Guinea pig paralysis

[corvidae]

Hello,
My beloved 6-year-old guinea pig, Lola, suddenly developed paralysis in her hind legs. She seemed fine the previous evening, but I found her floppy in the morning. She is able to move her hind legs weakly, but cannot walk, and does not respond if I squeeze them gently. The soonest vet appointment was for the next day, so I am trying to keep her comfortable until then. She is still eating timothy hay flower heads if I hand them to her, and I'm providing water + critical care via syringe. I set her up in a comfy nest of blankets and she hasn't moved from there since. She keeps laying her head down and then lifting it up again every few seconds, as though she can't get comfortable. I want to give her some meloxicam, but I'm not sure whether I should be giving her meds until she has seen the vet (16 hours from now).
She also has ovarian cysts and just got over a probable UTI but was otherwise healthy. She had just got stabilized back up to her "normal" weight of 940 g after a dip during he UTI (last weighed 3 days ago), but was 840 this morning. She's only pooped twice in the last 8 hours despite the critical care and hay going into her.

Do you think it should be safe for me to give her a dose of metacam, or should I wait for a vet to see her, in case she has some problem that the meds would make worse? I took her to the park yesterday to eat grass, and am terrified that she could have been poisoned by something on the grass. I just want to make her as comfortable as possible so that she can rest through the night (or should I be feeding her through the night?).

Grateful for any advice!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

I am very sorry. There is quite a range of issues that can cause back leg paralysis, not just a sudden drop in calcium.
Thankfully, very often the paralysis will more gradually revert partially or fully (depending on what has been causing it).
Please make sure that your piggy has access to hay and offer water regularly by syringe (without forcing any down) from where they are lying. Please change the bedding in the area twice daily and clean/check the undercarriage and the underside of all paws daily; a gentle wash with a soft rag dipped in some baby warm water will usually do the trick.
More practical care tips and information for guinea pigs with loss of mobility are in this guide link here, which you may find very helpful: Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

All the best for your vet trip. I hope that it is one of these issues that reverts again in due time.

 

[corvidae]

Thank you very much for the advice, that is very helpful!
Keeping all my fingers crossed that this is something she can recover from.

 

[weepweeps]

Poor Lola. Good luck at the vets.

 

[weepweeps]

I’d ring the vets and ask them about the metacam. I’m sure it would be ok. She’d need a slightly lower dose given as she’s lost weight.

 

[corvidae]

Thank you!
We just returned from the vet. Lola got X-rays, which the vet said looked good other than a bit of arthritis developing in her knees. She couldn't see anything wrong with the spine, so she said she suspected it was neurological and there wasn't much to do except support her and hope for improvement. She prescribed a 2 week course of metacam. The vet hadn't heard of calcium being used, she said we could try it if we wanted, but should be careful about causing a kidney problem. Lola still can't walk, but seems to be a bit brighter, and is pooping much better and back to 890 g. She didn't respond to any of the vet's stimuli pinching her feet or dragging her feet, but she flinched when I tickled her foot with hay this morning, so I think she seems to have at least some feeling there. She can pull her leg back in to place when I pull it out, so she can still move her legs, she just can't stand/walk.

Fingers crossed that she can get some mobility back!

 

[weepweeps]

Sending healing vibes Lola’s way.

I hope she continues to improve.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you!
We just returned from the vet. Lola got X-rays, which the vet said looked good other than a bit of arthritis developing in her knees. She couldn't see anything wrong with the spine, so she said she suspected it was neurological and there wasn't much to do except support her and hope for improvement. She prescribed a 2 week course of metacam. The vet hadn't heard of calcium being used, she said we could try it if we wanted, but should be careful about causing a kidney problem. Lola still can't walk, but seems to be a bit brighter, and is pooping much better and back to 890 g. She didn't respond to any of the vet's stimuli pinching her feet or dragging her feet, but she flinched when I tickled her foot with hay this morning, so I think she seems to have at least some feeling there. She can pull her leg back in to place when I pull it out, so she can still move her legs, she just can't stand/walk.

Fingers crossed that she can get some mobility back!

Fingers firmly crossed! The recovery process is much slower than the onset but she will hopefully get mobile to a good extent again.

 

[corvidae]

Thank you both for the support!

 

[corvidae]

Very pleased to report that Lola regained the use of her legs and is now back to walking and even running! On day 2 she could take a few wobbly steps (flopping her legs and with her feet upside down such that she was standing on the tops of her feet...) if I supported her weight with my hands below her belly, and she could push with her legs to climb into my lap. On the morning of day 3 she got up and walked on her own - a little clumsily. On day 4 she could run, though her gait was a little different with some rabbit-like hops rather than one-leg-after-the-other strides. Now she is walking all over the room as she did before. She is doesn't squeak or seem to get as excited as she used to at breakfast, and doesn't eat hay as vigorously as she did before, so I think she is still in some discomfort, but I'm so grateful that she recovered and hope that with more time and the Metacam she can feel back to normal soon.

 

[piggl]

Very pleased to report that Lola regained the use of her legs and is now back to walking and even running! On day 2 she could take a few wobbly steps (flopping her legs and with her feet upside down such that she was standing on the tops of her feet...) if I supported her weight with my hands below her belly, and she could push with her legs to climb into my lap. On the morning of day 3 she got up and walked on her own - a little clumsily. On day 4 she could run, though her gait was a little different with some rabbit-like hops rather than one-leg-after-the-other strides. Now she is walking all over the room as she did before. She is doesn't squeak or seem to get as excited as she used to at breakfast, and doesn't eat hay as vigorously as she did before, so I think she is still in some discomfort, but I'm so grateful that she recovered and hope that with more time and the Metacam she can feel back to normal soon.

I am so glad to hear that, it has made my day. May Lola have many more happy days

 

[Seven7]

Great news!
Did she just pull her muscle?

 

[VickiA]

That is wonderful news

 

[corvidae]

I am so glad to hear that, it has made my day. May Lola have many more happy days

That is wonderful news

Thank you!

Great news!
Did she just pull her muscle?

Thank you!
No idea - the vet thought that it was something neurological. Whatever it was, she was acting like she couldn't use them at all at first - she would start walking with her front half, and then give up and flop down when her back half didn't follow. Holding her was like holding a rag doll - not making any effort to grip or balance herself as she usually would. Whatever happened, I'm so glad it was temporary!

 

[Free Ranger]

Old George had arthritis in his knees and had 'oxbow joint support' for the glucosamine which really helped his mobility. It took about 2 weeks on it to see any difference but after 4 weeks he was a different pig - much more mobile. I wonder if they would be worth a try for your girl?

 

[corvidae]

Old George had arthritis in his knees and had 'oxbow joint support' for the glucosamine which really helped his mobility. It took about 2 weeks on it to see any difference but after 4 weeks he was a different pig - much more mobile. I wonder if they would be worth a try for your girl?

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try! Apart from the arthritis in the knees that the vet saw in the X-ray, I've noticed a decrease in her ankle flexibility over the last month or so. Did you give it to George every day?

 

[Seven7]

My Finn is 7 years old this year, and I am interested to know more about arthritis in GP. My Finn still popcorns and runs around everywhere, but I still would like to be informed about it.

 

[Free Ranger]

Did you give it to George every day?

George had one a day. Each one contains 90mg glucosamine. George got stiff knees when he was 3 1/2 and 1.4 kilo. I just thought he liked lying around! We only started with these because we inherited half a bag but after 2 weeks he really seemed a bit more mobile and after a month there was a clear improvement. He was now 1.3 kilo which was a bit scary at first but he stayed at that for the next 2 years. He was burning off that extra 100g by trotting about

George thought these biccies were delish and that I was giving him a little treat. He came up to get it after his morning veggies. His friend Louise followed him because she also liked them and was sad to be missing out, but they're not cheap so she just got half a one... they're quite easy to snap in two. Contrary Flora wouldn't touch them but when we invested in a bag of the urinary support version (half the glucosamine but different things in it) she liked those a lot. The girls didn't have anything wrong with their joints or their bladders but they just looked so downcast when he got his biscuit that I couldn't have them missing out.

When George got his bladder stones and infections at the end of his life his appetite dropped off during his antibiotic treatments so I would soak these and mix them in with his CC. He still liked the taste x

 

[Wheekallweek]

Great news she's able to walk again! Cystease capsules for cats are also a good one to try. I mixed one capsule with two ml of water, then gave 1ml of the solution a day (so one capsule lasts you two days)
Larry seemed to love it!

 

[Free Ranger]

Larry seemed to love it!

There's no accounting for taste! Vet Simon told me gabapentin painkiller is chicken flavoured because it's designed for cats - not so popular for pigs. There's a non-chicken flavoured 'sweet' version but apparently that's even less popular so chicken flavour is what they stock!

 

[Wheekallweek]

There's no accounting for taste! Vet Simon told me gabapentin painkiller is chicken flavoured because it's designed for cats - not so popular for pigs. There's a non-chicken flavoured 'sweet' version but apparently that's even less popular so chicken flavour is what they stock!

My rabbit Miley has had tramadol for dogs in the past. It was tablets crushed up in water, the tablets were for dogs... they were chicken flavour too.

Miley loved it

 

[Deleted member 152833]

Wow, we have scarily similar situations, but i'm very glad you and Lola were able to sort it out!

 

[corvidae]

George had one a day. Each one contains 90mg glucosamine. George got stiff knees when he was 3 1/2 and 1.4 kilo. I just thought he liked lying around! We only started with these because we inherited half a bag but after 2 weeks he really seemed a bit more mobile and after a month there was a clear improvement. He was now 1.3 kilo which was a bit scary at first but he stayed at that for the next 2 years. He was burning off that extra 100g by trotting about

George thought these biccies were delish and that I was giving him a little treat. He came up to get it after his morning veggies. His friend Louise followed him because she also liked them and was sad to be missing out, but they're not cheap so she just got half a one... they're quite easy to snap in two. Contrary Flora wouldn't touch them but when we invested in a bag of the urinary support version (half the glucosamine but different things in it) she liked those a lot. The girls didn't have anything wrong with their joints or their bladders but they just looked so downcast when he got his biscuit that I couldn't have them missing out.

When George got his bladder stones and infections at the end of his life his appetite dropped off during his antibiotic treatments so I would soak these and mix them in with his CC. He still liked the taste x

Thanks for the recommendations! I started giving her the joint support a couple days ago and she seemed to really like it. I had been giving her the vitamin C oxbow tabs before that, which she had grown bored of and recently had been refusing to touch. All the tabs smell the same to me, interesting that they have such strong preferences!

 

[corvidae]

Wow, we have scarily similar situations, but i'm very glad you and Lola were able to sort it out!

Thanks, I hope that your similar situation also has a good outcome! It was definitely scary.

Lola is now walking/running around as well as or even better than before. She seems bright and has been squeaking loudly - yesterday she squeaked louder than I had heard her squeak in a long time. Not sure whether its the metacam, her renewed mobility, the glucosamine, or something else, but she has been in a great mood today.

 

[corvidae]

After recovering from her paralysis episode, Lola has had four more episodes of paralysis in the last 5 months (the latest is today).

In each episode, my first hint is that she does not come down the hallway to greet me in the morning, and then I find her huddled somewhere unable to walk. I never find her in her sleeping spot which I find strange, meaning she is able to get out of "bed" in the morning/night, walks somewhere, and then loses mobility before I get up. She usually gets up before me and then calls me to feed her. There is never any indication of impending problems when I say goodnight to her, it seems to happen very suddenly in the night or early morning. In each episode, her hind legs are floppy - when I call her she stretches out towards me as far as she can and seems like she is trying to walk but her legs won't follow. I don't think they are completely paralyzed because if I stretch her legs out, she can weakly retract them, but she is wobbly and lets her legs stay in awkward random positions without correcting her posture (for example, she can pulling herself forward with her front limbs while her feet drag behind, but she then stays with her feet together and upside down - so loss of proprioception, or mobility, or both). She isn't pooping as much but she still is pooping (~4/hour), although sometimes they are smaller and with mucous that connects some of them in a string-of-pearls. She is still eating hay and I step in with syringe feeding critical care and water. Her abdomen doesn't feel bloated to me - it feels soft and emptier than usual. It doesn't feel inflated or hard. I can feel gurgling in there and she is farting occasionally. Her weight is down about 40 g below her average. In her previous four paralysis episodes she always recovered radically within a day or two, but I am still so worried each time. This time I found her on the bare floor instead of her absorbent fleece liners, so she was completely soaked in urine and shaking.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? In my reading about paralysis it seemed like it was not supposed to recur. Could it be bloat? Is there anything I can do other than supportive feeding? I have cisapride on hand, should I give it to her? (My exotics vet is unavailable today). I've brought her to the vet twice about her paralysis but they didn't know what was wrong. They did an Xray and didn't see anything. She is on metacam.

Poor Lola she was supposed to go in for a blood draw to test her kidney function today (the vet requires it to keep her on Metacam). She hates blood draws so much, looks like she managed to get out of it this time.

 

[Wiebke]

After recovering from her paralysis episode, Lola has had four more episodes of paralysis in the last 5 months (the latest is today).

In each episode, my first hint is that she does not come down the hallway to greet me in the morning, and then I find her huddled somewhere unable to walk. I never find her in her sleeping spot which I find strange, meaning she is able to get out of "bed" in the morning/night, walks somewhere, and then loses mobility before I get up. She usually gets up before me and then calls me to feed her. There is never any indication of impending problems when I say goodnight to her, it seems to happen very suddenly in the night or early morning. In each episode, her hind legs are floppy - when I call her she stretches out towards me as far as she can and seems like she is trying to walk but her legs won't follow. I don't think they are completely paralyzed because if I stretch her legs out, she can weakly retract them, but she is wobbly and lets her legs stay in awkward random positions without correcting her posture (for example, she can pulling herself forward with her front limbs while her feet drag behind, but she then stays with her feet together and upside down - so loss of proprioception, or mobility, or both). She isn't pooping as much but she still is pooping (~4/hour), although sometimes they are smaller and with mucous that connects some of them in a string-of-pearls. She is still eating hay and I step in with syringe feeding critical care and water. Her abdomen doesn't feel bloated to me - it feels soft and emptier than usual. It doesn't feel inflated or hard. I can feel gurgling in there and she is farting occasionally. Her weight is down about 40 g below her average. In her previous four paralysis episodes she always recovered radically within a day or two, but I am still so worried each time. This time I found her on the bare floor instead of her absorbent fleece liners, so she was completely soaked in urine and shaking.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? In my reading about paralysis it seemed like it was not supposed to recur. Could it be bloat? Is there anything I can do other than supportive feeding? I have cisapride on hand, should I give it to her? (My exotics vet is unavailable today). I've brought her to the vet twice about her paralysis but they didn't know what was wrong. They did an Xray and didn't see anything. She is on metacam.

Poor Lola she was supposed to go in for a blood draw to test her kidney function today (the vet requires it to keep her on Metacam). She hates blood draws so much, looks like she managed to get out of it this time.

Hi

It is certainly not your classic one-off sudden calcium dip back leg paralysis - but there are lots more other reasons why back leg paralysis can happen. Yours may perhaps rather involve a recurring short-lived pain or neurological event that also obviously affects the lower gut. It is going to be very difficult to pin it down for your vet.

You can find a list of potential causes for back leg paralysis (not exhaustive) in this guide here; your vet should be able to rule some of it off (and has probably already done so). However, neurological and paralysis problems in guinea pigs are horribly under-researched (they are as a relatively common pet species sadly not at all well researched anyway) and most of it is guesswork based on other species.
Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

 

[corvidae]

Thanks! That was what I was afraid to hear - that there is probably no easy diagnosis or prevention. Wish there were some magic solution.
She is back up and walking again this morning after just 24 hours of paralysis, so I am thankful that it did not last too long. She is pretty grumpy but her movements seem almost 100% back to normal, what a relief. She was able to take some awkward steps last evening so the full blown paralysis seemed to last only about 12 hours.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks! That was what I was afraid to hear - that there is probably no easy diagnosis or prevention. Wish there were some magic solution.
She is back up and walking again this morning after just 24 hours of paralysis, so I am thankful that it did not last too long. She is pretty grumpy but her movements seem almost 100% back to normal, what a relief. She was able to take some awkward steps last evening so the full blown paralysis seemed to last only about 12 hours.

HUGS