Need advice for poor scruffy!

[Squeaky_Ewok]

Heya one of my piggies hurt his legs about 2 months ago he was putting weight on it and no pain as when we were moving it around he didn't seem to care. Today he seems to have had another accident again to his front right paw this time it's not as bad at all putting lots of weight on it just a little bruised I think no painful squeaks making happy noises haha but I'm a little concerned is there such a thing as a guinea pig with weak bones or something like that? My other pig seems nice a strong compared to scruffy who seems a little fragile They get veggies and I make sure they get a good fill of vit C in case this has anything to do with it? Or it might just be that they are young and they play fight a bit too much and run around the cage too fast? Just a bit shocked at how fragile the poor thing is 8...

 

[piggyfan]

The only thing you can do for him is to take him to a vet. They can xray him and find out if there is a problem. The thing about guinea pigs is they hide pain so well so it is vital they are checked out when you think they hurt themselves.

 

[piggyfan]

The only thing you can do for him is to take him to a vet. They can xray him and find out if there is a problem. The thing about guinea pigs is they hide pain so well so it is vital they are checked out when you think they hurt themselves.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

As piggy fan says it is best to get him checked out by a vet. if he is limping or not fully weight baring on his leg this means it is causing him pain, guineapigs do not necessarily cry out when in pain.

it may be as you say he is young and playful and could have damaged himself jumping off his house or caught his foot or toes in something when running about.

if it just bruising then that would be tissue damage and not really anything to do with his bones. is there any swelling and does it feel warmer than his other legs? if so a vet will be able to prescribe anti inflamatry pain relief if needed.

bone weakness in guinea pigs is not common but would most likely be the result of calcium deficiency, due to either not enough calcium in the diet or not enough vit D to be able to absorb the calcium. if as well as the veg you are feeding he is also getting guinea pig nuggets and plenty of hay it is unlikely he lacks calcium.

as your other piggy is bigger and stronger make sure he is not hogging all the food and that scruffy is getting his full share. giving them a bowl each is a good idea rather than one to share

 

[ellie_jo3213]

I've often wondered about calcium and vit d deficiency. As vit d is produced in the skin in sunlight, i wondered if by keeping pigs indoors out of natural sunlight if this would cause lack of vit d and calcium absorption from bones causing them to be brittle. I know plants have a type of vit d in them and my book says vit d2 is formed when dried plants (hay) are exposed to sunlight and uv..

I think some research needs to be done, to The Web of Knowledge! Lol

 

[ellie_jo3213]

I've often wondered about calcium and vit d deficiency. As vit d is produced in the skin in sunlight, i wondered if by keeping pigs indoors out of natural sunlight if this would cause lack of vit d and calcium absorption from bones causing them to be brittle. I know plants have a type of vit d in them and my book says vit d2 is formed when dried plants (hay) are exposed to sunlight and uv..

I think some research needs to be done, to The Web of Knowledge! Lol

Nothing about lack of vit d, its also added into dry pellets along with calcium.
I think vit d deficiency is more common in rabbits on a muslie mix diet.

I did find one paper saying a reduction in androgen (male sex hormone) leads to reduced bone density. But i can only get the abstract, do cant read the rest. Will have to log in on bf uni login later on!
Heres the link:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbmr.5650071208/abstract

 

[Squeaky_Ewok]

Wow I have to say thank you for doing so much research haha It's very much appreciated hes seems much better today barely notice any limping :L I think he may have just been playing too much :L and hmm that's last bit is interesting the dominant pig is always rumbling and never shuts up or stops chasing him around tbh I have never heard scruff rumble or display any dominant behavior :L hes a very sweets piggy I think :L They have the Burgess excel blackcurrant and oregano nuggets at the mo mixed with wagg muesli as they love the wagg mix they only leave the seeds but I put each food in so they have a good mix Thanks a lot for all the trouble you've gone through :L

 

[Squeaky_Ewok]

Hello thanks for the advice his foot is much better today it was red and bit warm and I think a bit swollen yesterday but I'm guessing that's an indication that it's healing itself to mend is no longer swollen, warm or red. A lot more weight being put on it also his toes are spread more and does use it to dig around in his hay, so could I take this as definitely nothing is broken?

As for food they get quite a big bowl between them of wagg muesli mix they won't completely leave it for the excel Burgess nuggets so I give them both a mix and also Burgess excel forage hay along with bell peppers, cabbage, romaine lettuce and cucumber and the occasional fruit. I do think was down to them play fighting a bit too much now haha

 

[Squeaky_Ewok]

Hello thanks for the advice he is doing much better today think it's just down to play fighting gonna give there cage a new layout as I think the culprit is them jumping up and down too quick and landing badly:L well just scruff anyway Hopefully in the next few days his foot or maybe even toe if that was the problem will be healed I do have some pain relief for him though

 

[Ginger&Nutmeg]

One of my piggies was limping when I first got him. His foot was swollen and there was a little cut on it. The vet said that maybe it got infected from hay or something in the cage. He needed antibiotics but is absolutely fine now, he runs around everywhere I'd get it checked out just in case.