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piggie not walking

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cgibson

i noticed this afternnon that my piggie wasnt walking , he was just lying down.
he wouldnt even come to his veg
when i touch his tummy he sqeaks.
I picked him up and oput him on the settee and he just flopped down straight away.

he has done this before, and the vet said it could be his legs and he gave nme some metacam.
this was a long time ago so i dont know if it is still ok to give him the same medicine from the same bottle.

what do you think?
 
It usually means a lack of calcium, but it could be something else, there are others on this forum that can give you great advice for this problem, but i would definatly take the piggie to the vets also, asap
 
Oh hun i am sorry i hope you find the right meds soon,, best of wishes

them
 
Osteocare from Boots or Zolcal from SPH Supplies

Did the Metacam work? He sounds in pain but the Metacam should have made him feel a bit better for a while.
 
You said he squeeks when you touch his tummy,so he may have a digestive problem which is making walking difficult.I take it he is not bloated ?.
As he has done this before,it is of course possible that the problem is in the legs.,but if he is definately reacting when you press his tummy I would be inclined to get him to a vet asap.
 
got back from work yesterday and found that there was poo next to him, but about 6 pieces all stuck together in a pile. and there was another pile next to his bum.

still just lying around not walking

tried to get on the computer to see what your advice was but could not get connected( bloody talk talk)

anyway, got up this morning, he is walking a bit. he is still eating ok. looked in his bed and there was 6 or 7 normal poos not stuck together.

taking him to vets at 9 this morning,
so will let you know what happens.

thanks
 
just had bobby to the vets and he said it was a tummy upset.
which can affect the legs

he felt his legs to make sure there was no broken bones or anything and they were fine


he gave a baytril injection

is there any tablets i can give him for a tummy upset.
 
Hi Cazza, There are various drugs available,some over the counter,some p.o.m,but unless you know what the exact problem is you cannot give anything.Is there another vet in your area that you could try because just giving an antibiotic is the usual standbye of a vet who does not understand piggies.Yes.there could be a bacterial infection but as there has been no actual diarrheoa this is a bit unlikely.As the pain was bad enough to prevent mobility I would suspect a blockage of some kind.I feel that the vet should have done an xray or scan.

Something you could try is a probiotic,such as Bio-Lapis,otherwise known as Protexin.I get my supply from my vet,but I think you can get it on the net.In this case though It would be quicker to get some satchets from your vet,as you ned to start him on it straightaway.The vet should have supplied you with a probiotic anyway when he prescribed the Baytril.Bio-Lapis helps to balance the good flora in the gut,especially when antibiotic is being used.

There may be a probiotic available from pet shops,maybe Karen or someone knows.

As he is eating and now pelleting normally,hopefully the problem is not serious.

If this happens again,I would def. find another vet and get a scan done.

How old is this piggy?., and how long ago was the previous episode?.

Another thought in my mind is a recurring diverticulitis.
 
SPH Supplies sell a probiotic made by Vetark (Avipro) that I use. Sue despatches quickly but with the postal strike backlog ( ::) ) it'll take a little longer :)
 
how much of this avipro do you put in a syringe, cos he does not drink out of the bottle very often.

there is no more decent vets around my area, this is the best one i have found, and has been very good with guinea pigs, not like the others that did not have a clue.

he also is cataracts

he is about 3 and a half years old.
 
I can't remember off the top of my head how much Avipro you need ybut the dose will be on the tub.

What area are you in?
 
I'm in durham
have to rely on my sister to take me to the vet, as i dont drive.

the other 2 vets i have been to around this area have not known anything about guinea pigs or hamsters
i took my hamster to 1 of these, and they had to look in a book for the answers

so that is why i take my piggies to vets 4 pets he seems to know a lot about small rodents
my sister took all of her rats there for operations and they all came out fine.

i dont think there are any more vets around her, maybe some along way from here but it will be hard to get to, when i am relting on other people for transport
 
if it is a blockage what can i give him to get all his poo out

his poo seems to just be sitting there, half in and half out
it is probabaly uncomfortable for him

just need to give him laxative or something, i dont know

please help

what could be blocking him, as he nibbles on anything, cardboard tubes, towels

and how can i make him better
 
Is it just backed up a bit in his bottom? If this is the case then you can just gently help him by easing it out, much like you would an impaction, see - http://www.guinealynx.com/impaction.html

If you mean he is blocked up internally i.e. in his tummy then you need to get him back to a vet. Absolutely no laxatives - these could kill him. Is he eating hay? His regular food? Is he walking?
 
You must remove the impaction as this is very uncomfortable for the pig,and could be the cause of the immobility.

There is a good description of how to remove impaction on WWW.PETERGURNEY.COM .

Just gently roll back the sac and expel the feaces with your thumbs,should pop out easily.If the lump is hard,rub some Vaseline or KY Jelly round the inside of the rim.

Impaction of the anus is caused by weak anal muscles ,not from something they have eaten,so laxatives will not help at all.

Pigs with impaction are unable to ingest the large soft pellets which contain vitimin B complex,so if you have another piggy,feed the boar with some of ites pellets(the larger ,softer ones) alternatively,you could give 2 brewers yeast tablets per day.

The condition sometimes clear up after a while,but in older boars it can remain permanently.

Impaction is not a health threat as long as the anus is kept cleaned out.

Hopefully,impaction is the cause of the piggies immobility,rather than something more serious.

Get his bottom really cleaned out,keep it clear and see what happens.Obviously,if the piggy still cannot walk,or is off ites food, after the anus has been clear for a day,then another visit to the vet will be necessary.
 
Yes thats right Mary. My pookie has impaction nearly every day now, it has gradually got worse over this year and when its bad he is less inclined to move around, mainly because the "lump" is heavy I think! When you remove it is surprising how heavy it is imagining dragging that around! The relief after I've done it for him is amazing too!
 
I think it is impaction.

i squeezed his bottom a bit and a couple of poos came out.

so how do i keep it clean
and how often do i have to do it

he is still eating but is hiding away
 
Nooo! don't squeeze that will make the poop go back in!
You have to kind of roll the folds of skin back gently and slowly without catching his little todger in it, I usually find that my Pookie stays perfectly still while I'm doing it looking up at me all the time - bless him! If you hold your piggy with his back resting on your stomach and gently roll the folds of skin back the lump will appear and it will just get bigger until it usually falls out - don't try and pull it either just let it fall out - I usually put a piece of Kitchen roll under Pookie bum to catch it. Beware exceptionally smelly for us, but blessed relief for them!

I usually give him a little "botty" bath in the hand basin after to "freshen him up" I put a dash of hibiscrub in the water too. The amount you have to do it depends on how often it is apparent he has a build up, I have to do Pookie every day now but he is 5yrs old but it has gradually got more often over about a year now
 
thanks for the advice

can you tell me what hibiscrub is? and where do i get it from

is it normal for him to hide away?

when some poo came out i gave it too him and he ate it, which is good isnt it?

thanks
 
Glad you've discovered what it is :) It would be good to feedback to your vet and let them know what it was. There's no need to 'have an attitude' or anything, just be the relieved piggy parent and say 'I thought I'd let you know'. Either write to the vet and address it by name or ask that Mr/Mrs x gets this message. We can only hope that it will filter back and maybe help another piggy sometime :)
 
cazza said:
thanks for the advice

can you tell me what hibiscrub is? and where do i get it from

is it normal for him to hide away?

when some poo came out i gave it too him and he ate it, which is good isnt it?

thanks
Click to expand...

Its a disinfectant from the vets but you could put a tiny splash of dettol in.

Yes it is good that you offered it - I do too, but I didn't want to say in case some people went "ugh" but Peter Gurney always said to offer it back and I do, to be honest Pookie is usually desperate to get to it..........ugh! sorry everyone!
 
the vet had a look at his bum and got a few pieces of pooh put and said they were soft.
he did not say he was impacted

i have had another look and just got 2 pieces out and he ate them, and a few pieces of hay.
 
Cazza,
You can buy a bottle of Hibiscrub in a chemist,you will have to ask for it.It is not expensive and will last a long time.I sometimes use it to clean the floors of my pens and it is a good wound cleaner,and can be used to clean out an abcess site.It is a very useful product to keep in the house.

Alternatively you could just clean his bum with warm salt water.

Is this "hiding away" something new?,and does he just run and hide from you when you go to pick him up,or is he hiding all the time?
 
he is lying in his bed all the time.
he generally wanders around the cage, looking for food

he has been out for something to eat, then went back to bed.
 
got up this morning and he is generally waiting at his food bowl for something to eat, but he was still hiding in his bed.

i put a bowl of veg and dry mix and hay out for them.

he is eating hay, he went to his dry mix, had a sniff and left.
he had a sniff of lettuce and left that aswell, which is not like him, he generally gulps it down.

is there anything i can do to make him eat.
or should i take him back to the vets
or is he feeling sorry for himself,

i dont know what to do.
 
Where are you? Perhaps there's someone nearby that can help a bit more. I agree with DSL about going back to the vet and hand feeding (there's a link about syringe feeding on the basic supplies list at the top of this section), but try cutting cutting stuff up and see if he'll eat it too.

Syringe Feeding- the basics this is the syringe feeding document and tells you when not to feed as well.
 
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