Hind end/back injury

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AliceMcmallis
Supporter in '08

Post   » Mon Feb 21, 2005 2:41 pm


We got a call from an animal control about a guinea pig that was surrendered yesterday and looks like it's injured. I'm wondering if there is anything obvious I should be looking for based on her symptoms?

Sorry I don't have time to do a search as I leave work in an hour and am picking her up tonight, I have no internet access outside of work. I will try to find a way to access GL at the vet though, maybe over the phone with a friend.

I think I'm going to pick her up and take her to the vet's for x-rays, but am not too sure if there's anything else I should be looking for or asking about.

Here are her details (second hand, I have not actually seen the pig yet):

7 month old female, dropped or picked up by hind legs by child

She seems to be able to push herself forward a bit with her back legs although they drag, her bum is being pushed forward by her legs it sounds like, they also say her abdomen isn't being lifted off the ground

Front legs work fine, she can walk in a straight line and get around her cage well, although her front feet are red and swollen

She is eating and drinking fine; does not appear to be in obvious pain

She is urinating and pooping, although her poops look wet and she is urinating on her legs. Her poops also may appear to be getting stuck, they are not sure if she has control over her bowels

Also, her eyes are a bit crusty and her skin is flaky, probably unrelated but thought I would mention it.

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salana
GL is Just Peachy

Post   » Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:28 pm


Is she chewing on her hind feet? It seems like every pig that's done that after a back injury has painful spinal cord damage. When was she dropped? Some kind of anti-inflammatory, either a steroid or an NSAID, will probably help.

Check her for a UTI, which she probably has if she's sitting in her pee.

She probably has mites and possibly a URI too.

ChadWPB

Post   » Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:32 pm


Wow. All that and she's only 7 months old. Poor little sow.

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AliceMcmallis
Supporter in '08

Post   » Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:35 pm


Salana, that's the one question I asked that they missed answering. Unfortunately no one knows when she was dropped. I will dose her with Metacam as soon as I pick her up.

I will make a note of the UTI possibility too, and will dose with ivermectin tonight depending what the x-rays say.

Will check in later if I can manage it, thanks for the quick reply.

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AliceMcmallis
Supporter in '08

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:28 am


The guinea pig (now called Megan) got an x-ray last night and it was determined that there are no fractures anywhere. The vet couldn't see anything obvious and said it could be a bruised spinal cord or nerve damage. My friend will be taking pics of the x-ray and I will hopefully be able to post them in a couple of days.

The woman who described her condition to me got it spot on, she is not really dragging her feet, but they are somewhat curled under her body. She almost looks like she's in the fetal position in her back end. I'm wondering if this couldn't be solely the result of the mites and the pain she's in from them?

She is not chewing on her feet at all. She squeaked in pain when the vet touched her legs and moved them around. Especially it seemed when he tried to straighten them out.

Her mites are terrible. She's got that thick, scaly, white crust that has been posted here before. She has a lot of hair loss, but no scabs or open wounds. The skin that doesn't have the white crust is very inflamed looking, bright reddish pink. She also has crusty eyes, but no unusual breathing sounds as of yet.

The vet gave her an injection of ivermectin, as well as an injection of 10 mg of Depomedrol. Comments on the steroid would be welcome.

He says I'm not to give her any more steroids at home, as this med is long lasting and will cover her for 4 weeks. I need to know what pain meds I can use in addition to this though, as I'm sure she's still in some pain.

I have also started her on Baytril. I gave her Vitamin C this morning, as well as 9 ccs of sub cue fluids. She seemed very dehydrated, and did not poop at all overnight. I fed her 10 ccs of pellet mash, as well as 5 ccs of water. When I put a bowl of water out for her after that (I think she couldn't drink from the bottle properly) she started drinking on her own. She did perk up a bit after the feeding and fluids.

I think I will make a cart for her based on the Roxy Roller thread in Reference asap. I want to bathe her tonight as she reeks, but I'm so scared of hurting her. The sub cues were a disaster, she screamed in pain the whole time, it was terrible.

I have her in a small carrier at present to hopefully limit her movement. She's got her hay, food and water right in front of her. I will try to do more research today and figure out if there's anything else I can do for her.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:45 am


Poor piggy! If you can bear the smell, you might should wait on the bath until the ivermectin has kicked in, since the bath would probably hurt her terribly. She may need a fungal bath or treatment with Program, too, if fungus is present. I guess the squeaks of pain are a good thing, but how heartbreaking! If you make a cart, post pictures.

I don't know what pain meds can go with that steroid, but hopefully someone with the knowledge will pipe up soon. There is a recent thread here started by ladyveg (rescued very sick, mitey pigs) and I think there is a mite/steroid/pain med discussion on it.

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salana
GL is Just Peachy

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 11:08 am


I don't know how long the steroid will last, but it's good that she has one. It'll help both with the back thing and the mites. You shouldn't give NSAIDs with it, of course. I think she could have a narcotic if the pain is still bad, but since she's apparently not eating too well, I'm not sure if that would be good.

It's bad that her legs hurt, but good that she can feel them and that she's not chewing on her feet. Hopefully this is a temporary injury.

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salana
GL is Just Peachy

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 11:13 am


Oh--I think "Depo" is a generic sort of term used for any injection that's supposed to last a long time, e.g. Depo-Provera.

I looked up Depomedrol and found this page, which says it's a prednisolone derivative.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 11:55 am


I'm glad you're going to try to help this pig. Taking care of the mites will make a huge difference. Good luck to you both.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:05 pm


Oh, folks, would a fungal infection make a pig smelly? Alice didn't post what kind of smell (generic dirty pig smell or something else), but the description of her skin sounded bad, and perhaps a skin infection is present. Any thoughts?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:14 pm


Oh, definitely possible. Could be antibiotics would help. If she's seen a vet, the vet should be able to tell.

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leebee

Post   » Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:37 pm


Alice, although she smells, I think you should probably hold off on bathing her until the mites are better. Just touching a pig with mites that bad can induce seizures, plus it is absolute agony to them.

If you think she might have a fungal infection, I'd give her some Program (although double-check that it can be given with the steroid). I don't think it is a fungal infection, it sounds like the typical really bad mite infestation. Every pig I've seen with an infestation that bad has had that white crust.

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