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Paralysed Back Legs

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Coca cola

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Hi
I can home to find One of my guinea pigs was dragging himself around by his front legs wih great difficulty. His back legs seem to be paralysed. At first I thought he must have broken them but having read up on this paralysis can apparently be a sign of vitamin c deficiency or calcium deficiency. He is lethargic and has also lost lots of weight. However he seems to be eating normally, although not drinking as much as usual. I have moved him for the time being to a smaller cage away from the other two guinea pigs that he lives with, both of which are completely healthy,
What could be wrong within him? What can I do to help him? I will take him to the vet but fear they won't be able to do much for him, many vets seem to suggest Pts from what I've read. Does anybody have experience with this? I'm really desperate, thanks
 
Hi welcome to the forum, please can you update your location as it will help us to help you.

First of all he does need to see a vet, if you are in the UK have a look on our recommended vets locator. The vet will need to ideally carry out an xray to check that nothing is broken. Other possibilities are calcium crash or a vitamin c deficiency like you have mentioned.

If this is an injury he will be treated with rest and anti-inflammatories. For calcium crash or vitamin c deficiency he would need vitamin supplementation.
 
Hi I'm in North west London near Golders Green, are there any good guinea pig/exotic vets nearby?
 
Sorry, that didn't work, have taken a photo of the results and will upload below.
 
Thanks for the suggestions - the beaumont sainsbury was fully booked so we took him to the medivet in hendon because that's our nearest one that was open. the vet checked for broken bones but couldn't find anything. we did find a wound on his front paw, and she gave us some iodine to apply to that every day and suggseted we change bedding from woodshavings to paper towel or fleece.

she has also given us anti-inflammatory / pain kililng oral medication and baytril antibiotic, also oral medication. if he doesn't show signs of improvement she suggested we may need to bring him back for blood tests for further investigation. she told us to also begin supplementing him with vitamin c and calcium every day.

i guess we just have to wait and see and hope for the best
 
Glad he has seen the vet. You could always take him to Beaumont Sainsbury if there is no improvement in a few days.

I agree on changing his bedding, Vetbed is good too, you just need something like newspaper or towels underneath to wick away the wee, which is the same as with fleece.
 
If he is on Baytril, you will need probiotics too, have a look at this thread. They need to be given at least an hour after the Baytril, preferably by syringe (not in his water).

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...vitamin-c-overview-with-product-links.115404/

I recommend these vitamins for Vitamin C

http://www.viovet.co.uk/Oropharma_C...WW6HGi0A5nj-gGjFUT9rWF4p5tBxaXBgXYaAlz08P8HAQ

They aren't in the guide above as I was told about them after I wrote it.

For calcium I think he can have Osteocare but you could check with the vet.
 
The vet didn't mention probiotics, but it would make sense that he needs them. Thanks so much for that list, I will probably check pets at home for Pro C,
if he isn't drinking that much, do you think I should syringe him water? He is eating normally but the concern is his weight loss. Should we be syringing him food on top of what he is eating, or is this not really going to help? Thanks
 
He's lost quite a bit, I'm not sure how much he exactly, but he feels a lot lighter than normal. The vet weighed him today at 900g. The weight loss has been very sudden, only over the last few days. I am worried that he's getting weaker - he's showing no interest in a piece of cucumber (usually his favourite food). I have begun syringe feeding and managed to get him to swallow about 5ml of mushed up pellets and 1ml of water. Will try again in an hour with more. Thank you for all of your help, I will keep you updated.
 
Normally he's a little on the chubby side so I feel like he's lost at least 10% of his weight
 
meadow hay, either burgess excel pellets or pets at home own brand, and fresh fruit and veg - mainly cucumber, carrot, celery, lettuce. sometimes readigrass as a treat. I am not sure if it's a dietary thing though, because he lives with two other guinea pigs and they both are completely healthy. I don't think they've been stopping him from eating food either, as he's usually quite bossy. However throughout the course of today i have noticed that his appetite seems to have gone. i've moved him to a separate cage so he can rest, and he's hasn't really moved at all, he's just been lying down and not eating.
 
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