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Old Guinea Not Using Back Legs And Unwell.

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becki2394

becki2394

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Hi everyone, hope you're all well!

My 8 year old piggie has suddenly lost the use of her back legs and has become unwell very rapidly. Yesterday she was walking around fine, but today she takes a few steps, but then has to drag her legs behind her. She still seems like she wants to walk around and explore though. When I picked her up first thing this morning, she had had diarrhoea in the night and had been unable to move herself from where she had made her mess. It was after I had bathed and cleaned her up and let her explore that I noticed her walking. I booked her into the vets for an emergency appointment and I monitored until I took her and noticed she didn't want to eat or drink. The vet has given me a recovery food mixture to give her 5 times a day as well as a course of antibiotics; she has lost 300g in 2 weeks (we had to take her to the vets 2 weeks ago for a check up for a suspected UTI). I'm obviously very concerned as these symptoms have literally come on over night, and as she is old I want to try my best and get all the advice I can on helping her be comfortable and healthy.

Apart from giving her the food and medicine prescribed, do any of you members have any advice on helping her be as comfortable as possible? Its very distressing watching her trying to walk around and falling over or dragging herself along. I've moved her water as close as I can to where she sleeps so she doesn't have to move far to drink if she does start to want to drink on her own again. She's been a very healthy and lively piggie even in her old age, so seeing her like this is very hard. Anything you can think of to help will be greatly appreciated!
 
Ive woken up to the exact same thing with my 4 year old female pig this morning. By the evening, she was able to move one of her hind legs and we are taking her to the vet first thing in the morning. Just make sure your piggy is warm and dry to avoid the risk of an upper respiratory infection and make sure plenty of hay is available.
 
Charlotte01 said:
Ive woken up to the exact same thing with my 4 year old female pig this morning. By the evening, she was able to move one of her hind legs and we are taking her to the vet first thing in the morning. Just make sure your piggy is warm and dry to avoid the risk of an upper respiratory infection and make sure plenty of hay is available.
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I'm so sorry to hear that, I wish your pig a speedy recovery and hope everything goes okay at your appointment tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
 
becki2394 said:
I'm so sorry to hear that, I wish your pig a speedy recovery and hope everything goes okay at your appointment tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
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Thankyou, same goes for you and your piggy xx
 
Am sorry she is poorly, could it be a calcium crash? was she walking ok previously or has she ever shown signs of arthritis? did they vet say why they have given an antibiotic? Is she taking the syringe food and are you familiar with syringe feeding and how much is needed during the day? Did the vet mention giving an anti-inflammatory at all?
 
helen105281 said:
Am sorry she is poorly, could it be a calcium crash? was she walking ok previously or has she ever shown signs of arthritis? did they vet say why they have given an antibiotic? Is she taking the syringe food and are you familiar with syringe feeding and how much is needed during the day? Did the vet mention giving an anti-inflammatory at all?
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She was walking fine the night before she had the diarrhoea. I have never noticed any signs of arthritis, she normally runs around quite happily. She's taking syringe food which is good, we had to syringe feed her as a young pig due to some dental problems so I think she might remember that and seems quite happy taking it, however we do have to take it slow. We were told to give her 10ml of the food 4 - 5 times a day. So far she had 10ml last night just before bed, and this morning I've given her her first feed. She seems to be nibbling on her hay now which seems positive, and after her feeds she had been using her water bottle. As she's weak we have to hold the bottle still for her but I like that she's trying to do it herself.

The vet said she would prescribe the antibiotic as she suspected an infection due to the rapid onset of her symptoms and diarrhoea. 0.18ml of baytrill twice daily for 5 days. We were given a probiotic to mix in with her food to help her gut. She hasn't had any diarrhoea since yesterday morning, but her poos don't seem 100% yet; a little small and a bit more smelly than usual. The vet didn't mention any anti-inflammatories at all.
 
I see what the vet is thinking now. The probiotics need to be given at least an hour after the Baytril or they affect each other. Is there any improvement in her walking?
 
helen105281 said:
I see what the vet is thinking now. The probiotics need to be given at least an hour after the Baytril or they affect each other. Is there any improvement in her walking?
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Yeah the vet mentioned that, thank you for your comments and advice! Her walking seems worse if I'm honest, but she seems more lively in herself, a lot more perky and even though she can't walk properly, she's moving around a lot more than yesterday. I'm concerned that she will cause sores on her back legs due to them dragging behind her though.

I have a check up appointment booked for tomorrow so I'm keeping my fingers crossed she makes more improvement over the next 24hs
 
I am going to tag @Abi_nurse in case she is about as she is more knowledgeable than me.

What is she bedded on?
 
helen105281 said:
I am going to tag @Abi_nurse in case she is about as she is more knowledgeable than me.

What is she bedded on?
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Thank you, she's always been bedded on shavings but I was debating changing over to fleece while she's having walking troubles. Would you recommend this?
 
becki2394 said:
Hi everyone, hope you're all well!

My 8 year old piggie has suddenly lost the use of her back legs and has become unwell very rapidly. Yesterday she was walking around fine, but today she takes a few steps, but then has to drag her legs behind her. She still seems like she wants to walk around and explore though. When I picked her up first thing this morning, she had had diarrhoea in the night and had been unable to move herself from where she had made her mess. It was after I had bathed and cleaned her up and let her explore that I noticed her walking. I booked her into the vets for an emergency appointment and I monitored until I took her and noticed she didn't want to eat or drink. The vet has given me a recovery food mixture to give her 5 times a day as well as a course of antibiotics; she has lost 300g in 2 weeks (we had to take her to the vets 2 weeks ago for a check up for a suspected UTI). I'm obviously very concerned as these symptoms have literally come on over night, and as she is old I want to try my best and get all the advice I can on helping her be comfortable and healthy.

Apart from giving her the food and medicine prescribed, do any of you members have any advice on helping her be as comfortable as possible? Its very distressing watching her trying to walk around and falling over or dragging herself along. I've moved her water as close as I can to where she sleeps so she doesn't have to move far to drink if she does start to want to drink on her own again. She's been a very healthy and lively piggie even in her old age, so seeing her like this is very hard. Anything you can think of to help will be greatly appreciated!
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You can gently massage the back legs. Please have her seen by your regular vets. she may need painkiller or extra calcium, depending on what is causing it. There is a range of things that can cause sudden back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs, but the good news is that in most cases, mobility is going to come back again slowly over the coming weeks and that is very likely to remain a one-off episode.

Please continue to syringe feed and water until the appetite is slowly coming back and then switch to topping up during the recovery phase as much as necessary.
Loss of appetite is not typical for the most common tpye sudden overnight paralysis, which is caused by a sudden dip in calcium; it suggests to me that there could be a pain factor involved with your girl. A gut stimulant may also help if the pain was bad enough to cause partial gut stasis, as happened to my own 5 year old Ffraid, who suffered from intense pain before she lost control of her back legs temporarily.

Weigh her daily at the same time, ideally before feeding, so you get an idea of how much you need to give.
You may find the tips in our detailed syringe feeding guide helpful: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
 
Wiebke said:
You can gently massage the back legs. Please have her seen by your regular vets. she may need painkiller or extra calcium, depending on what is causing it. There is a range of things that can cause sudden back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs, but the good news is that in most cases, mobility is going to come back again slowly over the coming weeks and that is very likely to remain a one-off episode.

Please continue to syringe feed and water until the appetite is slowly coming back and then switch to topping up during the recovery phase as much as necessary.
Loss of appetite is not typical for the most common tpye sudden overnight paralysis, which is caused by a sudden dip in calcium; it suggests to me that there could be a pain factor involved with your girl. A gut stimulant may also help if the pain was bad enough to cause partial gut stasis, as happened to my own 5 year old Ffraid, who suffered from intense pain before she lost control of her back legs temporarily.

Weigh her daily at the same time, ideally before feeding, so you get an idea of how much you need to give.
You may find the tips in our detailed syringe feeding guide helpful: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
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Thank you for your advice! I will definitely try the leg massage. I'm taking her to her vet tomorrow for another check up so I will talk about the things you have suggested. She doesn't seem in pain but I know with my girl she is extremely good at hiding pain from my experience with her dental problems when she was young. I will keep you updated. Again, i really appreciate the comments and help.
 
Sorry to hear this. An 8 year old piggie is a great age. You need to ensure she has plenty of pain relief as we don't know what is causing this and how painful it is. You also will need to bed her on something like vetbed so she does not develop sores and urine scolding. Is she urinating ok herself?

At the age of 8 and the fact that she has lost 300g in 2 weeks which is very substantial for a piggie and the hindlimb paresis I'm afraid it sounds like something nasty is going on. I hate to mention it, but I would consider that if you cannot get on top of things then you may have to consider letting her go. Prey species are great at hiding pain and illness and it's very hard to judge quality of life even if they are eating doesn't suggest they are well and pain free. I'm not suggesting giving up right away but I think you need to keep it in your mind to ensure that you do what is right for her quality of life.

Thinking of you both in this horrible time.

x
 
Abi_nurse said:
Sorry to hear this. An 8 year old piggie is a great age. You need to ensure she has plenty of pain relief as we don't know what is causing this and how painful it is. You also will need to bed her on something like vetbed so she does not develop sores and urine scolding. Is she urinating ok herself?

At the age of 8 and the fact that she has lost 300g in 2 weeks which is very substantial for a piggie and the hindlimb paresis I'm afraid it sounds like something nasty is going on. I hate to mention it, but I would consider that if you cannot get on top of things then you may have to consider letting her go. Prey species are great at hiding pain and illness and it's very hard to judge quality of life even if they are eating doesn't suggest they are well and pain free. I'm not suggesting giving up right away but I think you need to keep it in your mind to ensure that you do what is right for her quality of life.

Thinking of you both in this horrible time.

x
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I appreciate your honesty. Yeah, the vets did say that if the treatment she's been given doesn't seem to improve her significantly, then it suggests something underlying and serious, and at her age doing lots of tests and examinations may do more harm than good. So, I'm just taking each day as it comes at the moment, trying to keep her as comfortable and happy as possible and your advice is really helpful. Thank you for your kind words. She's urinating fine and doesn't indicate any pain when she does. I've changed our her shavings and have replaced it with fleece for the time being until we can get some vetbed so hopefully that will keep her more comfortable.
 
Thought I would post a little update. She seems to be doing much better today! Two feeds down and she's been very keen and has been nibbling on the syringe. She's interested in her veggies again and is chewing on hay almost constantly. She's also drinking on her own after every feed. Even though she hasn't put on any weight, at her check up the vet said she was pleased to see an improvement in her mood and that she doesn't seem as lethargic. She agreed that her bad walking is caused by arthritis, and she has been prescribed metacam for long term use now. She also suggested we get her a harness to wear so when she's walking I can help take the weight off her back legs and she can still exercise and gain muscle tone. Hopefully things will continue to improve so I just want to say thanks for the replies on this thread, and heres a little picture of her wearing her new harness!

20151223051436.webp
 
She does look very good for an elderly poorly pig :) And I like the harness idea.

I did have a similar thing with a pig I had some years ago and we never did get to the bottom of why it happened. He also lost partial use of his back legs, and temporarily, his appetite. The vet thought most likely it was either a stroke, or a slipped disc. I used to massage and exercise his back legs (very gently mind you as I didn't want to do further damage), he had the critical care food and all sorts. The vet was not hopeful with him but he lived another 15 months after the first episode, which surprised me, and the vet!
 
Aw she looks very well.

We don't ever normally recommend harnesses as they can cause spinal injuries in healthy guinea pigs but as your little one is having trouble holding herself up I can see how it could help and why your using it. I would hate for people to think healthy piggies can wear these harnesses and cause damage to there piggy which is why I've mentioned the above.

I'm glad these harnesses are useful for something, hope your little one recovers quickly.
 
Glad she is getting better. I had the same issue and took mine to the vets where i was given anti inflammatory medicine. She can now use one of her back legs but not the other one. Is your guinea pig getting sores from lying in wee and poo from not being able to use her back legs? mine isn't able to lift herself up because of her leg and she is getting quite wet. I heard you could use vaseline to help :)
 
Glad to hear she's doing a little better and it just sounds like bad arthritis. Hopefully you can have some more time with her. She looks quite happy in your photo. The key really is just keeping her clean and comfortable.

x
 
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