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Is My Guinea Pig Okay?

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Maddie.hogsten

Junior Guinea Pig
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Help my guinea pig has poop all over her bottom and she's not able to really move her back legs. She is eating and drinking but I'm worried it may be something major.
 
It sounds like she could be very ill, can you get to the vets today?

How old is she?
 
Maddie.hogsten said:
Help my guinea pig has poop all over her bottom and she's not able to really move her back legs. She is eating and drinking but I'm worried it may be something major.
Click to expand...

Please have her vet checked by good vet during regular hours tomorrow! All we can do is guess as much as you. Back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs is not uncommon, but it can have different causes (most commonly sudden drop of calcium or arthritis, neurological problems, internal swellings/lumps, problems in the urinary tract or blood clots etc.) The good news is that in most cases, mobility is eventually regained, but treatment depends on your vet's findings.

Make sure that she has hay (which makes 80% of the daily food intake) close by, as well as water. Weigh her daily at the same time in the feeding cycle and step in with syringe feed top up as soon as she loses more than 50g. Our syringe feeding guide also contains tips what you can do in an emergency with what you have got at home and where to source our stuff.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

You may also want to give your girl a gentle bum bath with hand warm water to remove all those poos. Change her bedding in the sleeping area where she is more twice daily to prevent urine scald.

When you see a vet, especially as an emergency, please make sure that you are not fobbed off with a steriod injection. In rodents, steroids slow down organs, instead of pepping them up. The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
It sounds like she could be very ill, can you get to the vets today?

How old is she?
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I can not get her to a vet today I am going to make some calls and see if any vets near me will take her and check her but she is only 3 or 4 months old
 
Wiebke said:
Please have her vet checked by good vet during regular hours tomorrow! All we can do is guess as much as you. Back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs is not uncommon, but it can have different causes (most commonly sudden drop of calcium or arthritis, neurological problems, internal swellings/lumps, problems in the urinary tract or blood clots etc.) The good news is that in most cases, mobility is eventually regained, but treatment depends on your vet's findings.

Make sure that she has hay (which makes 80% of the daily food intake) close by, as well as water. Weigh her daily at the same time in the feeding cycle and step in with syringe feed top up as soon as she loses more than 50g. Our syringe feeding guide also contains tips what you can do in an emergency with what you have got at home and where to source our stuff.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

You may also want to give your girl a gentle bum bath with hand warm water to remove all those poos. Change her bedding in the sleeping area where she is more twice daily to prevent urine scald.

When you see a vet, especially as an emergency, please make sure that you are not fobbed off with a steriod injection. In rodents, steroids slow down organs, instead of pepping them up. The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for this information it will be very useful. Thank you so much
Wiebke said:
Please have her vet checked by good vet during regular hours tomorrow! All we can do is guess as much as you. Back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs is not uncommon, but it can have different causes (most commonly sudden drop of calcium or arthritis, neurological problems, internal swellings/lumps, problems in the urinary tract or blood clots etc.) The good news is that in most cases, mobility is eventually regained, but treatment depends on your vet's findings.

Make sure that she has hay (which makes 80% of the daily food intake) close by, as well as water. Weigh her daily at the same time in the feeding cycle and step in with syringe feed top up as soon as she loses more than 50g. Our syringe feeding guide also contains tips what you can do in an emergency with what you have got at home and where to source our stuff.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

You may also want to give your girl a gentle bum bath with hand warm water to remove all those poos. Change her bedding in the sleeping area where she is more twice daily to prevent urine scald.

When you see a vet, especially as an emergency, please make sure that you are not fobbed off with a steriod injection. In rodents, steroids slow down organs, instead of pepping them up. The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.
Click to expand...
thank you so much for this information it is very useful!
 
Maddie.hogsten said:
I can not get her to a vet today I am going to make some calls and see if any vets near me will take her and check her but she is only 3 or 4 months old
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Is she on her own or does she have a cage mate? As Wiekbe has given good advice already I can't add a lot. It is concerning that she's like this being so young, she may have been ill for a while but they're good at hiding it.

Have you got a piggy savvy vet near you?
 
At that young age, you can exclude the calcium drop and the arthritis. It is unfortunately much more likely that she has had a fall and may have injured her spine in the last couple of days; spine injuries can come on slowly. Has a family member accidentally dropped her or has she jumped awkwardky? :(
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Is she on her own or does she have a cage mate? As Wiekbe has given good advice already I can't add a lot. It is concerning that she's like this being so young, she may have been ill for a while but they're good at hiding it.

Have you got a piggy savvy vet near you?
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She has no cage mate. And no I have never heard of guinea savvy this is my first Guinea pig and do you know if normal vets take them?
 
Maddie.hogsten said:
She has no cage mate. And no I have never heard of guinea savvy this is my first Guinea pig and do you know if normal vets take them?
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Normal vets will happily take your money but most the time have no idea what they're doing lol. Most vets only know cat and dog stuff and sometimes rabbit stuff but rarely guinea pigs.

Where abouts do you live, in the UK? We can help with the vet locator to find you one who will be able to help.

Has she had a fall or anything recently?
 
Wiebke said:
At that young age, you can exclude the calcium drop and the arthritis. It is unfortunately much more likely that she has had a fall and may have injured her spine in the last couple of days; spine injuries can come on slowly. Has a family member accidentally dropped her or has she jumped awkwardky? :(
Click to expand...
No no one but me or anyone that I watch picks her up and unless she got on her house and jumped off which doesn't seem like something she'd do but it could
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Normal vets will happily take your money but most the time have no idea what they're doing lol. Most vets only know cat and dog stuff and sometimes rabbit stuff but rarely guinea pigs.

Where abouts do you live, in the UK? We can help with the vet locator to find you one who will be able to help.

Has she had a fall or anything recently?
Click to expand...
No sadly. I live in the united states
 
Maddie.hogsten said:
Help my guinea pig has poop all over her bottom and she's not able to really move her back legs. She is eating and drinking but I'm worried it may be something major.
Click to expand...
I've been cleaning her bottom every couple hours and she lays on her side and just kinda lays there. I recently felt her leg and it felt like it was throbbing.
 
The most important thing right now if to get her seen by any vet.
Even an inexperienced (with guinea pigs) vet will be able to do a basic exam and prescribe pain killers.
Then at the very least she will not be in pain and this will give her a chance to rest and recover.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Any luck getting to the vet? :)
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I'm going to call the vet today and see if they will take her tomorrow. She seems to be moving a little bit better but she still is squeaking in pain when she moves and her legs are throbbing so I hope the vet will take her tomorrow or tonight
 
Maddie.hogsten said:
I'm going to call the vet today and see if they will take her tomorrow. She seems to be moving a little bit better but she still is squeaking in pain when she moves and her legs are throbbing so I hope the vet will take her tomorrow or tonight
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I really hope that he can see her tonight, as she seems to be in pain. Please mention this!
 
Maddie.hogsten said:
I'm going to call the vet today and see if they will take her tomorrow. She seems to be moving a little bit better but she still is squeaking in pain when she moves and her legs are throbbing so I hope the vet will take her tomorrow or tonight
Click to expand...

I hope they can see her tonight, there's something very wrong there :( Tell them how much pain she's in, imo it's an emergency and they need to see her now x
 
I do hope you can see someone tonight. It's awful when they are in pain & you don't know where!
Please let us know when you've been to the vet, we're worried.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
I hope they can see her tonight, there's something very wrong there :( Tell them how much pain she's in, imo it's an emergency and they need to see her now x
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I called the vet and I told them what was happening they said it could be vitamin deficiency so I got some drops from the store and she seems to be moving around better then before
 
When she is laying she is laying like this. And when she is walking around she drags her legs.

IMG_0349.webp
 
She really needs to see a vet urgently, it looks like she has damaged her back legs or spine :( Could she have been dropped by anyone in the house?
 
:agr: I have never seen a piggy lay like that and I have had piggies on and off for a good few years.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
She really needs to see a vet urgently, it looks like she has damaged her back legs or spine :( Could she have been dropped by anyone in the house?
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No ones dropped her and she doesn't climb so I don't know how she would of damaged her spine or legs
 
Vitamin drops are not a replacement for a vet examination, the vet needs to see her as she looks in a poor way :( Please get an emergency appointment today or tomorrow at the latest, I hope they can help her recover the use of her legs.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Vitamin drops are not a replacement for a vet examination, the vet needs to see her as she looks in a poor way :( Please get an emergency appointment today or tomorrow at the latest, I hope they can help her recover the use of her legs.
Click to expand...
Ok thank you I'm going to call tomorrow again and see if they will take her
 
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