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Sick Guinea pig not using back legs!

tashalwhite

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My 2 year old male guinea pig Bow, stopped using his back legs entirely 2 weeks ago, he was taken to the vets and given some injections (not sure what as i was away at the time!) and we were told it was something to do with his digestive tract and that the next 24 hours were crucial to whether he will survive. Two weeks on, he is still not using the legs, wont move around in his cage, not eating hard dry food, but will happily eat his greens still!? I am really quite concerned now as, he is usuall such a lively character and he is looking really poorly!! Please help with any advice at all!
 

foggycreekcavy

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I believe it would be best to get another vet's opinion. He could have nerve damage, or a calcium problem. Was the vet cavy knowledgeable? Were xrays taken? It would be helpful to know what the injections were.

It's concerning that he's not eating dry food--do you mean pellets? What about hay? Perhaps he had a fall that caused the paralysis as well as teeth problems?

Has he been losing weight? I would weigh him daily for now (use a kitchen scale and record his weight each day) and if he's losing any weight you probably want to start hand-feeding him with Critical Care.

For more info on hand-feeding-

https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
 

tashalwhite

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Thank you for your reply. I am taking him back to the vets tommorrow, and hope to get a second opinion. Unfortunately i was away when he got ill, so a friend had to take him, ao i dont know exactly what was said by the vet, or what he was given. He is eating his hay, and i have been soaking his dry pellets in water which he will then eat. And he is more than happy to eat his veggies and he doesnt appear to have lost any weight.
 

foggycreekcavy

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That's good. I recommend weighing daily and recording it--it's sometimes hard to tell if a guinea pig is actually eating as much as needed, and weighing lets you know. It's recommended to weigh every week--

https://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

Keep us posted! Good luck at the vet's.
 

tashalwhite

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Bow has been back to the vets and i have now been told he has a displaced disk in his spine, which is causing his paralysis. They advised us that it would take 6-8 weeks to see how much movement he will regain in his legs. He has since started to eat small amounts of dry pellet, and he is still eating his hay and greens well, so definately not loosing any weight! Thank you for your advise so far, is there anything that would be best to help out and improve his recovery!?
 
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