Feet Baby dragging a foot

[2Ellen]

There is a 2 month old female who needs a home. According to the owner who posted on CL, she says, "The baby seems to have a hard time with her right foot. She drags it occasionally. I looked it up on google and it sounds like a normal phenomenon but I wanted to make sure to let you know". She goes on to say, "Baby - very laid back and lets me pet her, also takes veggies from my hands without being scared of me, shes tiny" and has "quite an appetite especially for lettuce".

I did a bit of research online and didn't come up with anything saying it's a "normal phenomenon" like the owner says. I did see some articles about the possibility of a Vitamin C deficiency but since I've only had one adult many years ago I wanted to ask you what is your opinion of what is going on with baby's foot? I don't want to get in over my head since I'm not an experienced cavy owner.

 

[bpatters]

It could be a birth injury, or an injury from being dropped or mishandled, or something congenital.

A vitamin C deficiency would be extremely unlikely to only affect one limb.

Could you arrange with the owner to take her for a check-up with an exotic vet and see what s/he says? I'm guessing it's nothing that's going to get worse, but I'm not a vet and haven't seen the pig.

 

[2Ellen]

I could check. She is 2 hours away from me. She said she just recently introduced the baby to an older female pig and wondered if the older one got a bit aggressive with her but isn't sure. They aren't bonded at the moment. Maybe the introduction got a bit carried away and there's nothing to worry about?

 

[bpatters]

So the foot dragging is new? Then it's almost certainly some kind of injury, but it could be completely accidental.

 

[2Ellen]

There doesn't seem to be a way to get it checked out by an exotic vet. I'm 2 hours away and so should I pass on meeting the 2 month in hopes that someone who lives in the same town can take her to the vet or even better, someone with experience can help out? I'm thinking I should pass since I'm pretty much new at owning guinea pigs.

 

[bpatters]

Actually, if I lived two hours from an exotic vet, I wouldn't get a guinea pig at all. Small animal vets are not qualified to treat guinea pigs -- "small animal" means dogs and cats. The pig will eventually need veterinary help, and there won't be any available to you.