please see a piggy savvy vet; I have given you the link for finding them in my last post. It can make all the difference as this is a piggy savvy and not a general vet problem.
 
I hope that you can get some relief for your Mizzie, but please do remember that 9 is a very very good age for a piggie, and you should take comfort from having helped a piggies get to such a good age :)
 
The other thing thatc an affect mobility badly especially in little piggies, old piggies and those with other medical conditions is Vitamin C deficiency. One of my piggies had a problem with this as he didn't absorb Vitamin C properly and it affects the joints significantly so it can lead to issues walking.

Initially when the vet mentioned it I felt insulted as I am an experienced piggy owner and know to make sure about using food in-date, regularly replacing it, feeding veg etc and my other three boys are healthy but sometimes it's just a short term issue and having Vitamin C tablets or effervescent extra support can really help their mobility, skin and fur condition and many other things.

It's worth a thought and will not do any harm although please consult a vet for vitamin C dosage as it is a lot less than people need! Like Wiebke says making sure you have a good cavy savvy vet will help as a this is a complex problem outside a general vet's usual experience. You can use chewable tablets, my lad liked to crunch them down but lots of people use effervescent ones and syringe it in.

Like Goth Mummy says though, please bear in mind that 9 is a really good age for a piggy and it may just be that her body isn't able to keep going any more. It's like asking your hundred year old Grandma to keep running round the block, eventually their body just can't cope with the strain any more. She is obviously a very special girl and hopefully you see some improvement. If not then it's all about quality of life and you will know when the time has come and the most loving thing to do is to let her go.
 
I have rang one of the cavvy vets and she is going to ring me back tomorrow. I am being realistic but I don't want to have her put down and have all these what ifs in my head. From giving her vitamin drops it has helped quite a bit. I will see what the other vet says tomorrow. My mother seems to be happy with the general vets opinion but I'm just not! I have had previous Guniea pigs and they have all told me when it's time. Just never been in this position before. It's so hard. :-(
 
Hi Rachael, I just wanted to offer support and good vibes. I hope you find a treatment that will work best for you and your lovely girl. Good luck love.
 
Bless you. Good luck at the new vets. What ever happens at the vet with your girlie.... its sounds like you have done a fab job :-) 9 years is a fab age....she sounds very special :-)
 
First of all I'd like to congratulate you on Mizzie achieving 9 years old. She must be getting lots of love and care to reach that ripe old age. Regarding the lack of use of her back legs I can't really help but as long as she's happy, eating and any pain is being effectively controlled then there's no reason why she can't have more time with you. It's always upsetting when one of you loved ones is poorly like this, I know myself because I have Minky who has been ill with various things this year & just seems to get right when something else comes along. With regards to extra vitamins, I spoke to my vet on Monday because Minky is not eating high vitamin C foods such as peppers, tomatoes & brocolli. I asked about giving her Abidec drops & what dosage to give. She said 0.1 ml a day would be fine. I'm currently adding this to her meds syringe while I'm treating her for headtilt which seems to have gone back-over in the last 2 weeks. Anyway, good luck with Mizzie's treatment & don't have her pts unless she is having no quality of life. It seems she is getting plenty of love & care from you. Maybe a visit to a more guinea pig savvy vet would be a help. Check out the Vet Locator at top of this page to find a good vet who can maybe get Mizzie on the right track. I'm sending all my healing vibes to Mizzie. xx
 
Please try a cavy savy vet as the others have mentioned, it can save you alot of time and money in the long run and get you the right diagnosis. Good Luck.
 
Hello, sorry for not keeping you up to date I have had a few hectic weeks. You will be pleased to hear that mizzie is still fighting fit. Her legs are no better though but she seems happy in herself. Unfortunately the cavvy vet is in Newcastle and I don't think she would survive the journey as the drive would stress her out. I feel stuck as I want to take her but 40 minutes in the car would just stress her too much :-(
 
I am afraid I can't give any medical advice but wanted you to know my heart goes out to you and your pig, she's lucky to have such a caring mummy xx
 
Thank you very much. That's very kind to say :-) have a merry Christmas.
*Gem* said:
I am afraid I can't give any medical advice but wanted you to know my heart goes out to you and your pig, she's lucky to have such a caring mummy xx
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rachael said:
Hello, sorry for not keeping you up to date I have had a few hectic weeks. You will be pleased to hear that mizzie is still fighting fit. Her legs are no better though but she seems happy in herself. Unfortunately the cavvy vet is in Newcastle and I don't think she would survive the journey as the drive would stress her out. I feel stuck as I want to take her but 40 minutes in the car would just stress her too much :-(
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I think 40 minutes in the car would be okay. That is how far it takes me to get to my vets and my little ones have always been fine. I would personally take her as it could be something that they can fix. But of course, it is your choice.
 
Like piggyfan has said, I would be tempted to take her the 40 minutes in the car. Piggies are pretty resilient animals and do tend to travel quite well. My vets is about 30 mins away dependent upon the traffic and I have made countless trips there with my 7.5 year old, and my heart piggy in the past year and they both travelled really well.
It is a decision that you will have to make yourself, but it helps to keep them calm if you take a friend with them- I can't remember whether you said she was housed with another piggy.
Best wishes for whatever you decide. x
 
We also never have any problems transport even post op guineas.Much helpful if they hear your voice and have their normal bedding not afraid to go toilet.Since 2011 we are are using vet bed so very useful you always can take 1-2 peace they know what do to with it.Good Luck and God Bless!To be honest in worst scenario, I'm pretty sure you can have consultation by the phone.
We are with CJ hall in Mortlake and they really good vets.Last time when I need to get their advice I simply paid for full analysis of dropping.So just bring them dropping.Which can always sent by post.
 
Think I would take her to the savvy vet my vet trip is about 25mins & they take no notice of the journey at all. I have a cheap pet carrier from Wilkinsons that fits a piggy nicely, the two I have at the moment like company so always go together. We all go along chatting to each other on the ride, sometimes if they're really unlucky they get my singing to the songs on the radio in the background too! ... Poor piggies! ;)

9is an excellent age for your girly :)
You obviously are a good piggy slave ;)

I don't have any personal experience to help you but I have seen threads on this forum with positive outcomes. I will try &find some examples &post links for u, one case had a lot of success with massages& swimming sessions. I can't remember if the piggy was dropped or if it was down to a medical condition though. As the others say would definitely discuss introducing glucosamine&vitamin c.

Is it both legs or just the one? I seem to remember reading somewhere about fungal infections can bring on forms of paralysis- although I have no idea how! Might be worth asking the savvy vet.

Is she pooping ok? She's not got a form of impaction, making it uncomfortable to walk has she?

Good luck with what u decide vetwise &healing vibes to your precious girly &a hug for you too.
I'm sure you'll make the right decision for her :)
Xx
 
Hello all you lovely people. I have some sad news . Mizzie took a turn for the worse. She was in pain and was whimpering. I took her back to the vets where they discovered she had a spinal tumour and was never going to get better. It was then I made the decision to have her take her trip over rainbow bridge. I stayed with her and for the first time she seemed at peace. I'm so heart broken but I would never let her suffer. She was a family member and my best mate. Even before the end she kissed me as if to say thank you and I love you. Just wish I could have cured her!
 
Aww I'm sorry! Remember you gave her many amazing years of care and love!
9 years old is a fabulous age for a piggie!
 
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