Guinea pig limping

[lillykitten]

I have noticed that one of my guinea pigs, Alice, seems to have an off and on limp. I first noticed it a few weeks ago, a back leg seemed to be making her walk a little awkward. I checked it over, nothing was visibly wrong nor felt off when I ran my fingers across, and she didn't react when I touched it. I figured she could have pulled a muscle playing, and within a few hours she was walking normally again.

Earlier this week, I noticed her limping, almost hopping, while holding up one of her front paws, wouldn't touch it to the ground. I once again checked it over, and still no signs something was wrong and she expressed no distress upon me touching it. I again thought maybe it could have been rough play, but kept an eye on her. The limp once again went away after a bit.

Now today during floor time, she's limping again, holding up her other front paw this time. I kept thinking before it could be rough play with her cage mates, but this seems to keep happening. I am wondering if this could be a sign of arthritis?

I'm unsure of her exact age, but we got her in may this year. I figure she's around 8-9 months old, maybe a little older. She's very social and energetic, and throughout all of this she has been acting like her normal self, playing, eating and drinking fine. She gets along great with her cagemates, but can play a little rough with them sometimes, which was what kept making me think that could be the cause.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?

 

[LilyandNugget]

You r right 2 suspect that your piggy has arthritis, but it might be something else. I’m thinking that it could also be something called pododermatitis. It happens when your guinea pig’s footpads are overgrown. Try looking at your piggies paws and see if there is anything of abt them. This can cause them to limp, move less and stop eating. I’m not rlly sure y your guinea pig is moving like that so I recommend seeing a vet just to be sure. Hopefully this helps! Good luck!

 

[My Piggies]

Unfortunately it is impossible for us to know what is going. It would be very unusual for an 8-9 month old piggy to develop arthritis. It's a great sign that she is acting her usual self.
Are you weighing weekly? This is usually a good indicator of their health and eating habits. If you notice any significant drops in weight, you should take them to vet.
If you are worried, getting her checked out by a vet can't hurt. All the best

 

[LilyandNugget]

 

[lillykitten]

Unfortunately it is impossible for us to know what is going. It would be very unusual for an 8-9 month old piggy to develop arthritis. It's a great sign that she is acting her usual self.
Are you weighing weekly? This is usually a good indicator of their health and eating habits. If you notice any significant drops in weight, you should take them to vet.
If you are worried, getting her checked out by a vet can't hurt. All the best

Thank you for the advice!

 

[lillykitten]

You r right 2 suspect that your piggy has arthritis, but it might be something else. I’m thinking that it could also be something called pododermatitis. It happens when your guinea pig’s footpads are overgrown. Try looking at your piggies paws and see if there is anything of abt them. This can cause them to limp, move less and stop eating. I’m not rlly sure y your guinea pig is moving like that so I recommend seeing a vet just to be sure. Hopefully this helps! Good luck!

I don't believe it's pododermatitis, I've checked all of her feet and they look good and healthy.

 

[LilyandNugget]

Oh then I’m sry but I’m not sure what it is. Try taking her to the vet

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please have your piggy seen by a vet for a hands on vet check. She is rather too young for it to be arthritis but it is also pretty common for piggies to have sprains.
She may hide any discomfort when examined as that is part of normal prey animal response but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt her - the fact she is holding it up is evidence of an issue . She may well need pain relief.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Please have your piggy vet checked for a potential sprain anywhere on the foot or leg joints right up to the spine. They are pretty common, especially in lively youngsters who are also the most likely to aggravate them again with some injudicious gymnastics.

Your piggy is rather too young for arthritis (young age onset arthritis is thankfully very rare and generally presents with different symptoms).
Bumblefoot (pododermatitis or infection of the skin on the foot) would be noticeable by a localised infected area/open sore on the sole and in more advanced stages, a swelling of the foot. It is much more common in tropical countries where many piggies are kept on wire mesh floors.

Can I ask any new members to please only post in the specially monitored Health/Illness and Pregnancy/Babies/Sexing sections to either contribute a relevant personal experience or otherwise keep it to supportive messages but to please NOT offer any speculative diagnoses.
We have specially designated members and experienced staff to have a look at these section as soon as one of us comes onto the forum, which is UK based. It allows us to offer a high level of ongoing personalised support to anybody. Thank you.

 

[lillykitten]

Hi!

Please have your piggy vet checked for a potential sprain anywhere on the foot or leg joints right up to the spine. They are pretty common, especially in lively youngsters who are also the most likely to aggravate them again with some injudicious gymnastics.

Your piggy is rather too young for arthritis (young age onset arthritis is thankfully very rare and generally presents with different symptoms).
Bumblefoot (pododermatitis or infection of the skin on the foot) would be noticeable by a localised infected area/open sore on the sole and in more advanced stages, a swelling of the foot. It is much more common in tropical countries where many piggies are kept on wire mesh floors.

Can I ask any new members to please only post in the specially monitored Health/Illness and Pregnancy/Babies/Sexing sections to either contribute a relevant personal experience or otherwise keep it to supportive messages but to please NOT offer any speculative diagnoses.
We have specially designated members and experienced staff to have a look at these section as soon as one of us comes onto the forum, which is UK based. It allows us to offer a high level of ongoing personalised support to anybody. Thank you.

Thank you for your response! I'll see about taking her in, I would not be surprised if it could be a sprain. She is very lively and playful with her cagemates, I would not be surprised if there was an accident during a play session.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your response! I'll see about taking her in, I would not be surprised if it could be a sprain. She is very lively and playful with her cagemates, I would not be surprised if there was an accident during a play session.

All it takes is an awkward landing after a jump or popcorn and then landing on the sore joint with full force again. But I can only make an educated guess based on my own experiences. Since the problem is ongoing/recurring, it is worth a vet check.