Paralyzed

Post Reply
Braddy

Post   » Thu Dec 12, 2013 12:06 am


My guinea pig is about 3 years old.
About 3 weeks ago he lost movement in one of his back legs and then about a week later it seemed as though he was impacted or he just lost the ability to poop and pee nicely. 3 days ago he lost movement in his other back leg. I found an article about this in Piggy Potions by Peter Guerney and he said to use Oteocare. I followed the instructions and have given some to him for the past 2 days but do not see much change, except he is calmer now where as before it seemed as though he was uncomfortable.
He will eat and move his front half but needs help getting his poop out and it seems as though he struggles to pee.
I live in Rwanda and there is not vet that knows guinea pigs.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

User avatar
jacqueline

Post   » Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:01 am


I'm sorry your pig is sick. It sounds like he may have had a stroke. Several of my pigs have had strokes. It doesn't seem to be painful for them.

I would try to weigh your pig daily for now to make sure he's not losing weight. Watch to make sure he's eating and drinking. If he has trouble with elimination - urine or stool - you'll need to help him. If he's not eating yu'lll need gto hand feed right away:
https://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html

For help with impaction (when he can't push his own poo out):
https://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html

If he's dragging himself around, you may want to check his skin to make sure it isn't get red and raw.

He may recover some movement in a few days. If not, as long as he seems to be okay and happy, he'll adjust to his limited mobility. At least that would be my guess.

If he starts to have problems peeing - I'd think he really would need a vet visits for that.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:06 am


Other than stroke or an injury (has he fallen or been dropped recently?) my thought would be a vitamin C deficiency. How much vitamin C is he getting in his diet? A condition called "scurvy" can cause weak muscles and difficulty walking. You can read more about it here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/scurvy.html

Is he behaving normally otherwise?

User avatar
jacqueline

Post   » Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:07 am


Good catch Sef! Ewww for scurvy.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:08 pm


If he had a stroke, making sure he is getting enough food by weighing a couple times a day and hand feeding will be very important to keeping him going and letting him heal. www.guinealynx.info/.html

Post Reply