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Old age boar

J

Jems

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, I’m after some advice, I have a bonded pair of boar guinea pigs who have always lived outside happily, however, one is much older and is now showing signs of old age and what I think is arthritis in his back legs as very stuff and hobbling (I have an appointment on Monday at the vets), he also suffers with impaction which I am keeping an eye on. My question is should I be thinking about moving him inside? It would mean separating him from his partner, I have two other boars, they all live together but separated but can see each other all the time so he wouldn’t be in his own, il just not sure what would be better for my older guinea pig? Any advice would be great.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.
If he is happy outside and is always kept warm enough etc, then there is not a need to move him in.
I definitely would not move him in if it means his companion cant come with him - if one comes in then they both must come in.
Both moving him in and separating from his companion would cause him a lot of stress.
 
His mate has started to be a bit more jumpy with him and he can’t get away too quickly, just worry if he’s also in pain
 
Jems said:
His mate has started to be a bit more jumpy with him and he can’t get away too quickly, just worry if he’s also in pain
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He might be in pain and therefore reacted more to his friend. Guinea pigs are very good at hiding their pain.
I have an older boar who is on Johnson’s 4joints ( dog one) so I’d ask your vet on Monday about it. It’s a liquid joint supplement
( 0.4ml per 1000g taken once daily) after a couple of weeks I could see improvement in my boy’s movement and impaction.
Do you clean the impaction away ?
Anything you can do to make his life more comfortable is great 🥰
 
Jems said:
His mate has started to be a bit more jumpy with him and he can’t get away too quickly, just worry if he’s also in pain
Click to expand...

If he has arthritis then he is going to be in pain until you can get to the vet for pain management. But it’s not necessarily grounds to split them up if their bond is otherwise ok. Once his pain is managed and he gets on a good joint supplement then he should regain a bit of mobility so splitting them up now could ruin what is otherwise a good bond.

Do they all live outside? Are they in hutches or in a shed?
If you do feel you need to bring him inside then you would need to bring two piggies inside so that no pig is left either inside or outside alone.
 
Thank you for all the advice, I do clean his impaction daily , also where he sleeps. I have a joint supplement arriving today also and appointment Monday. He is eating well etc so have left them for now, just wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could.
 
Which joint supplement did you get?
The 4joints is the best one we can recommend.

Glucosamine can take a few weeks to build up in the joints but it is very good at helping relieve symptoms
 
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