• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Rumoured Arthritis

Status
Not open for further replies.
gizmo01

gizmo01

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 2, 2010
Messages
1,427
Reaction score
41
Points
425
Location
Canterbury, Kent
Rocky has what we suspect to be arthritis.
He's a 4 and a bit year old PEW guinea Pig and although he does not appear to be in any pain he seems to be a little stiff in his back legs. Noticeable when he first moves after laying down usually coz he's been asleep on you/something i hear conflicting points about the use of cod liver oil for joint care in guineas. So? Can he have it ? how much should he Have? P@H said 5ml a day thats a helluva lot really
 
It's a bladder supplement for cats for cystitis - promotes a healthy bladder lining. Also safely (and effectively!) used in guinea pigs.
 
5 mL of cod liver oil, surely they must have made a mistake ! Would not have thought that cod-liver oil in any dosage would be suitable for guinea pigs, surely with them being herbivores they are not supposed to have meat products!

As for arthritis, I,ve had more pigs than I can count with varying forms of arthritis, and it's never been a problem they simply adapt,

according to my vet their brains interpret "chronic " pain , differently than ours do, and painkilling medicines would only serve to put undue strain on the kidneys, and should only be used if there are positive pain indicators
 
I'm also interested in anything that would help arthritis.

Our Chip has it and it is obviously uncomfortable for him. He is on metacam twice daily which makes a real difference.

When he was only on it once a day he would be making pain noises while grooming or even moving bit with metacam he is a happy pig.

I am worried about long term kidney damage but really don't see another option.
 
Glucosamine is much better for bone arthritis in guinea pigs and doesn't have any side effects; I wouldn't recommend cod liver oil.

I use vegetarian glucosamine from Boots for my arthritics oldies on top of the metacam from the vets. 1 human tablet ground up and dissolved in 2 ml of water gives me 4 guinea pig 0.5ml doses (keep in the fridge and shake before use).

Metacam can cause kidney damage in the long term, but with an older piggy, quality of life, especially being pain free, is more important than living a few weeks longer in my own opinion.
 
Wiebke said:
Glucosamine is much better for bone arthritis in guinea pigs and doesn't have any side effects; I wouldn't recommend cod liver oil.

I use vegetarian glucosamine from Boots for my arthritics oldies on top of the metacam from the vets. 1 human tablet ground up and dissolved in 2 ml of water gives me 4 guinea pig 0.5ml doses (keep in the fridge and shake before use).

Metacam can cause kidney damage in the long term, but with an older piggy, quality of life, especially being pain free, is more important than living a few weeks longer in my own opinion.
Click to expand...

Metacam doesn't "cause" kidney problems, but it can exacerbate them if they start. The only way you'd know definitively if there are kidney problems is through a blood test. Dogs and cats on long term metacam are recommended to have a blood test every 6 months but that's not really feasible in a g pig due to risks involved
 
Pigs should never have cod liver oil as they are vegan. I agree with the Glucosamine recommendation, just make sure you get a veggie version (no shellfish). You could also look into water therapy.

As for the Metacam I also agree that a shorter life that is pain free is better than a longer one where they are in pain. My Phoebe is on Metacam for life and if this shortens her life span so be it.
 
thanks all for the replies well i'm now on C.L.O and Rocky is on glucosamine its not very advanced arthritis more stiffness after resting once active he still miss behaves as much as he always does. ill be honest i don't wanna lose him even though eventually he'll go =/
 
maisie has stiffness in her back right leg. she had it for a while and everytime we go to the vets, she has it checked again. last time we went, it was clear to the vet that is was her ankle joint which is very stiff. he showed us how to do physio on it for her which seems to be really helping. he said doing this will mean she won't have to go on meds for it as soon as she would do if we weren't doing the physio.

you could get an appointment and the vet should beable to check all the joints for you and maybe advise physio or metacam to help. it really is making a difference to maisie. her ankle joint is definitely looser since we began the physio. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top