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Young Guinea Pig With Osteoarthritis

RosieMaia

RosieMaia

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 1, 2016
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Location
Sofia, Bulgaria
Hi there!

My 2.5 year-old board was today diagnosed with osteoarthritis. According to our vet, he's very mildly affected (at the moment), but she did say she noticed tiny osteophytes / bone spurs in the majority of his leg joints. I've noticed his gait has become somewhat wobbly these past couple of days, he avoids putting his weight onto his hind legs and sometimes hops like a bunny. Apart from this, he's perfectly fine and in good spirits. This evening, I was surprised to find him standing up on his hind legs, begging for more pepper. So apparently, he's not in a lot of pain, or at least not all the time.

What we discussed today was that 2.5 years is very early onset for arthritis, and there are probably genetic factors that are playing a role. I was recommended Oxbow join support (which I already ordered), and vegan glucosamine.

Since vegan glucosamine isn't available here, could either of you recommend a brand that's suitable for pigs and that can b ordered online please?

Could any other supplements be helpful to slow down the connective tissue degeneration?

Since he's experiencing pain right now, I am to give him metacam twice daily for a week, and then we will try to take him off it and see how he does. This week, autumn finally arrived here, and it suddenly got very cold and humid, so I think this could have caused a flare, even though he's an indoor piggy.

Has anyone seen arthritis in a pig this young? How quickly did the disease progress? I've cared for an arthritic piggy in the past, but the problem started when he was 8 years old.
 
RosieMaia said:
Hi there!

My 2.5 year-old board was today diagnosed with osteoarthritis. According to our vet, he's very mildly affected (at the moment), but she did say she noticed tiny osteophytes / bone spurs in the majority of his leg joints. I've noticed his gait has become somewhat wobbly these past couple of days, he avoids putting his weight onto his hind legs and sometimes hops like a bunny. Apart from this, he's perfectly fine and in good spirits. This evening, I was surprised to find him standing up on his hind legs, begging for more pepper. So apparently, he's not in a lot of pain, or at least not all the time.

What we discussed today was that 2.5 years is very early onset for arthritis, and there are probably genetic factors that are playing a role. I was recommended Oxbow join support (which I already ordered), and vegan glucosamine.

Since vegan glucosamine isn't available here, could either of you recommend a brand that's suitable for pigs and that can b ordered online please?

Could any other supplements be helpful to slow down the connective tissue degeneration?

Since he's experiencing pain right now, I am to give him metacam twice daily for a week, and then we will try to take him off it and see how he does. This week, autumn finally arrived here, and it suddenly got very cold and humid, so I think this could have caused a flare, even though he's an indoor piggy.

Has anyone seen arthritis in a pig this young? How quickly did the disease progress? I've cared for an arthritic piggy in the past, but the problem started when he was 8 years old.
Click to expand...

Like in humans, arthritis can in thankfully rather rare case affect young guinea pigs. I am sorry that yours is one of them. All you can do is your best; since it is so rare, there is no research but only very scattered individual epxeriences. :(

Can you order microwaveable snugglesafe heat pads in your country? I slide them underneath a cosy for my elderly guinea pigs during cold nights or when they are not well; many of them are arthritic and appreciate the warmth. They last around 10 hours when fully heated, but you can also only heat them partially, so they do not get quite as hot the beginning; you just have to do it more often - it depends on your work schedule.
shopping


Oxbow joint care already contains some glucosamine. You could research glucosamine products for cats; glucosamine is also used to protect the bladder.
 
Thanks, Wiebke, all pigs have a snuggle safe of their own already, and they've been put to good use. :)

The plan is to start him on Oxbow joint support + slowly increasing dose of glucosamine daily until he takes ca. 200 mg per day, and see how well this is tolerated. I forgot to mention that she also said that I could give him flaxseed and nettles once a week, as there is some evidence that they may be helpful for arthritis and inflammation. I'm not sure how to feed the flaxseed - I'm a bit concerned he may choke on it. I see it's already included in the Oxbow tabs, so I think I will only stick to nettles once a week when they're in season.

Do you have experience with any particular brand of vegan glucosamine, possibly liquid? I'll have to order it from the UK/US/Germany (thank god for parcel forwarding companies!) A vegan formulation isn't available here, only shellfish-based products, which I gather aren't suitable for herbivores.
 
Does anyone have experience with deep tissue ultrasound therapy and laser therapy for piggies?

I have access to a human medical-grade deep tissue ultrasound and laser (my mother is an MD and her PhD focused on the effectiveness of electrotherapy, ultrasound and laser physical therapy to certain joint disorders, and she is happy to lend me her old devices she is no longer using, so I can use them with him). She said there's plenty of evidence on the effectiveness of ultrasound and laser therapy on humans with arthritis, and I've done some research today, and it seems they're used also for many animals, rabbits included. Electrotherapy is also quite effective, but I know from personal experience that it can be painful and uncomfortable, so I don't intend to use it. The ultrasound is virtually painless, while the laser is, in my opinion, pleasant and creates a nice warming sensation in the treated area. I'd need to shave him though...

Needless to day, I will discuss any treatment I undertake with our vet at our next appointment, but I wanted to check if anyone has any personal experience or thoughts on the matter.
 
Just an update - Rosie has started losing weight.

He's been thoroughly vet-checked, and there's nothing physically wrong with him other than the arthritis. He doesn't appear to be in pain, and he's also eating and pooping. The only thing that's different about him is that he's a bit reluctant to move, more sleepy and doesn't popcorn/do zoomies any more.

His normal weight is around 1.200 kg, and he's now 1.050 kg, he also appears more bony. I'm syringe-feeding him daily, but this doesn't appear to help at all...

During our original checkup, the vet and I decided it would be best to try and see how he copes without being on metacam for now, because, as with all NSAIDs when used long term, it can cause damage to the stomach and liver. So currently, he's on:
- glucosamine
- Oxbow join support
- a handful of dried nettles for their anti-inflammatory properties

He's inside and has lots of warm cozies to cuddle in, so I'm doing my best to keep him comfortable. He's not showing any obvious signs of being in pain (no teeth chattering, no hunching or roughed-up hair), but I wonder whether I should go back and ask for metacam? Or could the weight loss be explained by muscle loss due to his decreased mobility?

I will be visiting a vet specializing in rehabilitation medicine, so they can show me how to use ultrasound and laser therapy on him, since both are a safe method of pain relief. However, I'm not sure I'd be able to do that - I can't imagine keeping him in one place for 20 minutes at a time, while I'm using an ultrasound transducer on his knee, he's a very jittery pig.

I feel so lost, I really don't know what to do about the situation...
 
Unfortunately, I don't know enough about the treatment to give you any advice. It does sound intriguing, though!
 
I am afraid I don't have any experience of the treatment either. For arthritis I tend to opt for Metacam and glucosamine with heat pads where needed.

I note that you earlier asked about Glucosamine brands that you could buy online, I have used Deva and I think the other brand was Natures Own or Natures Best. Here is a UK Amazon link which shows some UK brands. The dose is usually 125mg a day but I have dosed higher in the past. Any that have MSM or Chondroitin in are not suitable.


As Wiebke has mentioned though, the Oxbow supplement does have Glucosamine and you could also look at cat cystitis treatments like Cystease and Cystophan which you may be able to get from your vet.
 
Ok link doesn't seem to have worked. I can only suggest you look on the Amazon UK site yourself.
 
Hey there,

We're still struggling to maintain Rosie's weight. I've even introduced Emeraid, even though I don't particularly like its ingredients compared to Critical care, but considering that it's higher-calorie than CC, I figured he could use the extra nutrition.

He's eating fine, there's been no decrease in his appetite and wheeks for his veggies all the time. He's also pooping normally. However, the food just seems to go through his body without delivering any nutrients.

I have a dear friend who's an exotics vet. Even though she's working in the UK and hasn't been able to personally see him, she suggested that his arthritis may be making it hard for him to crouch and consume his caecal pellets, and that piggies really like them fresh and may not want them any more once they've been on the ground (so sorry for the yukky mental image). She suggested poo soup with critical care, and told me how I could recognize the caecal pellets he may have been unable to use. So we'll be trying that tonight.

He has another vet appointment this Saturday, and I think I will be asking for metacam even though he appears to be bright and not in pain.

The other alternative my friend suggested is some form of auto-immune condition, which is presenting with a weight-loss and inflamed joints, but if that's the case, it would be something rare and potentially not treatable, so for the time being, I don't want to ponder on that option.

I feel so, so helpless. I love him dearly, and I've had him since he was less than a hundred grams, so he's extra special to me. I desperately want to find a way to help him and to make sure he has a happy and healthy life ahead of him.
 
Bless him :( I hope you can find some answers as to how to help him. I used to have a satin type guinea pig with osteoarthritis, she had it in her back legs and jaw, her teeth never grew properly due to not being able to chew normally so needed lots of dentals.. has he had his teeth and jaw checked?
 
A week ago, yes - his arthritis is mostly in the hind legs and front left paw. Teeth are fine, and so is his jaw.

He really is eating normally, I see him eating hay all the time (and he really is eating, not just staying in the hay box). Plus, with all the additional feedings I've been giving, he really should have been putting on a lot of weight...
 
Excellent, at least the prospect of having to regularly have dentals isnt on the table to complicate things. Hopefully once you can pinpoint the cause it will be easy to manage. Its horrible when they're not well, even worse when you cant figure out why :(
 
Apologies in advance for the disgustingly scatological post ahead - read at your own risk, if you're eating :blink:
______
Rosie is doing much, much better - this morning he was 1150 grams without any Critical care feedings in the past 4 days. :yahoo:

The issue turned out to indeed be his inability to reach and eat his cecal pellets. He's been getting ca. 10 ml of poop mash daily, preferably from what I can identify as cecal pellets, laced with a little bit of ProC for the extra vitamins. He loooves it, especially if I add some raspberry flavoured glucosamine. :vom: This may be just about the most disgusting thing I've ever had to do, and it looks like I'll have to do it daily for the rest of his life. Yet, it seems to be working, so I'm happy :nod:

There's very little information about arthritis potentially affecting the piggy's ability to consume their cecal pellets and effectively causing undernourishment even if the piggy is eating normally, but there is about rabbits, e.g.:

Some older rabbits become less flexible and are unable to bend their backs sufficiently to reach the cecotropes that they pass. Cecotropes, also called 'night feces' or 'soft feces,' are the material resulting from the fermentation of food in a part of the digestive system called the 'cecum.' Cecotropes are nutrient-rich and are passed out of the body, like feces, but are reingested by the animal so the nutrients can be absorbed. By not being able to reach the cecotropes, the cecotropes accumulate on the skin and fur near the anus and possibly cause irritation. In addition, the rabbit may become malnourished since he is missing this important nutrient source. If your rabbit is unable to consume his cecotropes, contact your veterinarian.
Caring For Your Senior Rabbit

Rosie has no impaction, but he appears to not like his cecal pellets once they're out of his body. I'm hoping the info above would be helpful for other piggy owners who have arthritic pigs with unexplained weight loss.

As far as the arthritis and his mobility are concerned, we're thinking that currently he's not in pain, but his hind legs are a little stiff in the joints. We're continuing the herbal/glucosamine therapy in order to hopefully resolve that and maintain the condition subclinical for as long as possible, delaying the moment he becomes dependent on daily metacam. The vet is very happy that he looked bright and feisty during his check-up.
 
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