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Injured Back Leg After A Fall

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Lou

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Our 3 1/2 year old long haired male guinea pig has had a fall from a ramp (now removed) in his cage on Friday 22nd July. He was limping after and not putting any weight on one of his back legs.

We took him to our local vet on Saturday 23rd who xrayed him, said it wasn't broken but was incredibly swollen and prescribed Metacam (sp?)
They didn't seem particularly concerned and didn't advise any other changes to his normal routine.

I took him back yesterday (28th) and saw a different vet. She seemed very concerned, said he's still very swollen, couldn't see the X-rays properly and advised I see an exotics specialist for a further set of X-rays as it could be broken.
She advised to give Recovery formula every 4 hours, feed timothy hay and 42mg of vitamin C daily along with his normal pellets. I'm having trouble getting him to take the Recovery formula at all though he is still eating hay and pellets and drinking fine. And pooping and peeing as profusely as ever. And his weight hadn't dropped in the 5 days between vet visits.
We have isolated him in a small area (a 1x1 cube with grids) away from his brother for forced rest as the vet advised us to do yesterday.

They are our first Guinea pigs so I'm a newbie in terms of piggy illness and concerned at the contradictory info on care from the vets.

We have an appointment this evening with another vet who specialises in exotics but I wanted to check if there's anything else we should/could be doing or anything I should ask.

He is on fleece bedding which I am changing regularly. But is developing a pressure sore/urine scold on his good back leg. I have been keeping it clean and put a tiny amount of nappy rash cream as I saw advised on Guinea Lynx site, and it seems to be helping. (I specifically asked the vet what I could do to treat his good foot but she wouldn't suggest anything and said we just needed to fix the other leg).

I'm also not sure how much I should be putting him through in terms of pain and stress. Long car journeys, isolation, being prodded and poked. I'm prepared to do what I can but don't want to keep him going when his quality of life is currently so poor.
 
Lou said:
Our 3 1/2 year old long haired male guinea pig has had a fall from a ramp (now removed) in his cage on Friday 22nd July. He was limping after and not putting any weight on one of his back legs.

We took him to our local vet on Saturday 23rd who xrayed him, said it wasn't broken but was incredibly swollen and prescribed Metacam (sp?)
They didn't seem particularly concerned and didn't advise any other changes to his normal routine.

I took him back yesterday (28th) and saw a different vet. She seemed very concerned, said he's still very swollen, couldn't see the X-rays properly and advised I see an exotics specialist for a further set of X-rays as it could be broken.
She advised to give Recovery formula every 4 hours, feed timothy hay and 42mg of vitamin C daily along with his normal pellets. I'm having trouble getting him to take the Recovery formula at all though he is still eating hay and pellets and drinking fine. And pooping and peeing as profusely as ever. And his weight hadn't dropped in the 5 days between vet visits.
We have isolated him in a small area (a 1x1 cube with grids) away from his brother for forced rest as the vet advised us to do yesterday.

They are our first Guinea pigs so I'm a newbie in terms of piggy illness and concerned at the contradictory info on care from the vets.

We have an appointment this evening with another vet who specialises in exotics but I wanted to check if there's anything else we should/could be doing or anything I should ask.

He is on fleece bedding which I am changing regularly. But is developing a pressure sore/urine scold on his good back leg. I have been keeping it clean and put a tiny amount of nappy rash cream as I saw advised on Guinea Lynx site, and it seems to be helping. (I specifically asked the vet what I could do to treat his good foot but she wouldn't suggest anything and said we just needed to fix the other leg).

I'm also not sure how much I should be putting him through in terms of pain and stress. Long car journeys, isolation, being prodded and poked. I'm prepared to do what I can but don't want to keep him going when his quality of life is currently so poor.
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Hi and welcome!

Very sorry that the fall has ended in that bad a swelling. Good that you are having him checked through properly!

As your boy is not losing any weight and eating normally (which is a very good sign!), I would drop the recovery formula.
It is not rare that guinea pigs don't like the taste. You can always mix it with mushed up pellets to make it more palatable, especially when a guinea pig is really off its food.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Metacam is both a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory. it is usually prescribed in these circumstances although the swelling you are describing is the worst we've so far dealt with after a fall. I hope that the specialist can help you. Perhaps a joint has been dislocated? Any further treatment depends on a) getting the swelling down if possible and b) finding out what is causing it. I would recommend discussing the care aspects (urine scald and foot issues) with your new vet; they should hopefully be kept under control with a bit of cream. You can also discuss the metacam dosage, especially for after coming home.
You may want to consider keeping your boy on soft vetbed, which you change regularly as the best bedding for guinea pigs with reduced mobility.

Since your boy is still exhibiting a will a to live and is not in such bad pain that he has stopped eating, I would hang in there. Guinea pigs can be amazingly resilient when it comes to disabilities. I know of a few piggies living perfectly happy and enriched lives with their normal companions even after an amputation, which is the absolute worst case scenario you may be facing. However, I sincerely hope that it doesn't come to that!

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As we have got members and enquiries from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can always tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are instead of keeping things as general as possible. Some medical brands vary, as does the climate etc... Please click on your username at the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

All the best!
 
I don't have much advice but I'm sure someone might know something or been through a similar situation. You will hopefully know more once this new vet sees him. I do know I'm in the process of hopefully adopting a little guy (and his friend) from my local rescue. He had been dropped at some point and his spine was damaged. He had been dragging his back legs for roughly a year and because of this has developed arthritis :(. When he was brought in he was also badly impacted as his muscles loosened with the lack of exercise. Since coming to the rescue they have put him on metacam daily and he is now walking/running around the cage. You can see a slight limp when he's moving but it's more noticeable when you lift him as his back legs go straight out the back and you need to help him tuck them under. Same when you put him back in, you have to set him on his tummy and he will take it from there and get himself up again. He is pooping much better too with moving around more....but still needs a bit of help sometimes. He seems like a happy wee criter and with his daily meds he seems to be doing just fine and enjoying life X
 
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Thank you for your replies.

I will keep doing what I'm doing with him and hopefully this vet will have a better idea of where to go next.

(I've updated my profile I think, but I'm in West Sussex in the UK)
 
All he best!

PS: Just keep a pile of hay next to where he is, as that should make up to 80% of the daily food intake. If he is eating hay, then you do not need to top him up with syringe feed. Also make sure that he has got his water bottle within reach.
 
I saw a different vet this evening, an exotics vet who seemed much more knowledgeable. He said it's looking like ligament damage and may need an op or just rest. He recommended a CT scan as the best way to see what's going on but that a weeks rest would also give more answers if the CT is too costly for us.

He also said we don't need to worry about recovery formula as he's eating and isn't losing weight. And to stick with the metacam for now.

We're going to have a think about the ct over the weekend because I'm not sure we can get the money together (I hate that a decision might have to be made based on money), but the vet seemed willing to do surgery without ct if he's not improved dramatically over the next week.

Feeling a lot more positive tonight.
Thank you.
 
Sadly we had Rauf put to sleep yesterday. After 4 weeks of unsuccessful treatments and a steep decline it felt like the kindest (if hardest) thing to do. So, so sad right now.
 
Lou said:
Sadly we had Rauf put to sleep yesterday. After 4 weeks of unsuccessful treatments and a steep decline it felt like the kindest (if hardest) thing to do. So, so sad right now.
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I am so sorry that it was not to be; you certainly tried your best!

RIP Rauf
 
I'm so sorry little Rauf couldn't pull through, you definitely did the best you could to help him recover.
Putting an piggy down is a very hard decision, but a necessary one.
Popcorn free on the rainbow bridge little man.
 
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