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Suddenly having trouble walking

Doragon

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
May 5, 2015
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Location
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Good morning,

On my way to the emergency vet after my five year old Bramble suddenly is unable to walk properly as of last night. She was completely fine during the day and by evening she’s unable to walk correctly. I haven’t seen her injure herself in anyway, but anything is possible.

Really, really concerned - coincidentally, it’s the exact same leg that Holly was suddenly unable to walk on. Despite tests, we could only assume it was nerve damage before she passed away in April. I know I’m doing everything I can at this moment but I feel awful for her.

Thankfully she’s eating and drinking really well so all I can do is have my fingers crossed!
 
Good morning,

On my way to the emergency vet after my five year old Bramble suddenly is unable to walk properly as of last night. She was completely fine during the day and by evening she’s unable to walk correctly. I haven’t seen her injure herself in anyway, but anything is possible.

Really, really concerned - coincidentally, it’s the exact same leg that Holly was suddenly unable to walk on. Despite tests, we could only assume it was nerve damage before she passed away in April. I know I’m doing everything I can at this moment but I feel awful for her.

Thankfully she’s eating and drinking really well so all I can do is have my fingers crossed!

All the best!

There is a range of issues that can be behind walking issues, so we can't help you in that respect. Please try to keep an open mind as to what it is because of your bad associations. if you are lucky it is just a sprain in one of the joints from the spine down. They are not at all rare in guinea pigs.

Here is our mobility care guide with plenty of helpful advice and practical tips to look after guinea pigs with reduced mobility in the short or longer term: Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility
 
So sorry to hear about your piggy Bramble. Good luck at the vets and keep us updated!
 
She’s just gone in now as an emergency - she’s hobbling around a little, a little lethargic so I’m just sat in the car park now and hopefully will get updates ASAP. Very concerned but I know at the moment doing everything I can! It’s likely an x-ray will be taken at the very least xx
 
A weird one - she’s not repeating signs of discomfort, but she is beginning to walk weirdly. Vet advised not to x-ray at this stage and give her chance to rest and heal. We have metacam for the moment to see if it’s just an injury and go from there as she’s not off her food or anything like that. If in two days she’s still not okay or stops eating, I’ll need to bring her in for a x-ray. Very weird and worried but got to see how this all goes
 
Hopefully it's just a sprain and Bramble recovers quickly. Sending lots of healing wheeks x
 
Well, second update - about to give her back to me and then found her kidney is massively enlarged. They’re keeping her in for scans.
 
After the scan, it was shown that Bramble has a huge mass inside her ovaries. They’re unsure if this is causing the back pain, but they believe it’s a cyst and they’re going to try and drain it to see if the two are related. She’s huge discomfort the poor girl. Getting spoilt rotten and had apparently stolen part of the vet’s salad for lunch though and being a very good patient! Got to wait for another call later.
 
Fingers crossed all goes well. Are they going to find out what the mass may be? And did they mention removing her ovaries? Keep yourself distracted for now.
 
Fingers crossed all goes well. Are they going to find out what the mass may be? And did they mention removing her ovaries? Keep yourself distracted for now.
They’re pretty sure the mass is a cyst and they’re about to attempt draining it. They did mention a spay but as she’s well over five it’s very risky at this point to do. They’re going to attempt draining first to see if it’s causing her back pain before doing something more invasive like surgery. Doing my best to keep myself distracted - animal crossing new horizons, a bath and making my online business orders are keeping me going at the moment! I was meant to post orders out today/tomorrow but thank good my customers have been super nice and understanding. I pushed a few orders back by a few days and explained it was because Bramble was in the vets.
 
They’re pretty sure the mass is a cyst and they’re about to attempt draining it. They did mention a spay but as she’s well over five it’s very risky at this point to do. They’re going to attempt draining first to see if it’s causing her back pain before doing something more invasive like surgery. Doing my best to keep myself distracted - animal crossing new horizons, a bath and making my online business orders are keeping me going at the moment! I was meant to post orders out today/tomorrow but thank good my customers have been super nice and understanding. I pushed a few orders back by a few days and explained it was because Bramble was in the vets.
Go post them now then you can look forward to a cool bath when you get home :)
I think a few people on here have had their sows spayed at an older age.
 
Go post them now then you can look forward to a cool bath when you get home :)
I think a few people on here have had their sows spayed at an older age.
Haha! I need to wash my hair first anyway, I looked like a grease stick at the vets this morning as I didn’t have time to shower :eek: so I’ll wash it super fast and go post orders out. As long as it’s not too risky for her I'll definitely go for iT. For now all I can do is wait for news I guess!
 
Whilst it's not the best news, I'm pleased they found the cause and they can make her more comfortable. Thinking of you both. X
 
Need some thoughts:
I’ve just picked Bramble up. Apparently, when they tried to drain the cyst she moved. They inserted the needle back in to find the cyst gone (she had two, one in each ovary. One was left alone and the other huge one they attempted to drain). They think it’s now drained inside of her, into her ovaries and into her stomach. I need to watch to make sure she doesn’t go off her food due to having a swollen tummy as a side effect. Apparently it’s not “the end of the world” and I need to watch and wait. If she still can’t walk correctly or goes off her food in the next two days, I need to bring her back in as it suggests it’s a different problem entirely. I’ve been given pain relief to give to her orally.

I’m....thoughts? Please?
 
I'm not sure what happens if a cyst drains internally....are they guinea pig savvy? As for the cyst that's 'gone', did it burst? Sorry I'm asing questions rather than answering. I'll let those more knowledgable answer you. How is she doing?
 
I'm not sure what happens if a cyst drains internally....are they guinea pig savvy? As for the cyst that's 'gone', did it burst? Sorry I'm asing questions rather than answering. I'll let those more knowledgable answer you. How is she doing?
They should be cavvy savvy yeah. I’m assuming it burst or drained inside her? All that they said it was ‘gone’. Bramble seems alright, she’s hobbling around a little better. I’m still really worried.
 
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