Apologies for not being clear
OD is the shortened name for the bone disease Osteodystrophy that many Satins suffer from. It seems they suffer in varying degrees. At the moment there is no cure only pain killers.
The Calcium is not drawn up into the bones and the skeleton decalcifies. Thjis is evident when Guinea starts to bunny hop, selects softer foods or cannot eat the hard foods even though he tries. They also seem to go off hay, maybe too painful to eat?
Legs are held at an angle, in deep bedding this can easily go unnoticed. I have noticed that my OD Satins sit with splayed back legs and feet that turn outwards. All these things can also be signs of other problems so people must not be blinded by the Satin coat- but they must bear OD in mind when examining a Satin.
A common veterinary misdiagnosis is that the pig has Scurvy, we have seen this happen on several occasions, up and down the country, only for x-rays to prove that it's OD that's present.
My site is down at the moment but take a look later and go to Satin Study, there a couple of stories on there from Satin owners that lost their pigs to OD.
Karen
www.readingguineapigrescue.co.uk
