Help! My guinea pig is dragging his back foot!
This is kind of a long post! I’ll try to make it short but my poor Butters has been through a lot in the past month! I got Butters & Benny at a pet store, first Benny then he was lonely so two days later I got Butters. I started to get worried about Butters he was sneezing a lot and had some nasal discharge I work nights scheduled a vet appt for the next day while I was at work Benny started having seizures long story short we treated Them both with Bactrim for a week but ended up putting Benny down because he wasn’t getting better and seemed like he had a stroke and couldn’t move much of his body (this was terrible as he was only a month old and I had him a week and a half) literally held him in a warm towel for two days straight. 😢 It was terrible. Then butters was doing better eating a ton gaining weight but him eating has never been a problem after the first week of Bactrim he was still tilting his head I took him to a new vet and she said to try an additional week to be safe but if not he may just have a residual tilt. I have a new buddy for Butters since he went through it all! Bear, they love each other and get along great. I got them both checked up she said to give him the second week of Bactrim and Bear had a clean bill of health. Butters still has a head tilt but he eats fine. Tonight I took the boys out for floor time and when I went to put butters back in the cage I noticed he is dragging/limping/holding up his back right leg. I know he tries to leap back into the cage when I put him back so idk if maybe a couple days ago he snagged in on the cage bars when going back in but I try to hold his limbs when putting him back to prevent any injury. I’m calling the vet first thing in the morning I’m just scared. I love him so much he’s the sweetest cuddle bug and he’s already been through a lot I just want to give him the best longest life possible and prevent any more illness or problems for him! Thanks for reading and any advice you may give!
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Sef
- I dissent.
I'm sorry that you lost Benny. Unfortunately, pet store guinea pigs are notorious for having any number of health issues, one of the most common being upper respiratory infections. It's too late now, but the new guinea pig really should have been quarantined for a period of at least 2 weeks before introducing him to Butters, since he's also from a pet store and there is the potential for him to expose Butters to further illness. As well, Butter himself has been ill and is possibly not yet fully recovered. Do read the GL info on quarantine for future reference:
https://www.guinealynx.info/quarantine.html
It sounds like Butters could have a mild sprain, but have you checked for any signs of a wound on either the leg or foot? Vitamin C deficiency can also cause limping. What is his diet? See:
https://www.guinealynx.info/scurvy.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/quarantine.html
It sounds like Butters could have a mild sprain, but have you checked for any signs of a wound on either the leg or foot? Vitamin C deficiency can also cause limping. What is his diet? See:
https://www.guinealynx.info/scurvy.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html
I did not get Bear from the pet store and I had him checked before and Butters was off antibiotics and they were only about a month old so I wasn’t sure I had to but thank you! If I add any to the group I will do!! They get pellets with vitamin C drops (8 drops daily), Timothy hay, and I add a little veggie weekly slowly to watch their stools so far they have had spinach, romaine, green pepper, small piece of apple once or twice, cucumber, and carrots. I have tried doing so much research because these are my first piggies. His foot looks normal besides how he tucks it and drags it when walking. I have an early afternoon appointment with their vet for him!
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I am so sorry for the loss of Benny.
Let us know how it goes at the vet.
p.s. you may want to reevaluate the diet after he gets older (over 6 months) since both spinach and romaine (fine foods) can contribute to the formation of stones in guinea pigs who are genetically inclined to develop them. It is something to watch out for.
Read over www.guinealynx.info/stones.html for more info.
Let us know how it goes at the vet.
p.s. you may want to reevaluate the diet after he gets older (over 6 months) since both spinach and romaine (fine foods) can contribute to the formation of stones in guinea pigs who are genetically inclined to develop them. It is something to watch out for.
Read over www.guinealynx.info/stones.html for more info.
His foot looked normal then I looked again today and it does look a little reddened so maybe bumble foot? We will see I will keep you guys posted! Thanks for the advice Everyone! Just trying to navigate the piggy life! I feel like I’m losing my mind cause I saw how fast they can decline when Benny was literally fine eating, drinking, & popcorning then while at work I hear he was seizing then came home had the vet appt that morning and he wasn’t moving that much just standing then the next day couldn’t even stand and just limp. So I make vet appt as soon as I think something is wrong. And I’m having trouble because I was watching my boys during floor time and when my other guinea pig peed it looked creamy yellowish and when it dried it was pasty white. So idk if Bear is too young to have stones but they literally have only had spinach and romaine twice so far in the month and a half I’ve had them. And Bear is almost 2 months and old. So I noticed that last night so I called this morning and am just gonna bring him in as well.
UPDATE**
We just got back from the vet! @lynx and @sef1268.
They did imagine of Butters chest and leg. There is no bone break she presumed it is just a soft tissue injury. I will now be putting them in the cage with their backsides first inrwad somewhere on here that’s what someone suggested. Of course when I went to the vet he was walking better which I’m not complaining at all but it was very weak comparable to the other side. As for his head tilt and the funny noise he makes when he gets excited I didn’t mention above because I wanted to attach a video to get everyone’s opinion but don’t know how to attach a video when he tries to squeak or get excited it’s super raspy and so weird I can’t find anything like it online to describe it and I showed her the video cause at first she was saying maybe it’s from a respiratory infection he had prior but then when she actually heard it and he did it once while we were there which I was shocked cause he doesn’t do it often she then wanted to do imaging of his chest as well to make sure there wasn’t a residual infection still lurking. His lungs and heart looked good except there was an enlarged lymph node she wasn’t too excited about and said we are gonna try steroids for 10 days to help if he has any residual infection to shrink the inflamed node and she said that could help with his head tilt possibly but it’s also very possible that’s just him now! Which I love him no matter what! And as long as the noise doesn’t persist or get more frequent we will hope the prednisone works. As for Bear he has gained 100grams in a few weeks and his urine she said was normal just his body excreting what he doesn’t need. She felt and no stones everything checked out! Thanks for everyone’s advice and help!
We just got back from the vet! @lynx and @sef1268.
They did imagine of Butters chest and leg. There is no bone break she presumed it is just a soft tissue injury. I will now be putting them in the cage with their backsides first inrwad somewhere on here that’s what someone suggested. Of course when I went to the vet he was walking better which I’m not complaining at all but it was very weak comparable to the other side. As for his head tilt and the funny noise he makes when he gets excited I didn’t mention above because I wanted to attach a video to get everyone’s opinion but don’t know how to attach a video when he tries to squeak or get excited it’s super raspy and so weird I can’t find anything like it online to describe it and I showed her the video cause at first she was saying maybe it’s from a respiratory infection he had prior but then when she actually heard it and he did it once while we were there which I was shocked cause he doesn’t do it often she then wanted to do imaging of his chest as well to make sure there wasn’t a residual infection still lurking. His lungs and heart looked good except there was an enlarged lymph node she wasn’t too excited about and said we are gonna try steroids for 10 days to help if he has any residual infection to shrink the inflamed node and she said that could help with his head tilt possibly but it’s also very possible that’s just him now! Which I love him no matter what! And as long as the noise doesn’t persist or get more frequent we will hope the prednisone works. As for Bear he has gained 100grams in a few weeks and his urine she said was normal just his body excreting what he doesn’t need. She felt and no stones everything checked out! Thanks for everyone’s advice and help!
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