• 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

Bunny hopping Guinea Pig

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Sharon99

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Messages
30
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Sutton, Surrey
I noticed my 9 month old guinea pig was walking along as what I can only describe as bunny hopping with her back legs. She is still eating and the rest of her behaviour appears normal. I am talking her to the vets this evening if she hasn't improved by the time I get home but wondered if anyone has encountered this problem before.
 
Sharon99 said:
I noticed my 9 month old guinea pig was walking along as what I can only describe as bunny hopping with her back legs. She is still eating and the rest of her behaviour appears normal. I am talking her to the vets this evening if she hasn't improved by the time I get home but wondered if anyone has encountered this problem before.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about pigs, but I don't see it being too much different, but a "bunny hop" gait in dogs can signify hip problems. Is she moving around as normal? Could she have had a fall or anything?

I'd be inclined to take her to the vets this evening, as maybe a trial of pain relief could give you some more insight into whats going on.

Good luck!
 
I first noticed she was bunny hopping in the cage. She has always been a bit of a lazy guinea pig, ie. likes to sleep a lot. I feel inclined to take her to the vet as I know they can go downhill very quickly. I had a guinea pig a few years ago who was doing a similar thing and apparently she had an upset stomach but not sure this is the case with Jessie as she is still eating.
 
My old girl was full of arthritis and she bunny hoped, the vet did an Xray and you could see all the arthritis in the bones.

She lived the rest of her life on pain relief and never lost her appetite due to this condition she was however very sick and the other illness took her in the end unrelated to the Bunny Hopping.
 
Bunny hopping can be a sign of low vit C in the diet, or poor absorption of it. A defiency can cause bleeding in the joints which makes them inflamed. Another possible cause is calcium defiency (or lack of vit D3 for the absorption of calcium) again causing joint problems. Are there any other symptoms? Fluffed up coat or looking ungroomed, arched back, any weightloss?

It will be worth getting the opinion of a cavy savvy vet.

Suzy x
 
No she has no other symptoms, coat is fine, she is a good healthy weight and has a good appetite, ie eats seeds, straw veg and greens.
 
Straw? I hope you meant hay. Straw is not any good for piggies, the structures are harsh on their guts and has too much sugar.

I'm glad to hear that everything else is fine - it could be that the ligaments are a bit tight and will right themselves as the piggy grows. Please let us know what the vet says.

Suzy x
 
Yes sorry I meant hay. Will see how she is when I get home and then decide whether to take her to the vets but will let you know the outcome.

Many thanks for all your advice.
 
I agree that a checkup at the Vets would be a very good idea.

I noticed that you're in Sutton. Lots of us here (myself included) take our guinea pigs to Anne at Goddard Vets in Ewell (just off the Ewell bypass) because she's known for her work with guinea pigs. If you want a good piggy Vet she comes highly recommended. (She only works Mon-Weds though so if you do want to book an appointment I'd call as soon as possible!)
http://www.goddardvetgroup.co.uk/index.php?id=41

Hope you can get your piggy back back to normal soon. Good luck!
 
Hi thanks. Yes I have heard of that vet being good with Guinea Pigs. I would go there but I don't get in from work until 7.00 pm and would be a bit of a rush to get to Ewell. The one I use in Sutton seems quite good with Guinea Pigs, they manged to cure my last two of illnesses so fingers crossed for her, the good thing is she is still eating and wanting food so she has that on her side.
 
Fingers crossed that your usual Vet can help in this case too. Maybe you could keep Goddard Vets in mind, as a backup - it's always worth knowing about good vets in your local area, just in case.

Good luck
 
Hi

Just an update on Jessie. Sorry didn't back sooner but have been unwell myself.

Took her to the vets on Thursday and he had a good look over her and said he could not see anything wrong and to see how she goes and that she probably just a lazy guinea pig that would rather hop along than walk.

I put her out in the garden on Saturday and she was still bunny hopping but last night when I put her out for some exercise she seemed to be walking more. I know she can be a lazy moo so hopefully that is all it was.
 
I've not really heard of guinea pigs bunny hopping out of laziness before but am glad that she's started walking more. Hopefully Jessie's on the mend but I'd definitely keep a close eye on her, just in case.
 
As bunny hopping takes more effort than walking I wouldn't agree. Did your vet ask any questions about diet or history to see if there was a clinical reason?

A recommended cavy savvy vet in your area is Ann from Goddard Veterinary Group‎
150 Kingston Road
Surrey KT17 2ET
020 8393 6049

HTH

Suzy x
 
Yep he asked about her diet which he said was good, he said she was a good weight and in good health and x-ray showed nothing abnormal and there is nothing to worry about. So I am not overly concerned now.
 
Could you pig perhaps be a satin? One of the signs of satinillness (I think you call it OD) is hopping like a bunny. An x-ray could tell if she indeed has satinillness or not.

Healthy pigs don't hop, so I don't agree with your vet, even my old and lazy ladies have never hopped. Perhaps visit a more rodent-specialsed vet in your area?
 
I'd agree with the poster above... it could be a bone problem, or severe Vit C deficiency... either way, your vet is wrong. Guinea Pigs do not hop.
 
Definitely bunny hopping piggies usually have underlying health problems; although I am no expert by any means, I spotted one on a video on here recently posted by a member & mentioned it & sadly I was right (wish I wasn't) & the poor little thing passed away very soon afterwards, I think that was from a vit C deficiency :(
 
Peter Gurney mentions bunny hopping but he was talking about older pigs and reckoned it was a sign of arthritus but I wouldn't expect that in a young pig ( although it's not unheard of in young hoomans so I s'pose it could be the same for piggies).
http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/oldage.htm
My older ones bunny hop but I don't think it's low vit C as they get plenty in their diet and the youngster who's on the same diet doesn't bunny hop. I'll be trying Potter's Tabritis tablets for my oldies, hopefully it well help them if they are starting to get creaky in their old age.
Maybe you could find out if young piggies can suffer from arthritis too if you've already made sure they're getting plenty of Vit C? It's worth discussing it with a cavy savvy vet. Just a thought.
 
I hope she isn't a satin guinea pig.
OD is so painfull and miserable illness.

In Dutch there is a good site to find out if she is Satin,
and info about the Satinilness.

http://www.satijncavia.nl/

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFXmPTPO51k&feature=player_embedded[/ame]
movie about a guineapig with satinilness
 
Last edited:
Peter Gurney mentions bunny hopping but he was talking about older pigs and reckoned it was a sign of arthritus but I wouldn't expect that in a young pig ( although it's not unheard of in young hoomans so I s'pose it could be the same for piggies).
Click to expand...
Arthritus (gah what a word!) could very well happen in old as in young pigs, like it can in old and in young humans. However it's uncommen and often a sign of another more serious illness.

OD/satinillness indeed is terrible, all we can do is give painmeds, keep checking with x-rays and pick out the right moment to say farewell. It stinks really. 8...
 
Just an update on Jessie. She seems to be walking perfectly normally now. So all is good, I knew it was to do with her laziness more than anything else.

Thanks for all your advice guys
 
Good news! :)
Sharon best of luck with her i do hope this hopping doesn't come back again!
Hope to see you around the forum but not in the illness section :)
 
I'm new around here...
some of you have seen my guinea pig DOC on youtube he is quite well known
unfortunately a day before his 4th birthday as my pet birds jumped from their cage, ..Doc got under foot.

I rushed him to emergency and the xrays showed no breaks , no fractures

He began to to do the hop as well.

The xrays showed some arthritis and he has also lost weight recently

Right now he is still healing from being stepped on
and i am healing from feeling guilty

I give him massages 2 times a day and he is on a low dosage of Metacam.

After reading Peter Gurneys notes and book I bought Potters Tabritis from the UK ( I live in the US) and it arrived yesterday. he is already showing improvement.

I am syringe feeding 1/2 a tab in 1.5 ml of water and also
the vet wanted me to take the feces from my younger GP .."wasabi"
and make a fecal cocktail for Doc ...

which I did...though that is one experience I could do without.

He is on Oxbow Cavy and my prayers and hopes are that he will fully recover

my best
jamie
 
My pigs hop sometimes when they're out exploring, move their front legs and hop with the back... not very often though, 1 max 2 hops and all run and walk normally the rest of the time so I guess my pigs are lazy too lol!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top