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Piggie dragging back legs

Nicjones99 said:
Thank you everyone, I'm so glad to hear Christian recovered, thank you for sharing his story. I think Blossom has different issues (no arthritis, no obvious pain, she can stand on her legs and move on them if startled but is preferring to drag them) but we will give her a few more days then try to get an x-ray. I really wish our exotic vet was available to give us some answers. After a couple of days rest should we encourage her to move around more to regain some strength - or should we just let her do what she wants/needs (which is basically sleeping and eating right now)? I'm worried she may get too fat to be able to support herself (appetite isn't affected!) X
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Hi!

Allow her to do what she feels able to and to heal at her own speed. Don't worry about her getting too fat.

Guinea pigs have a very fast metabolism, so it is not quite as easy to become overweight but much easier to burn it off again once active. Stay off the fattening high sugar/calorie veg like carrots and other root veg and also sweet corn and do not feed more than 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day. The more hay she eats, the better.

Please weigh her daily instead of once weekly since you cannot control the hay intake (which makes ideally about 80% of what a piggy eats in a day) by eye; with piggies with mobility issues is not quite as easy for them to get at it.

Weight - Monitoring and Management
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Instead of over-treating, turn feeding time into enrichment time like with wrapping the veg in some brown paper she has to work through to get at etc... ;)
 
This is all really good advice, thank you so much. She continues the same today - she is definitely eating lots of hay and came out for her breakfast and took her meds well. She looks comfortable sitting on her back legs when eating, but is still dragging them and struggling manoeuvre. @Jamston I am amazed to hear your story. I can't believe your piggy recovered after all that time but you never knew what the cause was. I feel encouraged to be patient and see if she can get better. I'm now wondering whether the fireworks last week spooked her and she fell off the ramp. I guess the main thing now is to weigh her daily, keep her clean and make sure she doesn't suffer any secondary conditions. Weibke, you mention the dog bedding is the best thing for her to lie on. We have always had hay and sawdust and she seems comfortable as she can munch the hay around her and make a nest - we are keeping it clean and giving fresh hay daily. Are there dangers to her being on hay?
 
Nicjones99 said:
This is all really good advice, thank you so much. She continues the same today - she is definitely eating lots of hay and came out for her breakfast and took her meds well. She looks comfortable sitting on her back legs when eating, but is still dragging them and struggling manoeuvre. @Jamston I am amazed to hear your story. I can't believe your piggy recovered after all that time but you never knew what the cause was. I feel encouraged to be patient and see if she can get better. I'm now wondering whether the fireworks last week spooked her and she fell off the ramp. I guess the main thing now is to weigh her daily, keep her clean and make sure she doesn't suffer any secondary conditions. Weibke, you mention the dog bedding is the best thing for her to lie on. We have always had hay and sawdust and she seems comfortable as she can munch the hay around her and make a nest - we are keeping it clean and giving fresh hay daily. Are there dangers to her being on hay?
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Hay is not very pee absorbent, so you need to spot clean the area she is sitting in more than once daily (if you can, 3 times but at least twice daily). This in order to avoid urine scald and foot infections.
Vetbed is not 'dog bedding', but it easiest to find when googling dog supplies. Prices can vary massively. It has been originally designed for the recovery area in vet clinics, hence its name.

It is very promising that she is looking more comfy sitting back on her legs. It means that she can at least take a little weight off her front legs every now and then. You have to be unfortunately very patient; a full recovery is likely to take weeks and is not a matter of just a few days. Just keep hanging in there. Piggy companions can be very caring, can't they?
 
Hi everyone, I have a few more questions about Blossom's care... I spoke to the vet last night. She said a CT scan would give us answers but would cost hundreds of pounds and the treatment would be the same as a spine operation isn't viable for guinea pigs. So it is very much wait and see. She confirmed there was no apparent pain around her spine when she examined her.
@Wiebke I have noticed she is starting to be wet underneath and have ordered some Vetbed. We gave her a shallow bath last night, which she was fine with. How do I dry her properly? We towel-dried her but she was still a bit damp - is that sufficient or should we use a hairdryer to get her fluffy dry?
@Free Ranger what are the first signs of sores I should look out for? I agree this is probably our biggest risk right now - or secondary infection. Should I apply some sudocreme (or similar) as a preventative measure? Where did your piggy get her sores? I'm so sorry your piggy suffered from this.
@Jamston I'm really interested in your story - how long was your guinea pig completely immobile? Did she suffer muscle wastage? Did she lose weight? Was it a gradual process of rehabilitation or did she suddenly turn a corner? Did you give her floor time and encourage her to move? If so, after how long?
I put Blossom down on the floor yesterday so I could refresh the hay and she moved pretty fast - at first dragging her legs, then pushing with them. This morning she was wheeking for her breakfast, so her spirits are fine just need to keep her clean and dry.
Thanks again everyone for your support - it's a rollercoaster.
x
 
I'm afraid i can't help with any medical advice but i am following Blossom's story and hope she starts to improve soon. It is can be hard physically and mentally looking after a poorly piggy. So make sure you take care of yourself too.

Sending healing vibes for Blossom. 💕
 
YvonneBlue said:
I'm afraid i can't help with any medical advice but i am following Blossom's story and hope she starts to improve soon. It is can be hard physically and mentally looking after a poorly piggy. So make sure you take care of yourself too.

Sending healing vibes for Blossom. 💕
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Thank you @YvonneBlue - it's nice to know people care (other than me). The support from this group is amazing x
 
Fingers crossed little Blossom regains the full use of her back legs. You are doing a great job looking after her. I can recommend vet bed it really wicks any pee away from their little bodies. You can buy small pieces on eBay and cut to size very cheaply if you have an account.
Good luck, give her time to mend x
 
Nicjones99 said:
Hi everyone, I have a few more questions about Blossom's care... I spoke to the vet last night. She said a CT scan would give us answers but would cost hundreds of pounds and the treatment would be the same as a spine operation isn't viable for guinea pigs. So it is very much wait and see. She confirmed there was no apparent pain around her spine when she examined her.
@Wiebke I have noticed she is starting to be wet underneath and have ordered some Vetbed. We gave her a shallow bath last night, which she was fine with. How do I dry her properly? We towel-dried her but she was still a bit damp - is that sufficient or should we use a hairdryer to get her fluffy dry?
@Free Ranger what are the first signs of sores I should look out for? I agree this is probably our biggest risk right now - or secondary infection. Should I apply some sudocreme (or similar) as a preventative measure? Where did your piggy get her sores? I'm so sorry your piggy suffered from this.
@Jamston I'm really interested in your story - how long was your guinea pig completely immobile? Did she suffer muscle wastage? Did she lose weight? Was it a gradual process of rehabilitation or did she suddenly turn a corner? Did you give her floor time and encourage her to move? If so, after how long?
I put Blossom down on the floor yesterday so I could refresh the hay and she moved pretty fast - at first dragging her legs, then pushing with them. This morning she was wheeking for her breakfast, so her spirits are fine just need to keep her clean and dry.
Thanks again everyone for your support - it's a rollercoaster.
x
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Not all piggies like blow drying, especially not in their face. If you do so, do it on the lowest setting and just warm but not hot and from a distance.
I prefer a half-heated microwaveable snugglesafe pads for mine to sit on something warm while they are drying off fully and then change the slightly damp area afterwards. It is less stressful for the piggies.

You don't need to give her a full bath; just wiping down the underside her front pads, and her bum/belly with a slightly damp but warm rag will do.

With your girl still having some feeling and a minimal degree of mobility, bedsores are not something you need to really worry about. Vetbed has been specially designed to be very soft and absorbent and your girl is able to change her position enough to avoid pressure sores.

Hair loss and a slight reddishness are the first symptoms of urine scald. I hope that these pictures here help:
IMG_5879_edited-1.jpg IMG_5878_edited-1.jpg


I have some patches of vetdbed at home specially for post-op care. My Teggy used them in October in the wake of the rather trickier than expected removal of a large urethral stone and a slower recovery where potential chronic incontinence or the inability to pee were some major concerns. thankfully neither has come to pass but she did throw me some bloating complications and loss appetite for a couple a weeks.

Even though she is not in pain around the spine, I would still recommend to keep the analgesic going in order to reduce any swelling of tissue and make moving around a bit more easier for her.
 
Yes, @Wiebke is right - I don't think you will see the sort of large bedsore our girl had. She could move along on a flat, smooth surface by dragging on her belly... her back legs were always completely limp but the front end was completely normal. Occasionally she turned and looked at her back feet and had a little nibble but she didn't seem at all subdued - more surprised. Unfortunately she always rested on the same inch-square point of her right buttock (if they have buttocks!) when she sat / fed / drank / snuggled - everything. I tried readjusting 'furniture' and actively moving her to different positions but no joy. Even so, the sore only appeared after a few weeks when the flesh of her back end had gone very flaccid and the skin was so thin with the constant pressure... then it appeared almost overnight and was weeping, smelling etc. She couldn't feel a thing... perhaps if it had hurt she would have sat the other way! Sudocreme would not have helped us either before or after - the only time we've ever used that was to treat urine scald which ironically this girl never got.
Your girl sounds like she's got some movement and so will be taking her weight on different areas and maintaining tone so I think you won't see this problem. Don't fret... just take it one day at a time.

PS they do hate hairdryers!
 
Thanks you for this information and advice Before you posted, we had given her another bath (just her rear end) and dried her gently with the hairdryer - she didn't actually seem to mind it and ate parsley the whole time. At least I know she's clean and dry for tonight but maybe I'll wipe in future. Dragging her legs more today but I'm trying not to fret. X
 
Nicjones99 said:
Hi everyone, I have a few more questions about Blossom's care... I spoke to the vet last night. She said a CT scan would give us answers but would cost hundreds of pounds and the treatment would be the same as a spine operation isn't viable for guinea pigs. So it is very much wait and see. She confirmed there was no apparent pain around her spine when she examined her.
@Wiebke I have noticed she is starting to be wet underneath and have ordered some Vetbed. We gave her a shallow bath last night, which she was fine with. How do I dry her properly? We towel-dried her but she was still a bit damp - is that sufficient or should we use a hairdryer to get her fluffy dry?
@Free Ranger what are the first signs of sores I should look out for? I agree this is probably our biggest risk right now - or secondary infection. Should I apply some sudocreme (or similar) as a preventative measure? Where did your piggy get her sores? I'm so sorry your piggy suffered from this.
@Jamston I'm really interested in your story - how long was your guinea pig completely immobile? Did she suffer muscle wastage? Did she lose weight? Was it a gradual process of rehabilitation or did she suddenly turn a corner? Did you give her floor time and encourage her to move? If so, after how long?
I put Blossom down on the floor yesterday so I could refresh the hay and she moved pretty fast - at first dragging her legs, then pushing with them. This morning she was wheeking for her breakfast, so her spirits are fine just need to keep her clean and dry.
Thanks again everyone for your support - it's a rollercoaster.
x
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For a good couple of weeks she just sat there not moving, I put her in the run with the other piggies but didn’t move. She then started dragging her legs behind, mainly I think because she had worked out that the others were having her share of the food. She lost weight and I fed her separately and topped her up with oats, sweet potato and critical care. All of the time she was on metacam in case of any pain. The vet confirmed that their were no obvious breaks and she had not lost feeling. About 5 weeks from the start she started moving better it was then gradual progress to full recovery. The one thing I would have done differently would have been to get an X-ray early on. I think Rose fell off something as she is always clambering and leaping on and off things and sprained something.
Here she is sat in a hidey with Rocket in the back ground!364130D9-C886-4870-B0BB-700C2BDC67D2.webp
 
Rose looks SO like my Blossom (the one on the left of my pic). We have thought about getting an x-ray but the vet said it would cost hundreds of pounds and even if it did show a spinal fracture they wouldn't be able to operate, so treatment would be the same. I guess it would give us some answers though, and an indication of whether she might get better - not knowing is really hard.

It's reassuring to hear your story. Blossom does unfortunately seem to be dragging more and moving her legs less than she was a few days ago - moving around seems to have become a big effort. Did you ever encourage Rose to move (e.g. floor time) or just let her decide for herself? I'm worried about muscle wastage and yesterday she had lost a bit of weight (I was initially worried about her eating too much). I don't think she's been eating her pellets. I've started weighing her daily so will see if this is a downward trend.

At what point should I start to syringe feed her mushed up pellets or Critical Care, and how much should I give her each day? She is still excited about food and coming out for her breakfast, but sleeping a lot otherwise.
 
Nicjones99 said:
If she does lose more weight, is alfalfa hay a good thing to give her?
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No, it contains too much calcium and too much calcium can lead to bladder stones.
if she loses weight then it’s a case of syringe feeding more often to stabilise the weight loss, oats, extra hay etc
 
You could give her separate feeds (top ups) oats are great for bulking up piggies. Have you tried very gently massaging her legs
Hope Blossom gets walking soon x
 
Right, no alfalfa. I've never given my pigs oats - is that just normal oats like I would make porridge from, or special guinea pig oats? Do you give them dry or mix them with water and syringe feed them? How much weight would she need to lose before she needs top-ups?

I've not tried massaging her legs, but maybe I will. Do I just gently rub them?
 
Nicjones99 said:
Right, no alfalfa. I've never given my pigs oats - is that just normal oats like I would make porridge from, or special guinea pig oats? Do you give them dry or mix them with water and syringe feed them? How much weight would she need to lose before she needs top-ups?

I've not tried massaging her legs, but maybe I will. Do I just gently rub them?
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Just normal rolled porridge oats. Just put them into a dish dry.

weight loss wise, it’s when weight loss hits 50g that you get concerned (up to 50g can be explained by full/empty bladder/tummy).
The amount and frequency you syringe feed depends entirely on the amount of weight loss and whether piggy is attempting to eat for themselves. A complete loss of appetite and weight dropping daily then you syringe found the clock aiming for 90ml in a 24 hour period to stop and then reverse the losses . On the other end, a piggy who is otherwise eating hay well but is perhaps dropping smaller amounts so is eating but not quite enough, then you can syringe feed perhaps 40 ml, but you are looking to stabilise the weight loss and top up feed.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
Piggies&buns said:
Just normal rolled porridge oats. Just put them into a dish dry.

weight loss wise, it’s when weight loss hits 50g that you get concerned (up to 50g can be explained by full/empty bladder/tummy).
The amount and frequency you syringe feed depends entirely on the amount of weight loss and whether piggy is attempting to eat for themselves. A complete loss of appetite and weight dropping daily then you syringe found the clock aiming for 90ml in a 24 hour period to stop and then reverse the losses . On the other end, a piggy who is otherwise eating hay well but is perhaps dropping smaller amounts so is eating but not quite enough, then you can syringe feed perhaps 40 ml, but you are looking to stabilise the weight loss and top up feed.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Click to expand...

Thank you, that's really useful info. I don't think we are at the point where we need to syringe feed in that case, but I will be keeping a very close eye on it. Her appetite is still good but I have noticed the pellets are not being eaten in the last couple of days. Our other pig doesn't seem to be eating them either - maybe because she's not burning off the calories (she doesn't enjoy floor time on her own).
 
Nicjones99 said:
Thank you, that's really useful info. I don't think we are at the point where we need to syringe feed in that case, but I will be keeping a very close eye on it. Her appetite is still good but I have noticed the pellets are not being eaten in the last couple of days. Our other pig doesn't seem to be eating them either - maybe because she's not burning off the calories (she doesn't enjoy floor time on her own).
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dont worry about pellets are only 5% (one tablespoon per pig per day) of the food intake, it’s hay which is the most important part. There are days when I don’t even give mine pellets at all.
 
Nicjones99 said:
Rose looks SO like my Blossom (the one on the left of my pic). We have thought about getting an x-ray but the vet said it would cost hundreds of pounds and even if it did show a spinal fracture they wouldn't be able to operate, so treatment would be the same. I guess it would give us some answers though, and an indication of whether she might get better - not knowing is really hard.

It's reassuring to hear your story. Blossom does unfortunately seem to be dragging more and moving her legs less than she was a few days ago - moving around seems to have become a big effort. Did you ever encourage Rose to move (e.g. floor time) or just let her decide for herself? I'm worried about muscle wastage and yesterday she had lost a bit of weight (I was initially worried about her eating too much). I don't think she's been eating her pellets. I've started weighing her daily so will see if this is a downward trend.

At what point should I start to syringe feed her mushed up pellets or Critical Care, and how much should I give her each day? She is still excited about food and coming out for her breakfast, but sleeping a lot otherwise.
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I did encourage her but she just wasn’t interested. Unless their was some food on offer and then she was very interested and dragged herself there as quick as her front paws could propel her. Keeping her clean was a challenge with regular bum baths and a snuggle in fleece with her own veggies!
 
Hi, just to say Blossom is showing some tentative signs of improvement. She is still dragging her legs and her left leg in particular seems weak, but the last couple of days she hasn't been wet underneath, so we haven't had to bath her. I'm keeping a close eye on her weight & carrying on with the meloxicam. The vet said to give it 2 weeks of complete rest then start encouraging her to move with 5-10 minutes of floor time. I'll let you know how it goes. Thank you all so much for your help - it's been a huge help. We're not out of the woods yet by any stretch, but I am feeling more optimistic (I don't want to tempt fate as I know she could easily go downhill too) x
 
Great news about slight improvment in blossom. Did you read my thread about COCOA I sent you.
You doing a great job. . Remember piggie doesn't know she's ill . . Keep Strong.
 
Nicjones99 said:
Thanks David, I have to admit I got to about page 30 then ran out of steam... how did Cocoa get on in the end? x
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Cancer killed her. The moral is she had zero back leg moment but had a beautiful 7 months extra . Was hard to see her like that and her quality of life in my eyes was worth keeping her going. . She had a spirit that was powerful and I miss her deeply but if you get chance read it all and like I say. . . She never knew she was ill she just got on with it. . Never showed pain but the mouth cancer spread and I lost her.
20181120_170252.webp
Look at that powerful girl.
Id let her go if she showed her illness getting her down.
 
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