metacam vs infant-neurofen for arthritis?

[kittyla]

Hello, new here.
Nibbles is only 2 but has already developed something like arthritis in his hips. At first, as suggested by Vedra at CCT, I gave him baby nurofen for 10 days, he loved it & it really helped him. He seemed almost back to normal, until a couple of weeks ago I picked him up
gently & he bit me really hard & was writhing in pain. I took him to the vet the next day,she stretched out both back legs in turn &
poor Nibbles squeeled really loudly, (this shocked me as Nibbles is a near silent guineapig) She said he had "bad hips" & prescribed
.05ml metacam for a week, reducing to 2 then 1 drop daily - long term. I found this hard as he hates the taste so struggles & its such
a tiny amount its hard to know if I've got it in. After 3 days he was still iin pain so I reverted to the nurofen. Now I'm not sure what
to do, he needs pain relief almost every day. Does anyone have any experience of giving these meds long term? can either of them
harm him? I hate seeing him in pain.

 

[Laure]

This is a tough one. Has it come on all of the sudden? My Fluffy has arthritis but this sounds like a bad case.
It might not be strong enough but worth a try I give Fluffy half a tablet a day of Potter's Tabritis. You can buy it from most health food shop and websites. It's a mild herbal pain killer and anti-inflamatory. It works for Fluffy and can be given long term. Worth a try for a few days (try it for at least a week to see effects). It would be better for him if you could do away with giving him proper pain killers.
I hope he gets better :smitten:

 

[MemberY]

I agree with Laure, giving those type of pain killers long term can cause other health problems.
Maybe try her suggestion?
What breed is your piggy, is he a satin? 2 years sounds young to have this sort of problem :-\ Have any xrays been done?

 

[kittyla]

Nibbles is a rex (teddy) The vet said its just "one of those things" prob inherited, I wiill make enquiies
about his family. But no he hasnt had x rays.
Thanks I shall give the herbal tablets a try.

 

[MemberY]

Well, if you ask for xrays, than the vet can see what is going on there? Perhaps there was/is a dislocation or something else which wasnt picked up? Long term pain relief from 2 years of age does not sound ideal to me.. :-\

 

[sophiew (EAGPR)]

Is there anything herbal you can give him? My labrador has had arthritis since he was a pup and is on a glucosamine / chondroitin supplement, someone here might know if there is something similar for guineas? Also Devil's Claw, again you'd need to check whether this is ok for guineas. Good luck, hope you find something to control the pain

Sophie
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