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Can a guinea pig who is struggling to move there back legs have a happy life?

Guineapiglover!

Guineapiglover!

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About a week ago my guinea pig silky started having trouble with pushing her poos all the way out for about 4 days we left her to get better by herself but we noticed there was blood in her wee. We started to give her metacam ( a painkiller and anti-inflammatory) this was minutely helping but on Wednesday I started to notice she was struggling on her back legs and by Thursday she was only able to wriggle them when moving. That evening we took her to the vets. They said so long as she is eating and happy there was no need to put her down but if she stopped eating and was in pain we would have to put her down.
The vet told us that the three reasons this may have caused this were: a growth pressing on her nerve, a stroke or that she had twisted herself into an awkward position damaging her spine. At the moment we have separated her into a smaller area of the cage away from our other guinea pig. We have made sure there is nothing for her to snap her feet on for she is struggling to feel her feet.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve her quality of life however small it may be we would be very grateful to hear them
Thank you
GuineaPigLover
 
I’d say that she just needs some enrichment toys for her front legs. Just keep her occupied and she’ll be happy. Or, you could make a little thing with wheels so that she can move. I used to have a dog with that, and it could play around just fine.
549512BE-AEE2-4D59-B73B-D52B1E192D24.webp
 
Thanks for your replys. She is currently on the grass with her bestie filling munching on grass. I have looked in on bying a special wheelchair for her but the costs are very high so I will look into making one. and in answer to your question Jaycey she is called silky for she is has a silky coat but at the moment she is a bit of a satin :)
 
Does any one have a link to a website where I could either find a wheelchair or something to keep her occupied
 
Guineapiglover! said:
About a week ago my guinea pig silky started having trouble with pushing her poos all the way out for about 4 days we left her to get better by herself but we noticed there was blood in her wee. We started to give her metacam ( a painkiller and anti-inflammatory) this was minutely helping but on Wednesday I started to notice she was struggling on her back legs and by Thursday she was only able to wriggle them when moving. That evening we took her to the vets. They said so long as she is eating and happy there was no need to put her down but if she stopped eating and was in pain we would have to put her down.
The vet told us that the three reasons this may have caused this were: a growth pressing on her nerve, a stroke or that she had twisted herself into an awkward position damaging her spine. At the moment we have separated her into a smaller area of the cage away from our other guinea pig. We have made sure there is nothing for her to snap her feet on for she is struggling to feel her feet.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to improve her quality of life however small it may be we would be very grateful to hear them
Thank you
GuineaPigLover
Click to expand...

Hi!

What you need to do with a guinea pigs whose mobility is impacted:
- change the bedding in the area is staying 1-3 times daily to keep it fresh and dry

- gently wash the bum with baby warm water as your guinea pig can't clean their genitalia for itself anymore
Please also check for fly strike (flesh eating maggots) daily as any guinea pigs that struggle to clean themselves are at increased risk, even indoors. Fly Strike

- check the underside of the feet (foot pads) daily. This includes the weight bearing front legs as guinea pigs that have lost use of their back legs can no longer take the weight off. Bumblefoot (foot infection) is often a secondary complication. Gently soak them in water if poos are stuck to the feet.
Guinea Lynx :: Pododermatitis
Guinea Lynx :: Pododermatitis Links

- place hay, water, pellets and veg very close by and refresh regularly. Weigh daily at the same time (like before their dinner) in order to monitor the food intake. If necessary, top up with support feed.
With my Nerys I only used a spoon for this and not a syringe as usual, so it was entirely up to her how much she was eating - this to prevent falling into the support trap and keeping her going for longer than she would like, especially during the crisis days when it was very touch and go. The moment she would stop eating, I would have had her pts/euthanised during the weeks she was suffering from back leg paralysis issues.
DSCN3379.webp
(Nerys is on the right. There is no water bottle as she would be drinking water from a syringe several times a day at this stage. Once she was better and that bit brighter and mobile, she would have one just by the cave.)

As long as guinea pigs is eating, it still has the will and enough quality of life to live.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

As to wheelchair support:
Please be aware that this is mostly a showy gimmick!

PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME with any guinea pigs that are not stable/are still deteriorating/are not properly diagnosed (liked yours!). You can very easily make things a lot worse rather than help and cause REAL pain/pressure sores and cramps with some badly done and not professionally adjusted DIY jobby! Especially DO NOT DO IT with a twisted spine/body!

There is one video of a wheelchair piggy making the rounds. What most people don't do know is the conditions this poor piggy was kept in and that it only lived for about 10 days after the video was taken. :(:(:(
It takes A LOT of technical know-how and exact knowledge of the body to fit an animal wheelchair properly. As any amputee how much effort goes into fitting an artificial support properly!
 
I worry about a prey animal not being able to move. Does this mean they feel constant anxiety and stress? Are they getting sore from urine scald? The biggest question you need to ask yourself is 'does she have a life worth living'? This is something I feel very strongly about and I use this question to assess whether I carry on or not with any pet.
 
I would ask for pain relief, as it's possible that if she has a pinched nerve that she is feeling pain (similar to sciatica in humans- it hurts!) It's possible if it is a nerve injury that she will improve over time (the central nervous system does not regenerate, but peripheral nerves may, although it can take months to see improvement.) You've been given good advice about keeping her clean/dry, etc., as she will be more likely to lay in urine than a guinea pig up on all four feet. I wish her all the best!
 
I have removed the instructions for the DIY wheelchair, this should not be attempted at all. More harm than good may come of this

I am sorry you are in this position, but you do have a unenviable difficult choice to make if she does not recover quickly. You are going to be ultra on top hygiene wise to avoid urine scalds, I would strongly suggest you see a cavy expert, if you are anywhere near northampton then Simon or Kim Maddock at the Cta & rabbit Clinc would be ideal. You really need to get a time frame on this, quality of life is so important I know it is hard but their quality of life is key to all decisions. A wheelchair would not be the answer.
 
If she is a satin then they are more prone to osteodystrophy, which needs to be diagnosed by xray.

To determine whether she has any chance of getting better either through medication or "physiotherapy" you'd need to find out exactly what is wrong. Which you'll need an xray and/or scan for.

Monitoring quality of life is very important. I've had a couple of pigs lose the ability to move their back legs and in both instances I made different choices on whether to pts or not because of their life quality.
 
Jaycey said:
If she is a satin then they are more prone to osteodystrophy, which needs to be diagnosed by xray.

To determine whether she has any chance of getting better either through medication or "physiotherapy" you'd need to find out exactly what is wrong. Which you'll need an xray and/or scan for.

Monitoring quality of life is very important. I've had a couple of pigs lose the ability to move their back legs and in both instances I made different choices on whether to pts or not because of their life quality.
Click to expand...
Silky is a self guinea pig I think
 
Thanks Wheekallweek for the comment about her coat although we have to thoroughly wash her back end twice a day to get any urine off. Due to the urine however she has developed a small bald spot but this is helping to reduce the amount of times we need to wash her. So overall at the moment she is ok.
Thank you for all of your support.
 
Update:
Silky is still struggling on her back legs and at the moment she has a urine infection so we are giving antibiotics and pain killer for it is causing her some pain.
Thanks again for all your support:yahoo:
 
like your piggie . Cocoa mine has no use in her back legs. She still has feelings but cos of her illness her brain and legs not gettin on.
She drags herself around which is heartbreaking to see but she does and gets to where the others are and away from them.
We bath her personal bits everyone day takes 5 mins and she's well happy also this gives us a chance to see if she's in any discomfort. Nope .
Our support to Silky from Cocoa. 20180704_225637.webp
 
sport_billy said:
I have removed the instructions for the DIY wheelchair, this should not be attempted at all. More harm than good may come of this

I am sorry you are in this position, but you do have a unenviable difficult choice to make if she does not recover quickly. You are going to be ultra on top hygiene wise to avoid urine scalds, I would strongly suggest you see a cavy expert, if you are anywhere near northampton then Simon or Kim Maddock at the Cta & rabbit Clinc would be ideal. You really need to get a time frame on this, quality of life is so important I know it is hard but their quality of life is key to all decisions. A wheelchair would not be the answer.
Click to expand...

I have a pig who the vet said may have been born with a congenital disease. I've seen 4 different exotic vets who all said a wheelchair is worth a try so I'm not sure why you're implying wheelchairs are awful. My regular vet said wheelchairs are hit or miss but can work. My dad is even building her a custom chair to fot her exactly. Do you have sources?
 
Lindsey7618 said:
I have a pig who the vet said may have been born with a congenital disease. I've seen 4 different exotic vets who all said a wheelchair is worth a try so I'm not sure why you're implying wheelchairs are awful. My regular vet said wheelchairs are hit or miss but can work. My dad is even building her a custom chair to fot her exactly. Do you have sources?
Click to expand...
Hello
Been a while since I replied to this thread
Cocoa delt with no use of her back legs well and I made sure her quality of life was for her.
 
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