Injury My cavy is in pain

[Cocoa the cavy]

My cavy seems to be in a lot of pain. She sometimes will run around the cage frantically like something's chasing her while flinching. She was okay when I held her, but when I pet her she jumped like it hurt. I'm guessing this has been caused by old age, but it seems really bad for her. What can I do to help her?

 

[bpatters]

What do you mean, "while flinching?"

If she's jumping when you pet her, she could have mites. They can make a pig mighty cranky.

How old is she?

 

[Cocoa the cavy]

She hops around her cage and flinches, like she's trying to get away from the pain. Mites could be a reason, but when I pet her it seemed like a specific spot was bothering her because she didn't flinch every time I pet her, only near her shoulders. She is almost five years old and her sister has already died of old age.

 

[Soecara]

Is it possible she has fallen from somewhere and injured herself? Perhaps she has arthritis? Is she by any chance a satin? A trip to a good exotics vet sounds necessary, they should be able to diagnose her (x-rays may be necessary for diagnosing her) and put her onto medication, like metacam, to help manage her pain.

 

[Cocoa the cavy]

I don't think she could have fallen from anywhere, since she's always in her cage and I own her, so my family would ask before taking her out. It could be arthritis, actually. I just know that the vet is really expensive and sometimes there's nothing they can do to help guinea pigs, so I want to make sure it is absolutely necessary.

 

[Soecara]

Most vets are not trained to deal with guinea pigs, if you post your general location we may be able to help you find one who is.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Five years old is not old. A healthy 5 year old pig would most likely not be arthritic, unless it has a previous injury. Do not jump to the conclusion that it's "just old age", because it's not. Even pigs older than yours will still need to be treated by a vet if something like this were occurring.

Mites can concentrate in one area, making that area painful to the touch.