Vet’s stumped on guinea pig stretching

[BellaRose19]

Hi,
I am having a bit of a conundrum with a little guinea of mine and her elongating herself showing discomfort/pain.
She was doing this when I first brought her home, aged 8 weeks. I thought she just liked stretching herself out - looking like she was chilling out like we all do on holidays! However a few weeks later, I started to get suspicious as she was firmly biting me when I was handling her and whenever I put her back she would stretch out like this and looks like she is trying to level up her back. She looked really uncomfortable and does whenever I handle her (even when just lifting her out of her home) and I wondered if this is because her back isn’t fully straight when holding her - I am not a level person!
I took her to the vet who couldn’t find anything wrong organ wise, no lumps etc. But she really squealed out loud and tried to get away when the vet put some pressure on her spinal area just below the bottom of her ribcage in the middle of her back.
She couldn’t be sure what it was, so we started to treat her as if she had vitamin C deficiency as she also seems to have continual dandruff which you only see when ruffling her fur - it doesn’t show on the surface of her coat. I treat her regularly with mange drops and she has more than enough vitamin C each day with the range of fresh foods I give her - she especially likes her tomatoes!
Her coat is lovely and soft and shiny. So I am also confused as to why she has dandruff all the time.
Even with the extra vitamin C, she continued doing the elongation and in the last few months has also started to curl herself up with her back paws stretched right out and her upper body twisted slightly laying at an angle on her blanket - either propping head up or laying with it slightly downwards. It’s like she’s trying to find some sort of comfortable posture.
A few months after being with me she started to have what I thought were absences. But now I am not so sure as they tend to be after she has stretched up to me when I am bringing her fresh food, propped herself up on the food bowl, leaning down into the bowl or when she has jumped down. She stops what she is doing, bit like frozen, then after a few seconds carries on as normal. The vet believes she does this when she gets a sudden pain in the back/spine and so keeping still for a bit eases it.
She does like me giving her back a little massage where the pain is, but not for long and it does seem to ease her.
I have been giving her paracetamol and metacam, under vets directions, but it isn’t really making much difference. She still does all the postures, stretching and “freezing”.
Do any of you have any ideas on what this may be all about and if there is anything you would recommend I try which I haven’t tried already?
Sorry for the length! I hope the pictures of her help to show what I mean.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Has she been x rayed at all?

What dosage of the painkillers is she on?

I would also add that all fruit including tomatoes should not be in the diet due to the sugars, and in the case of tomatoes, the acidity. It can risk a potentially fatal lip condition called Cheilitis.

Has her skin been checked for parasites?
We never recommend regular mange/parasite treatment.
Parasite treatments should only be done as part is the correct length course when there is a diagnosed parasite infestation, and then stopped
Overuse and continual use of ivermectin based products can cause resistance meaning if there is an infestation then the treatment may not work at all.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

How hot is it where you are and has your vet considered skeletal (spine) or neurological issues, especially if she has a defined painful spot? Does she still have full normal movement?

'Pancaking' on the floor is not normally associated with pain but it is listed as a warning sign of heat exhaustion or stroke, which can also impact on the digestive system - but so can an issue in the spine and any pain can easily radiate into the gut, which lies just underneath and is much larger and longer than that in humans or predatory pets.

 

[Merab]

I can’t advise but want to offer my support

 

[BellaRose19]

Has she been x rayed at all?

What dosage of the painkillers is she on?

I would also add that all fruit including tomatoes should not be in the diet due to the sugars, and in the case of tomatoes, the acidity. It can risk a potentially fatal lip condition called Cheilitis.

Has her skin been checked for parasites?
We never recommend regular mange/parasite treatment.
Parasite treatments should only be done as part is the correct length course when there is a diagnosed parasite infestation, and then stopped
Overuse and continual use of ivermectin based products can cause resistance meaning if there is an infestation then the treatment may not work at all.

She has been checked a few times in the last month for parasites, mange etc - by vets and my myself.

I did her most recent one last week because I had another who lives close to her who had them and I also got rid of the hay I had been using to cover all tracks so to speak. You can only see the dandruff on her when you fluff her fur, it doesn’t show on the top.



I have been wondering if an x-ray is the next course of action. I don’t want to give her pain relief unnecessarily but I also can’t leave what this is - having given the increase in vitamin C a chance and it hasn’t made any noticeable changes. She has been on the dose directed by vets: 0.4ml once a day; paracetamol 0.3ml once a day.



She is fully active, alert and interacts all the time with the others - especially a guinea called Patch who she adores and always has time for.



I have had a guinea in the past who had Cheilitis, he was treated and lived another 3 years, so as a result I regularly check all the guineas lips and mouth. She isn’t showing any of that, it’s half a cherry tomato she has, she doesn’t like any other fruits.



The vet did a complete check on her and couldn’t find anything. It’s why by the vet and I are leaning towards it being something to do with her spine - like a disc between her bones not being big enough, slightly bent spine or weaker muscle in the area she has pain.

Would an x-ray show it all it may be though?

The vets who have assessed her are a guinea pig specialist and the one who does the acupuncture for my others’ arthritis. She wouldn’t let him put a needle in her, not sure if uncomfortable, fear or general dislike of it. I can understand her with all of them!

 

[BellaRose19]

I can’t advise but want to offer my support

Thank you. She means the world to me, to me and all the other guineas in the family.

 

[BellaRose19]

Hi

How hot is it where you are and has your vet considered skeletal (spine) or neurological issues, especially if she has a defined painful spot? Does she still have full normal movement?

'Pancaking' on the floor is not normally associated with pain but it is listed as a warning sign of heat exhaustion or stroke, which can also impact on the digestive system - but so can an issue in the spine and any pain can easily radiate into the gut, which lies just underneath and is much larger and longer than that in humans or predatory pets.

It hasn’t been too hot this summer, no higher than 24C indoors where I keep them. It has dropped a couple of degrees this week, down to 21-22C, hopefully no more heatwaves!

I do always put iced bottles in with a flannel around them when it is above 22C, but I don’t put the flannel around hers too tightly so she can remove it if she wants - which she does most of the time to lay directly against the bottle. She lays out as is shown in the pictures when she does it.

She definitely feels the heat more than any of my others so I also keep a cool pad in her cage and a small towel which she loves being on. But I think the heat exacerbates it rather than causes it as she was doing this when I brought her home in February. Doing it the same amount of time as now.

I get the impression it is a defined painful spot due to how she reacted when the vets did a full physical. She was affected by it when the vet pressed in that area, she didn’t react in any other. I could see it hurt her for a bit afterwards - but otherwise she walks, jumps and runs normally. She is speedy!

No obvious signs of a stroke.

Her digestive system is working normally, she acts normally when going to the loo too. So I am thinking on the lines of it being something that flares up every now and then and so she rests it, or if it shows up when she has exerted herself or bent over too much when she’s eating from her dry food bowl.

I wish we spoke the same language as them, can help them sooner.

 

[BellaRose19]

These are photos of her right now. I’m not sure if she has the right posture of her back and neck all the time - there doesn’t look as smooth a line, but I may be wrong. Curvature of the spine?

Her spine does also show more than the others, but then that may just me thinking it and comparing her to her housemate and boyfriend. What do you think?

 

[Wiebke]

It hasn’t been too hot this summer, no higher than 24C indoors where I keep them. It has dropped a couple of degrees this week, down to 21-22C, hopefully no more heatwaves!

I do always put iced bottles in with a flannel around them when it is above 22C, but I don’t put the flannel around hers too tightly so she can remove it if she wants - which she does most of the time to lay directly against the bottle. She lays out as is shown in the pictures when she does it.

She definitely feels the heat more than any of my others so I also keep a cool pad in her cage and a small towel which she loves being on. But I think the heat exacerbates it rather than causes it as she was doing this when I brought her home in February. Doing it the same amount of time as now.

I get the impression it is a defined painful spot due to how she reacted when the vets did a full physical. She was affected by it when the vet pressed in that area, she didn’t react in any other. I could see it hurt her for a bit afterwards - but otherwise she walks, jumps and runs normally. She is speedy!

No obvious signs of a stroke.

Her digestive system is working normally, she acts normally when going to the loo too. So I am thinking on the lines of it being something that flares up every now and then and so she rests it, or if it shows up when she has exerted herself or bent over too much when she’s eating from her dry food bowl.

I wish we spoke the same language as them, can help them sooner.

Hi

If it was something like trapped nerve or a loose disc etc. it would not necessarily show and there wouldn't be anything that could be done for a guinea pig apart from painkillers. There have been great advances in recent years but this is still a bit too far out when it comes to small animals.

I would discuss with your vet whether you could have some painkillers/anti-inflammatories like metacam for the times she is affected by it?

 

[Claire W]

I’m afraid I have no practical advice but I hope she’s ok and you get some answers soon x

 

[AidaB]

Our rainbow boy Hamish had what the vet described as muscular pain at the base of his spine, he never had an x-ray, but was on pain relief twice daily, for the rest of his life, and a lot happier with the pain relief.

He would react when the vet pushed near his spine when giving him a health check.


He used to sleep in some very uncomfortable looking positions.


I hope your girl feels better with pain relief.

 

[BellaRose19]

Adorable guinea
He is sitting very similarly to how Willow is a lot of the time. All the more convinced it is her spine.
This is how she lays just after she’s been cuddled for a bit or just after running and pop-corning. She does twist most of herself round like your little piggie. Difficult to decipher if it’s bones, nerves, muscle or what.

 

[BellaRose19]

Has she been x rayed at all?

What dosage of the painkillers is she on?

I would also add that all fruit including tomatoes should not be in the diet due to the sugars, and in the case of tomatoes, the acidity. It can risk a potentially fatal lip condition called Cheilitis.

Has her skin been checked for parasites?
We never recommend regular mange/parasite treatment.
Parasite treatments should only be done as part is the correct length course when there is a diagnosed parasite infestation, and then stopped
Overuse and continual use of ivermectin based products can cause resistance meaning if there is an infestation then the treatment may not work at all.

This is how she lays on her blanket, same when on a towel. Twisted, head propped up slightly and back paws elongated. Other times she’s curled up in a tight crescent shape and even then she keeps her back legs stretched out and feet almost touching together. She does this even when she has had pain relief, there are no obvious improvements with the pain reliefs.
I shall get her in to the vets this week, ask them to do an x-ray.
I once had a guinea pig who was born with a bendy, flexible spine. It hadn’t fused properly but she also came out her mum the wrong way - back first. But as she aged it firmed up and strengthened. Specialist guinea vet diagnosed it. She had pain relief and it worked for her. I can’t recall though how long it took for her spine to “normalise”. Willow is only 10-11 months old.

 

[BellaRose19]

Our rainbow boy Hamish had what the vet described as muscular pain at the base of his spine, he never had an x-ray, but was on pain relief twice daily, for the rest of his life, and a lot happier with the pain relief.

He would react when the vet pushed near his spine when giving him a health check.


He used to sleep in some very uncomfortable looking positions.
View attachment 274788

I hope your girl feels better with pain relief.

Apologies, my reply wasn’t tagged to your post. Hamish adorable, lovely name.
My reply is post #12. Thank you so much for sharing and your advice