paralyze?

[Jadessa1]

I have these 2 two 4month of guinea pig (related, not siblings, and in different cages) They both use to be completely fine, popcorn and everything.

One suddenly got the mystery paralyze! She drags herself to walk and lays on her side. But the thing is when I pick her she starts screaming, same thing when she try to sit like her roommate. When I took a closer look at her walking, it looks like one front arm is shorter?

The other piggy, wobbles when walking, looks hunch, poof hair, and tends to flip/falls over with his legs in the air, along with one hip higher then the other.

Other then that both seem completely fine, they eat, drink, and poop!

Mystery paralyze for one and vitamin c issues for the other?

Should I be worried, I don’t want to Panic? I have heard that some vet recommends putting them down.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please have your piggy seen by a vet ASAP. This is an urgent situation.

Please switch from the routine weekly weight checks to weighing daily. You cannot gauge hay intake by eye so weighing them is the only way to know they are really eating enough hay, as hay is their main food source. If there is any weight loss you will need to step in and syringe feed

A vet will only suggest putting an animal to sleep if there is nothing that can be done to help.

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

 

[PigglePuggle]

This does need an emergency vet appointment, I doubt any vet would suggest euthanasia for such young animals without a thorough investigation of what their health issues are. Certainly a hands on examination by an experienced vet is needed, vit C deficiency is rare as a small amount of carefully selected daily veg like a slice of bell pepper and a few sprigs of coriander/cilantro- or a bit of fresh clean grass- easily meet a piggy's vit C needs.
Please see a vet straight away, and check out our feeding guides to ensure you are meeting their dietary needs with large amounts of good quality hay and a good range of veggies.

 

[Jadessa1]

Please have your piggy seen by a vet ASAP. This is an urgent situation.

Please switch from the routine weekly weight checks to weighing daily. You cannot gauge hay intake by eye so weighing them is the only way to know they are really eating enough hay, as hay is their main food source. If there is any weight loss you will need to step in and syringe feed

A vet will only suggest putting an animal to sleep if there is nothing that can be done to help.

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Yes. I have been weighing them daily and their weights have only gone down or up a few oz.

 

[Piggies&buns]

That’s good if the weights are stable. She does still urgently need to see a vet though to find out what is causing the paralysis

 

[Lady Kelly]

Both need to see a vet to find out what's going on. Hunching and puffed up are signs of pain

 

[Siikibam]

I do have a quick question though. You say he and she, are they together in one cage?

 

[Jadessa1]

I do have a quick question though. You say he and she, are they together in one cage?

No they are not. Two different cage

 

[Siikibam]

Have you had them seen yet? It’s really important and urgent.

 

[Jadessa1]

Have you had them seen yet? It’s really important and urgent.

Yes I have seen a vet. I was told nothing is wrong with them, X-ray, C-scan, and the inside of their mouth were checked. (Over $300 on both)

I read a case that someone gave their mystery paralyzed guinea liquid vitamin c, which I have started 1ml, it seem to be working as she stop screaming when I pick her up and even though her back leg still isn’t moving she can run on her front paws like nothing now.

As for the other one, he eat, drink, and poop fine. He is still hunch over with poof hair and wobble when walking but no longer tends to flip/falls over with his legs in the air, and one hip higher then the other looks alittle even now. BUT! he now start drooling it doesn’t stink and eyes looks sullen(I think?)....could it be that he a messy drinker? The vet said his back & front teeth looked fine.

 

[Siikibam]

I think drooling can be a sign of teeth trouble. I don’t know that vitamin c is enough to resolve whatever issue they have.

Are the vets general or experienced with treating guinea pigs?

 

[Jadessa1]

I think drooling can be a sign of teeth trouble. I don’t know that vitamin c is enough to resolve whatever issue they have.

Are the vets general or experienced with treating guinea pigs?

The vitamin c was for the paralyzed piggy after 3 days of 1ml, she got much better from when I wrote this post. Only that her back legs don’t move.(doing leg & spine home therapy on her). She is 5 month and 6 day old. (Normal weight & size)

For the other one, I gave it to him 2 times (both times his chin was dry) but for the past two days it was wet and non-smelly & had sullen eyes. His been eating pellets and hay with no issues.

I went to two different vets Saturday evening, one not for guinea pigs and one that had experience with them. Both vets said the same thing and took all kinds of test. I told them about the liquid vitamin c & they said it was Worth a try & to remove the normal veggies.

The day I took them to the vet the drooling one had a slightly crooked bottom tooth which I had trimmed down, the vet took some scans, checked inside the mouth & said that the back & front teeth where fine & that I trimmed the bottom teeth nicely down & to do it again in a few days if it is seem crooked. This is 5 month old and 2 day old boy piggy. He is very small. You would think he was 1 month old since he still fits in the hand.

Could that be the drooling issues? Or just a messy drinker? Or is there some other issues besides teeth that could involve drooling?


Both are related. The father of the girl paralyzed piggy is the grandfather of the boy drooling piggy. Could it be a DNA issues?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Vitamin c deficiency in guinea pigs is rare. They get plenty of vitamin c from their hay, veg and their limited amount of pellets. This is why guinea pigs don’t need supplemental vitamin c.

If she is still not able to walk properly then there is something wrong, vitamin c isn’t going to cure.
Removing veggies and giving vitamin c instead, doesn’t sound like good advice to me.

A vet who does anything to their teeth without experience can make things worse. If they said the teeth were fine, then why did they trim them down?
Yes there are other issues which can cause drooling or inability to swallow such as oral thrush. Drooling can also be because of a blockage in their system.
If he is small for his age and has the other health issues you mention, then i wonder if there is something else going on.

Do you weigh them weekly as part of routine care, are they putting on weight well?

I really think both of these piggies need to go to an experienced vet to find out what is going on.

 

[Hath]

It must be frustrating to spend the money and be told they're OK when clearly the piggie isn't able to walk. I am shocked a vet would tell you all of the above with piggie in such state and send you home with them without any health plan. Tbh, I don't think I would keep my face straight if he told me this.
I had a stunted boy who was half the size of a 1kg boar. He did end up having serious health issues. But it's up to a vet to look for them.

Did they tell you what else they could do to find out what's wrong? How did you know how to trim the teeth? So many questions.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I read that a different way - to clarify, did you trim the teeth yourself or did the vet do it?

Slanted front teeth can point to a problem with the back teeth. If the back teeth don’t wear down evenly, then they can force the front teeth to wear unevenly.

 

[Jadessa1]

I read that a different way - to clarify, did you trim the teeth yourself or did the vet do it?

Slanted front teeth can point to a problem with the back teeth. If the back teeth don’t wear down evenly, then they can force the front teeth to wear unevenly.

First trip was with a non experience guinea pig vet
Second trip was with a experience guinea pig vet.

I trimmed the teeth down myself a day before going to the vet. I was taught how to trim the teeth with teeth clippers many years ago by a vet with experience.

Both different vets took a look inside the mouth to check the back teeth and took X-rays just to be sure nothing was wrong with the teeth.

And was told to trim the teeth again in a few days if they are uneven or crooked. Which I didn’t need to do yet since they are perfect minus that he drooling. The drool/mouth doesn’t smell!

I been weighting them daily at the same hour. There weights have only been going up or down a oz.

I wanted to give him a warm bath & dry him well to see if it was drool or just a messy drinker, it could be a possibility that he been laying his chin in pee since he white fur is yellow at that area. but I don’t want to take the chance of him getting sicker with the bath

 

[Piggies&buns]

First, we can never approve of giving piggy a dental yourself and I’m absolutely stunned that a vet seems to approve of this.

Second, if one piggy is small for his age and their weight is only been going up or down a few oz - how long has that been going on? Have they been gaining well before now? You should be seeing weight gain each week since you’ve had them. If they haven’t been gaining well then there are problems.

You cannot assume drooling is because of being a messy drinker - it could be because there is something preventing him from swallowing properly and that needs investigating. There is something going on with both of them that needs an experienced vet to diagnose and treat properly. Telling you to clip their front teeth yourself and give vitamin c would send me running to find a new vet

 

[Siikibam]

We do not support trimming teeth at home. You’re not a vet and to be honest you could make things worse. I would find another vet and get a second opinion on the paralysis. As already mentioned, vitamin c won’t cure it. And that could come with its own problems.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Not only do we not support teeth trimming at home but clipping is widely recognised now as an incorrect way of dealing with guinea pigs teeth. It is extremely rare that overgrown front teeth are that way on their own, this is most commonly caused by a problem with the back teeth

 

[Jadessa1]

First, we can never approve of giving piggy a dental yourself and I’m absolutely stunned that a vet seems to approve of this.

Second, if one piggy is small for his age and their weight is only been going up or down a few oz - how long has that been going on? Have they been gaining well before now? You should be seeing weight gain each week since you’ve had them. If they haven’t been gaining well then there are problems.

You cannot assume drooling is because of being a messy drinker - it could be because there is something preventing him from swallowing properly and that needs investigating. There is something going on with both of them that needs an experienced vet to diagnose and treat properly. Telling you to clip their front teeth yourself and give vitamin c would send me running to find a new vet

I was training on how to trim a guinea pig teeth by a expert, even if I’m not a vet I still have the qualification to do it.

He has always gained weight perfectly fine, only that his body length/height stop growing after 3 weeks of being born.

For one whole week I been weighing him daily, it was only during these last two days that his weight went down 1 oz then it went up 1 oz the next day.

The vet only recommended to take the veggies away and keep the Normal amount of pellet and hay and give them vitamin c for only 5 days for one and 2 days for the other. His chin started to get wet after I stop the vitamin which was 2 days ago

 

[Jadessa1]

We do not support trimming teeth at home. You’re not a vet and to be honest you could make things worse. I would find another vet and get a second opinion on the paralysis. As already mentioned, vitamin c won’t cure it. And that could come with its own problems.

Yes I know that vitamin c won’t cured it. It was only temporary for the paralyzed piggy for 5 days and 2 days for the other.

As I said before, I went to two different vets the same day. The first wasn’t experienced, so I went almost 3 hours away to a exotic guinea pig vet.

X-cay
Cat scan
Blood work
A full examination of the mouth,
Everything they could think of they did.
I had spent over $300 at each vet.

So this is either something that no one has seen before or it’s very small that not even a Machine can pick up what it is

 

[Siikibam]

His body should be growing as well as putting on weight. I don’t understand how he can be putting on weight but still be the same size as he was when younger. How much was he putting on every week?

You need to find another more experienced vet to take a look. I do not believe that vitamin is the solution to these ailments that your piggies have. We can’t give you any advice aside from that.

I know this isn’t the main point hence leaving till last. We don’t support treatment by anyone other than a qualified and (preferably experienced) vet. You say you were trained by a vet? If you do a search on the forum you will find it’s been discussed in more detail.

 

[Siikibam]

Just seen your response. Paralysis can be caused by different things and the vets need to look more into it. If the front teeth on your boy were uneven then it can’t be possible that the back teeth are perfect. Drooling is generally tied to an issue with teeth. Does the second vet have experience with guinea pig teeth?

They need further investigation because it’s not improving. Were either of them given anti inflammatory? Sorry I can’t remember if you mentioned it.

 

[Jadessa1]

His body should be growing as well as putting on weight. I don’t understand how he can be putting on weight but still be the same size as he was when younger. How much was he putting on every week?

You need to find another more experienced vet to take a look. I do not believe that vitamin is the solution to these ailments that your piggies have. We can’t give you any advice aside from that.

I know this isn’t the main point hence leaving till last. We don’t support treatment by anyone other than a qualified and (preferably experienced) vet. You say you were trained by a vet? If you do a search on the forum you will find it’s been discussed in more detail.

He is no bigger then 6.5in and weights 621g. At his age he should be longer and heavier but He was the runt out of 8 piggy born.
So, he has always been on the smaller size since coming out of his mother.

Yes, that was why I went 3 hour away. That vet had over 25 years of experience with piggy.

Anit inflammatory was only given to the paralyzed piggy. (Currently trying to run with her two front paws)


(3 day old in picture, he was the 2nd to the left, he was way more smaller then he looked in photo)

 

[Hath]

Was it 300 at each vet? I mean 300 for a vet who didn't do anything and then another 300 for all the tests at exotic specialist? 300 is very reasonable price for all those test. Was it ultrasound rather than CT scan?

I just can't believe they didn't give you any answers. I mean, if he's had so much done they should be able to rule out some issues and tell you what more can be done in regards of tests. I've never met a vet who would say there's nothing wrong with an animal if it is literally dragging its hind feet.

My stunted boy was just over 650g when he was an adult, but he wasn't skinny. He was just tiny,which is why weight alone doesn't mean much unless you're looking at the whole piggie. He did have health issues, including retained testies which caused issues inside

 

[Jadessa1]

Was it 300 at each vet? I mean 300 for a vet who didn't do anything and then another 300 for all the tests at exotic specialist? 300 is very reasonable price for all those test. Was it ultrasound rather than CT scan?

I just can't believe they didn't give you any answers. I mean, if he's had so much done they should be able to rule out some issues and tell you what more can be done in regards of tests. I've never met a vet who would say there's nothing wrong with an animal if it is literally dragging its hind feet.

My stunted boy was just over 650g when he was an adult, but he wasn't skinny. He was just tiny,which is why weight alone doesn't mean much unless you're looking at the whole piggie. He did have health issues, including retained testies which caused issues inside

For the non-exotic vet it was around $250 per piggy and for the exotic vet it was $320 each. Since she examined the inside of the mouth and gave anit-inflammatory to one piggy.

Yesterday evening, the vet called saying she sent the blood work of the drooling piggy for a deeper screening at a bigger lab, and that there was suspicion of it being seizures but since all the other test shown no sighs of seizures (including not any odd twitching/paddling or passing out at home). But it was a possibility that he could of had non-showable seizures each time another piggy pushed him over or when he flip over on his own which made his legs facing upwards, the moment he would try to help himself get up it was possible a seizure was happening. To make sure the vet wanted to do a different brain/head scan to make sure.

As we were on the phone I noticed him completely laying flat on his side, paddling his legs. Which was a indication of a very viable seizure happening. For him not to swallow his tongue, she told me hold his tongue down & hold him upright . That had stop the seizure but when I put him down it started again. So I thought it was best to just keep holding him up upright but after 5 minutes his head started tilting very stiff sideways or it was as if he was pushing your hand away from his head. I laid him down to see it the seizure stop, which it did but, his body got very limped with a fast heartbeat and after about hour he started gasping here and there for 20mins then with each breath he gasp. Sadly, he ended up passing away.

But As of right now, the paralyzed piggy no longer screams when you pick her up or when she trys to walk. But most of the time she still drags her legs & the other half of the time she hops like a bunny (kind of). (I suppose it will just be a mystery & hopefully she be able to walk again)

 

[Hath]

I am so sorry. It must be hard not knowing what actually happened. I do hope your other piggie recovers.