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Spinal injury

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alcesterpigs

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I am waiting to hear from someone whose pig may have sustained a spinal injury.
In the meantime the following may be of help to others

First of all DO NOT PANIC
The pig will not be in pain.
It is not a good sign if, immediately after the accident, the pig moves away dragging it's back feet which are sole upwards. This almost certainly indicates that the spinal cord has been irreversibly damaged and that the back legs are permamently paralysed. This does not mean that the pig has to be put down.
An xray film should show where the damage is. Typically, you will see that one, or more, of the vertebrae is/are displaced.
In some cases the injury is less severe and of a temporary nature, this is spinal shock. Effectively, the spinal cord has been bruised. Treatment would consist of rest, immobilisation, and a dose of steroid to reduce the swelling/bruising.
Until the exact nature of the damage has been determined the pig should be moved as little as possible in order to prevent further damage.
My second pig sustained an injury as a result of which she was put down. At that time I knew no better.
Since then I have seen a few pigs with spinal damage who adapted to the condition.
In essence, it is no different from a pig which has a mobility problem because of arthritis.
Doubtless, there will be those who advocate immediate euthanasia. I would say that the pig should be given a chance. Death is irreversible, although it does have a 100% cure rate for any condition or illness.
 
Years ago this happened to my young boar Bob and the vet I was with at the time advised euthanasia, since then I've learned more and wish I'd insisted on waiting and having x rays done. One lives and learns. Thanks for the post.
 
Fantastic thread! as you know my pig went through what you are discribing,now he did have to be PTS but only from infections that werent treated correctly.His back DID heal and he was learning to walk again,so i agree that they all should be given a chance
 
I have just spoken to the pig's owner. She has taken her pig to Vedra.
 
Just want to thank AP and Laura for responding to me needing help for Peggy.
Unfortunately Peggy jumped out of my daughters hands a matter of 4" if that and fell awkwardly on the vetbed this morning. Initially she seemed unhurt but shocked, then it became apparent she was dragging her back legs behind her 8...
I quickly decided that we had no alternative but to take her to Vedra's.
Vedra is optimistic it is bruising and swelling, however, time will tell. She and Poppy are staying for at least a week with Vedra. I will be able to phone Vedra every day to get updated. I am just praying she is not permanently damaged, if she is we will love her all the same :)
My poor daughter is absolutely racked with guilt and so upset - these things happen, if it wasn't her, it could of so easily been my hands Peggy jumped out of :(
I am away from tomorrow so will keep all of you posted on her condition later on this week.
 
Sending healing vibes to Peggy and supportive ones to you hun.
 
tattyruncy said:
Just want to thank AP and Laura for responding to me needing help for Peggy.
Unfortunately Peggy jumped out of my daughters hands a matter of 4" if that and fell awkwardly on the vetbed this morning. Initially she seemed unhurt but shocked, then it became apparent she was dragging her back legs behind her 8...
I quickly decided that we had no alternative but to take her to Vedra's.
Vedra is optimistic it is bruising and swelling, however, time will tell. She and Poppy are staying for at least a week with Vedra. I will be able to phone Vedra every day to get updated. I am just praying she is not permanently damaged, if she is we will love her all the same :)
My poor daughter is absolutely racked with guilt and so upset - these things happen, if it wasn't her, it could of so easily been my hands Peggy jumped out of :(
I am away from tomorrow so will keep all of you posted on her condition later on this week.
Click to expand...


Try not to worry, this happened with Pipkin, we took her to the vet and she was given steroid injections to reduce any swelling for 3 days in a row, she is fine now, although it is what made us keep her.
This happened when she was only a couple of months old, she's now 3 years old.:)
 
ahh poor thing i hope shes ok, keep us updated. your poor daughter xx piggies can be so wriggly i nearly dropped rascal last week when he wrigled madly as i was taking him home
 
I'm sorry I was no use medically Mandy, I really feel so much for you as I know just how upset you were over it. These things happen and I don't believe you can prevent them all the time; sometimes you can do everything right and it still happens. I'm feel sure Vedra will have Peggy back on her feet in no time and things will be back to normal when you get her and Poppy back next week. Big *hugs*. xx

P.S. If I get any updates from Mandy through the week she's away I'll pop them on here.
 
AWW Mandy sorry to hear about your gorgeous guineas. At least you can rest knowing they have the best possible care happening there.

You'll have them back soon and I hope it all calms down for you come Christmas. You deserve some relaxing times.
 
In September I took in a little boar with severe spinal bruising.

He had been attacked by the owner's cat in his garden run and they had failed to get him any treatment so when he arrived here a week later he was in a very poor condition. No use of his hind legs at all and severe urine scalds on his hind legs. Coupled with his fungal and mite problem he was poorly.

I kept him in a small indoor cage, changing vet bed twice a day as he couldn't stand to urinate and spot cleaning him several times a day ensured he was always clean. Three weeks of immobilisation, rest and 2 steroid treatments worked wonders. Sadly his "man bits" were also damaged through the attack and he needs further treatment on those.

However, in respect of his spinal damage, he has made a full recovery, runs and walks around as though it never happened and through it all he remained chirpy and vocal! A true testament to the piggy spirit.

So I'm sure given all the care she needs Peggy will also make a full recovery just as Nigel has.

It may be worth asking Vedra about some swimming therapy when she is on the mend. Once Nigel started to be able to stand for a wee and to move about using his back legs I made him a little cloth harness and he had a float in our bath twice a day, he really enjoyed it and it helped with his recovery too. But check with Vedra first.

Let us know how she's doing. :)
 
Peggy is on the mend

I've literally been back home about half an hour. It's been a really hard few days. I phoned Vedra Monday evening and she told me Peggy was showing a little improvement and that she was sure Peggy had a trapped nerve :) She did make me laugh - she said when she put Peggy on her massage stimulating machine (don't know the technical name) :red she said Peggy looked rather astonished as if to say "what on earth :))"
I didn't get chance to phone yesterday with it being father in laws funeral, but knew that Peggy would be just fine in Vedra's care.
My husband phoned Vedra tonight (he is still away) and has just told me Peggy is making a remarkable recovery - she is moving her back legs!! I'm sooooooooooooooo PLEASED :) her legs are still weak. She has been having anti-inflammatory injections. Vedra even said if she continues to improve we could maybe bring her home on Friday or Saturday :) :) :) :) VEDRA IS AN ABSOLUTE ANGEL xxxxxxxxxx
 
That's wonderful news! I'm so happy for you and Peggy!

I'm so glad you knew where to take her and knew there was a chance. I would probably just have taken the piggie to the vet and gotten the answer that they couldn't do anything except have her PTS. It's things like this that really make me realise how important it is to learn about your pet!
 
That's excellent news! I'm so happy for you and Peggy :)

To add to what AP has said so far: some people have devised a cart for guinea pigs who have lost the ability to move their hind legs that supports their back end and allows them to move around. It is essentially a cut-up flip-flop with wheels and straps on it, padded to keep the guinea pig snug and comfortable.
 
Truly fantastic news - what a good girl Peggy is for recovering so well! Have to agree fully with what you said about Vedra, I'd be lost without her. The pigs would be too. :))
 
I did make a cart but the pigs seemed to get around better without assistance.
 
Glad she is on the mend! and it can so easily happen to anyone when they are being wriggly!
 
As our friend would say, good morning, Mandy. That is really excellent news. I am so pleased for you that Peggy is well on the road to recovery.
 
She's home :) I am absolutely over the moon :) When I took her and Poppy out of the carrier and put Peggy down in the run she ran around the run like nothing had ever been wrong, just cried with joy and sat on the stairs just watching them for ages eating and snuggling up together. I love them both to bits, I didn't realise how much :) Peggy is just on childrens nurofen now for a couple of weeks.
Hopefully no more stress for a while and everything back to normal, whatever normal is :)) I'm just glad to have my lovely girls home, that makes my christmas, don't need nothing else :)
 
OH that's beautiful. I'm SO pleased for you I could cry.

What a wonderful result. Thank heavens she's okay and you too.

:) great result.
 
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