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My pig can't seem to move his back legs that well!

  • Thread starter Thread starter eddieiscool
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eddieiscool

Hi,

I am really worried. My pig, Eddie, was okay a few days ago but now he doesn't seem to be able to use his back legs as well as he used to. I noticed him hopping rather than running and he won't come out when the food bowls are clinked together, (this is the feeding bell). He still eats when it's near him and I thought it might be an impacted rectum (he was a bit messy down below when I checked him today) but, even after cleaning his nether region, he is still unable to use his back legs. There is some movement but it's only for a really short distance. He didn't even run in to his hut when I went to pick him up (this is something he will always do at least once before he lets me grab him).

Please can someone tell me what might be wrong with him. I am going to take him to the vet tomorrow but it would be really reassuring to know that it's nothing serious!

(P.S. He hasn't fallen and he gets on really well with his fellow cage mates so I don't think he's been attacked by one of them).
 
How old is your piggy? Could it be anything to do with old age? I haven't had any experience with anything like this, but you are definatly doing the right thing getting him looked at by the vet. I hope all goes well for you both, please let us know how you get on, xx:)
 
Is he actually dragging his back legs behind him? If he seems normal within himself and he's eating normally then it's probably the same as what has happened to my Nemo. He has gone off his back legs twice this year and thankfully regained the use of them again although it did take a couple of weeks or so before he regained use of them. I gave him Osteocare liquid twice a day as recommended by Peter Guerney and it worked for Nemo. We did take him to the vets but the vet was just giving him steroids and antibotics and they weren't working at all but within days of giving him Osteocare he started moving his back legs. He went off them again a couple of months after and I did the same again and he's been fine since.
 
Hi again,

Thanks for the advice. I will try that as well. Can you tell me how much I can give Eddie?

Thanks!
 
My piggie had this. It is a mysterious illness that happens to piggies but no one seems to know why. Some piggies respond to the osteocare. Unfortunately my sow never recovered however they seem to go about their daily lives without pain. My piggie however was eventually diagnosed with arthritis of the spine and back legs. I would say keep your piggie as warm as possible to help stimulate the circulation in the back legs. Also massaging the piggie's legs also helps with the circulation. I gave my piggie Potters Tabritis which helped with the circulation and stiffness - half a tab crushed and mixed with water daily. Hope the this helps and your piggie is back up on his feet again soon.
 
Thankyou everyone for the advice. I have started giving him some vitamin C and B to help his immune system and he's going to the vet tomorrow. I will let you all know how he gets along!

Thanks again!
 
Just to warn you, when I took my piggie to the vet with this problem they suggested putting her to sleep. Please don't be talked into anything you don't want. Hope the visit goes well for you both.
 
Yes our vet said it didn't look hopeful for Nemo when he went off his legs and I was considering having him put to sleep but I'm so glad I didn't now. :)
 
Hi again,I went to the vet today with Eddie and he was saying the same thing (that I might have to put him to sleep). I have to say, he wasn't very helpful, saying that it could be a spinal lesion (even though he admitted that he had never seen one in a guinea pig in his whole 20 years as a vet). I know he's supposed to be the expert but he got the diagnoses wrong with our other pig so I wasn't convinced.I have started Eddie on the Osteocare and he seems to be responding well. He was moving his legs a little bit when i put him on the floor but he still prefers to sit down. However, he's more sprightly and his poos are not as messy as they were the day before.Once again though, I will keep you all posted!
 
That's a very good sign if he's starting to move his legs a bit because that's what Nemo did before he regained use of them. Our vet wasn't very helpful either and said it was probably just a spinal injury even though I knew there was no way he had had a fall or anything. We told him it could be lack of calcium but he just ignored us and gave him steroids and antibiotics.rolleyes
 
That's good news. One other thing I forgot to mention was that a different vet did give my piggie a couple of steroid injections which did help a lot.
 
Good luck with Eddie love, i do hope he keeps on responding well to the meds xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For little Eddie xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
 
Hello again!

Just to let you all know, Eddie is using his legs a little bit more now. We put him back with his cage mates this morning before we went out and when we came home he had moved from one sleeping hut to another (that's about 2 metres)! We also saw him do the same thing this evening, and when he was being washed he kept trying to push the flannel away with the foot that was paralysed! So we think (fingers crossed) that he is on the mend.

Thankyou for your advice! I can't imagine what would have happened without it. I am so glad that I didn't listen to what the vet suggested!

Thanks from Eddie as well!
 
That's brilliant - so glad Eddie is getting better.:) If he's using the leg I would have thought it was a sure sign that he'll be back on them again in the next few days.:)
 
my pig can't move back legs

We had the same experience, waking up one morning to find our guinea pig was dragging his hind legs. We took him to our regular vet who, unfortunately, didn't specialize in exotics, and all she could say is that it might have been a stroke or spinal injury, and it might get better or might not (not real helpful). Fortunately, our guinea pig slowly improved over the next 10 days to where he could again use his back legs. He still walks somewhat slowly with them and so I'd say he didn't recover fully, but he gets along fine and seems perfectly happy. He has had some problems with constipation, but I've found when I can give him outdoor time where he's moving around more and on harder ground (not in the soft bedding of his cage), he can clean himself out.

We did make sure he was getting plenty of vitamin c and calcium while he was having the paralysis; whether that helped him recover, I'll never know.
 
Guinea pig leg issue

Hi all,

I'm a little late to this thread (how's that for an understatement?!) but a search on google turned it up and it might be similar to the problem we're having.

I adopted our piggie almost two years ago from someone who wasn't clear on the piggy's age...she said somewhere between 2 and 3 years old.

So I found my guy in his cage last night on his side, spinning all over the place b/c he was unable to stand. At first it appeared to be his front left paw only that had a problem- it almost seems paralyzed. It's curled up and seems almost twisted. But truthfully his other legs seem weak too- they are moving but are weak. He can't stand- and I've NEVER seen him not standing :-(.

I took him out and held him on my lap where I kept him propped up, and then he was eating, drinking, etc like always. But when I put him back in his cage there he was, lying on his side. I ended up staying up almost all night w/ him- I put him down 2 hours before my alarm was set to go off to get a little sleep and now I am exhausted.

This AM I went to get him (his cage is enormous so it's in our basement) and I could hear him making his "bring me something good to eat" noises. I found him on his side again and he'd clearly been struggling to get up b/c the cage under him was bare- all of the bedding had been pushed out of the way. He was coated in pee and poop so I gave him a bath and then held him all day. he's eating like usual and drinking, going to the bathroom, etc but I've been holding him all day to keep him upright!

Any ideas?

Thank you!
 
Hey there, sorry to hear about your piggy, where are you located we may be able to recommend a pig savvy vets? It does sound quite like what has happened to the OP's guinea. I was going to suggest you try osteocare but it's also essential that you take your pig to see the vet too as he may be in pain. Bumping this up incase someone who has had this experience comes online xx
 
Could be any number of issues including calcium or Vit C deficiency, inner ear infection, arthritis, ear mites - you need a cavy savvy vet tomorrow and I posted on the other thread you were on to see Molly Varga - you couldn;t get a better guinea pig savvy vet - she's one of the top ones in the country.

http://cheshirepet.com/our-services/veterinary-referral-services/

x
 
In regards to piggy cant walk

My guinea pig lost the use of both back legs, i did some research and osteo suppliments sounded to be the only way until i recently fed my pig baby spinach leaves as this is perfect for osteo, within 2 days my piggy is back on his legs walking almost like the day we got him, so please try this before other suppliments :) i hope this can help someones piggy
 
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