Paralyzed piglet- Need some pointers.

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squidgepidge

Post   » Mon Mar 19, 2018 11:59 am


So the place I volunteer takes in surrendered pigs all the time, and we recently brought in a couple pregnant girls. I think 5 or 6 babies in all were born, and all are perfectly loud and healthy. They are 6 days old as of today.

The problem is, there’s one little boy who’s very disabled. His back legs are splayed behind him and he can’t seem to walk on them besides kind of using them as flippers and scooting across his cage. His front paws are twisted in so that he walks on his wrists. Back legs seem to be getting a little stronger, but front paws will likely stay like that forever. He gets around pretty fast considering his condition, and he gets enough food from his mom as far as I can tell. (Also his name as of now is Flipper, I think that’s pretty cute)

If all goes well and my two girls get along with him, I should be taking him home (once he’s fixed). I know that he’s going to need some special care, and I’m willing to put a lot of time and effort into him every day to give him the best life he deserves.

I will obviously be consulting my vets, but are there any owners here with personal experience to give me some pointers? Will he need some sort of rehab? Should I fit him with something so the parts of his body he drags don’t get sore? Will he need extra nutrition or help exercising?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:15 pm


That sort of deformity is caused, at least some of the time, by the sow's exposure to too much heat at a certain point in the pregnancy. Whether that's the case here, I'm not sure, especially if there were other pups in the litter.

I'd supplement him with vitamin C and see if that helps with the splayed back legs. An x-ray might also tell you whether his bones have enough calcium to support his weight.

There's probably nothing to be done for his front paws, but pigs like that generally do very well if housed on fleece that's kept clean.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:19 pm


I think gentle, warm massage might help (could loosen ligaments).

minnesota92

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:49 pm


I'm 99% sure there are tutorials on how to make wheelchairs/where to buy wheelchairs for guinea pigs. I had a corgi with degenerative myelopathy, which is the human version of ALS and she had a wheelchair. There are pigs out there with wheels too! They seem to be very adaptable at any age. Mine was 12 and she just flew around. I have seen cases of guinea pig abuse where spinal injuries caused a loss of movement and tiny wheelchair works. Might be something to look into?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2018 8:36 pm



SkittleandTwix
Supporter in '11

Post   » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:45 pm


UTIs are a big problem with paralyzed guinea pigs. They drag their bottoms more and have trouble grooming their hind ends. Even more significantly, they often can arch their backs, which is necessary to completely empty their bladders. If they can't empty their bladders, they have a high risk of having a bladder infection. Be sure to ask the vet if this guinea pig can fully empty his bladder. If he can't, the vet may be able to teach you how to help him express his bladder.

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