Limping Hadley

[Freela]

Poor Hadley has started limping on her hind leg... she will put some weight on it but will 'bunny hop' occasionally and is definitely favoring the leg on the other side. She seems to have her sore leg tucked more underneath her when she walks. In addition, when she is laying down, she seems to be laying funny- she has her leg under her more than usual and seems to be resting when laying with more of a lean to one side, if that makes sense. It's certainly possible she hurt it getting into the cage, as she has cataracts and sometime is less than graceful getting in and out when there is a ramp she has to go up or a lip she has to step over. Her leg itself doesn't look sore or swollen, she doesn't pull away or squeak when I touch it, and she is eating/drinking as per usual. I'm not able to get her to the vet tomorrow during the day, as my 17-year-old has an honor roll ceremony (yay son! LOL!) but if she's still limping the same tomorrow I will try to get her in tomorrow night or Friday. She is turning 5 this month so getting older, could this be arthritis or something like that? Any idea what I should expect from the vet as far as x-rays, pain meds, etc?

 

[PigglePuggle]

Poor Hadley has started limping on her hind leg... she will put some weight on it but will 'bunny hop' occasionally and is definitely favoring the leg on the other side. She seems to have her sore leg tucked more underneath her when she walks. In addition, when she is laying down, she seems to be laying funny- she has her leg under her more than usual and seems to be resting when laying with more of a lean to one side, if that makes sense. It's certainly possible she hurt it getting into the cage, as she has cataracts and sometime is less than graceful getting in and out when there is a ramp she has to go up or a lip she has to step over. Her leg itself doesn't look sore or swollen, she doesn't pull away or squeak when I touch it, and she is eating/drinking as per usual. I'm not able to get her to the vet tomorrow during the day, as my 17-year-old has an honor roll ceremony (yay son! LOL!) but if she's still limping the same tomorrow I will try to get her in tomorrow night or Friday. She is turning 5 this month so getting older, could this be arthritis or something like that? Any idea what I should expect from the vet as far as x-rays, pain meds, etc?

The first thing the vet will probably do is pop her on the floor and watch her walking, then they will probably have you hold her front end while the vet moves her legs about and stretches them out and circles them round while feeling her joints. If there's no obvious breaks or dislocations the vet might just prescribe metacam (or loxicom- same thing!) and want to see her again in a week or too. Whether they xray or not might depend on if they (and piggy) are happy to do a conscious xray, if she's an older piggy they might not risk sedating for an xray unless there is a clear indication of a probable broken bone.
Our limpy pigs Clover and Ollie (both long term limpy pigs!) send Hadley piggy kisses and says she should get carrots if she is brave at the vet x

 

[Freela]

The first thing the vet will probably do is pop her on the floor and watch her walking, then they will probably have you hold her front end while the vet moves her legs about and stretches them out and circles them round while feeling her joints. If there's no obvious breaks or dislocations the vet might just prescribe metacam (or loxicom- same thing!) and want to see her again in a week or too. Whether they xray or not might depend on if they (and piggy) are happy to do a conscious xray, if she's an older piggy they might not risk sedating for an xray unless there is a clear indication of a probable broken bone.
Our limpy pigs Clover and Ollie (both long term limpy pigs!) send Hadley piggy kisses and says she should get carrots if she is brave at the vet x

Thanks! I'm sure she will be brave and earn her carrot! I'll let you all know what the vet has to say. Poor baby!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, hope Hadley makes a full recovery soon, she might have just strained it x

 

[VickiA]

It does sound like either a sprain or perhaps some arthritis. When you look at the piggy's design flaws, they do carry an awful lot of pressure on those little joints. When I have had this in the past the vets have usually been able to feel around to see if there are any breaks or to feel for any arthritic involvement in the joints. The first line of treatment is usually restricted to cage time (without any climbing jumping etc) and some metacam to see if there is any improvement. If that hasn't worked within a week then we have gone back for xrays to check for any other injuries or to look specifically for any joint deterioration or dislocations.
I do hope that she is soon feeling better. And I hope she enjoys her carrot reward.

 

[Freela]

Thanks everyone! I booked her for Tuesday (it's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and that's the first non-emergency appointment I could get. Because she's eating and behaving normally, I figured she could wait until then and if she improves we can always cancel.) As an aside, I found out that my favorite vet in the world has retired... NOOOOOO! He helped me so much with all of Sundae's health issues and I absolutely loved him. The other vets are pig savvy too, but I will miss my favorite so much!

 

[Freela]

She does seem to be doing a bit better... I've stopped giving her floor time so that she does not re-aggravate her leg going up the ramp to the cage (I think this is probably how she hurt it in the first place.) She seems to be walking more normally within the cage and she is getting up on her hind legs with her front legs on the bars to mooch for food again (she was mooching on all fours for a few days.) I'll give her the weekend on enforced rest and then let her out to run around and see how she's doing. Fingers crossed I won't have to keep the vet appointment on Tuesday if she's back to normal!