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Specialist Osteocare for inflamed joints/paralysis - Diagnosis: fibrous osteodystrophy

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Izzy94

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Hi

Crumble is 4 and a few months ago went to the vets for a chest infection and when she came back we noticed 2 of her legs weren’t moving and she was struggling to move. She improved in herself after stopping antibiotics and starting probiotic however her legs didn’t improve. A month ago we gave her osteocare for 5 days 2ml the first 2 days then 1ml the other days and she loved it and one of her legs has improved massively.
She is now in pain due to inflamed joints and we are wondering if it’s safe to give her osteocare again in the hope it will help her or would it not be safe? Our vets aren’t exotic vets and just want to give her anti biotics all the time which doesn’t help her. We have metacam for pain, she loves her food and her appetite hasn’t changed.

Thanks 😊
 
I think in the first instance trying to find a more cavy savvy vet to give you specific advice would be a good thing before giving anything to her. It may be fine to do but it would be best coming from a vet to advise you of that.
I can see there are two recommended vets in Leicester on our vet locator - would it be possible for you to get to one of those ?
 
All the best!

Here are our tips on how to care best for guinea pigs with limited or no mobility. You may find the guide very helpful in giving practical every day support and care, and learning what to look out for: Looking after guinea pigs with limited or no mobility

Next to analgesics (metacam), which guinea pigs can have at much higher dosage than cats or dogs because of their much faster metabolism and because their kidneys are much less affected, glucosamine can help for bone arthritis.
But it would be good to speak about this and any recommendations to your vet. Since glucosamine is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication, it is a kind of grey zone as far as vets are concerned because they are not compelled to prescribe it but they can advise on the use of it.

I have used it for my own arthritic elders with the consent of the treating vet. It can make a difference in the quality of life and at the best help to stabilise or improve mobility for a while although in the longer term it cannot stop the progress of arthritis, which can speed up in the very frail.

As long as you can manage the arthritis to give your piggy enough quality of life, there is not need to euthanise just yet.
Anyway, a vet can only recommend this measure (and no decent vet will do so lightly!), but the decision is always yours, and yours alone. You have to sign a consent form for any procedure under anaesthesia, whether that is an operation or pts (putting to sleep), as well as for any use of unlicensed medication at the vets anyway.
 
PigglePuggle said:
I think @Eriathwen has some experience of long term care for piggies with bone and joint problems?
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Thanks! I have used osteocare with success but it needs using alongside a very good relationship with your vets, over use can result in bladder stones and it may not help with inflammation.
What is most needed, as Weibke says is good pain relief. I have also found glucosamine to be highly effective. My 2 piggies with bone issues are palliative and these 2 things keep them comfortable. Having pain and mobility issues is not a reason to suggest euthanasia unless it cannot be appropriately managed :) so try not to worry about that just yet.
 
So tried to get into Chine vets and they said they are fully booked as they are so sought after and basically to go to our local vet 😟 tried the only other one on the map near us which is vets4pets oadby however they didn’t say they were exotic vets/specialists in guinea pigs?
 
Oh no sorry to hear that. Would you be able to travel further afield at all?
 
Izzy94 said:
So tried to get into Chine vets and they said they are fully booked as they are so sought after and basically to go to our local vet 😟 tried the only other one on the map near us which is vets4pets oadby however they didn’t say they were exotic vets/specialists in guinea pigs?
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@NevillesNest rescue are in your area and I believe, though am not 100 percent sure, that they use vets4pets Oadby. Perhaps you could email them and ask who they would recommend.
 
All the best!

Not every exotics vet is up to snuff with guinea pigs and there are some very decent general vets with experience in guinea pigs around...
 
So Crumble went to the vet today and we couldn’t have wished for a more amazing lady to see her! Crumble has a disease called fibrous osteodystraphy which is rare but found in silkies like Crumble. Turns out this vet is actually writing a paper on this disease as not a lot is known about it. Basically her bones are very hollow and she has 2 prolapses in her spine 😢 the vet was horrified at how our local vets had treated her and said osteocare liquid was one of the best things for her so she is back on that, also having 3 different types of painkiller to help encourage her to move more and we are to very gently give her a bit of physio on her legs to encourage her to move them to where they should be. Also we need to give her lots of treats to help her gain some more weight as her sister tends to take some of her food unless we hand feed her. A lot of the treatment is experimental as so little is known about this but we are speaking to the vet in a weeks time to see if there is any improvement and can alter medication from then. I hate to think how much pain she has been in but so glad we finally have some answers to help her!
 
I’m glad you’ve finally been given an answer. Let’s hope that she regains some movement and it can be managed with the painkillers etc. There is a member on here who’s piggy has arthritis and is on long term painkiller.

Were you syringe feeding her previously? How much weight has she lost overall? Some on here with low weight piggies do give some things to help them regain the weight. Hopefully there’ll be others along to help you with that aspect.
 
Izzy94 said:
So Crumble went to the vet today and we couldn’t have wished for a more amazing lady to see her! Crumble has a disease called fibrous osteodystraphy which is rare but found in silkies like Crumble. Turns out this vet is actually writing a paper on this disease as not a lot is known about it. Basically her bones are very hollow and she has 2 prolapses in her spine 😢 the vet was horrified at how our local vets had treated her and said osteocare liquid was one of the best things for her so she is back on that, also having 3 different types of painkiller to help encourage her to move more and we are to very gently give her a bit of physio on her legs to encourage her to move them to where they should be. Also we need to give her lots of treats to help her gain some more weight as her sister tends to take some of her food unless we hand feed her. A lot of the treatment is experimental as so little is known about this but we are speaking to the vet in a weeks time to see if there is any improvement and can alter medication from then. I hate to think how much pain she has been in but so glad we finally have some answers to help her!
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I am very sorry for the diagnosis. :(

Fibrous osteodystrophy is generally better known as 'satin disease' or 'SGPS' (satin guinea pig syndrome) or as OD (osteodystrophy) in older links because it is mostly seen in guinea pigs with a satinised (high gloss) coat in case you want to do your own digging around. It is much rarer to see it on its own in non-satin guinea pigs.
However because of irresponsible backyard breeding the syndrome is now increasingly seen in guinea without visible satinisation. The breeding of satins is sadly still allowed in many countries; Finland is to my knowledge the only one that has forbidden it. This is a real issue especially in Australia where satin piggies regularly fetch up in rescues as soon they hit the high vet cost with the onset of satin disease typically around 12-18 months of age although I know of younger piggies. Unfortunately it doesn't just affect the bones but the whole body in lots of ways. Sadly fibrous osteodystrophy is incurable and progressive. :(

- You can find an article on satins and satin disease in Guinea Pig Magazine issue 54 (January 2020) if you are interested; written by an exotics nurse. Guinea Pig Magazine

- Cavy Central Guinea Pig Rescue in Sydney Australia have made text and video (which shows the difference between a satin and a normal piggy) about their own experiences with looking after piggies with fibrous osteodystrophy.
Satin Guinea Pig Syndrome (SGPS) from Cavy Central

These are two of the more recent more general informative texts on the subject.

But I am very glad for you that you are in very good hands and can hopefully care for Crumble better and longer!
 
She has never been syringe fed and absolutely loves food but because her movement is limited her sister would take some of her food for herself so we now hand feed her her usual veggies throughout the day on our laps or just when they are on the floor in their pen. Crumble and her sister Apple don’t like to be apart so we can’t feed them in separate areas if that makes sense. We are trying to give Apple extra fuss though because she has got quite jealous of the amount of attention Crumble has been getting due to her needs so we now have to hand feed Apple a bit too. Spoiled piggies!
 
Izzy94 said:
She has never been syringe fed and absolutely loves food but because her movement is limited her sister would take some of her food for herself so we now hand feed her her usual veggies throughout the day on our laps or just when they are. Crumble and her sister Apple don’t like to be apart so we can’t feed them in separate areas if that makes sense. We are trying to give Apple extra fuss though because she has got quite jealous of the amount of attention Crumble has been getting due to her needs so we now have to hand feed Apple a bit too. Spoiled piggies!
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Hand feeding is fine and hopefully means Apple won’t nick Crumble’s food. I would have suggested scatter feeding but I’d Crumble has limited movement then that makes it difficult. I also wouldn’t get into the ‘habit’ of separating to feed them.
 
Izzy94 said:
She has never been syringe fed and absolutely loves food but because her movement is limited her sister would take some of her food for herself so we now hand feed her her usual veggies throughout the day on our laps or just when they are on the floor in their pen. Crumble and her sister Apple don’t like to be apart so we can’t feed them in separate areas if that makes sense. We are trying to give Apple extra fuss though because she has got quite jealous of the amount of attention Crumble has been getting due to her needs so we now have to hand feed Apple a bit too. Spoiled piggies!
Click to expand...

Never underestimate the 'I want what you have' reflex! I always did have to feed the partner of any piggy of mine on support care with a little of the same to keep the peace.
 
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