Conditions Managing osteoarthritis in back legs

[pigs down under]

Hi All,
A few weeks ago my guinea pig Lulu was limping and then wouldn't walk (within about an hour). It was really sudden as she seemed fine the night before We took her to the vet, had an x-ray and she has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Its in her back legs and hips from what could be seen on the x-rays. She was on meloxicam for a week but is now on cartrophen injections. She has improved a ton and is eating ect normally.
I was wondering if anyone else has a guinea pig with similar issues? If so how to best manage it in the long term.

She is currently in a 3X2 C&C cage because she was separated while she was on oral medications so we could monitor her eating/pooping. But will be going into a 3x7 with fleece bedding and pillows with 2 other pigs

She also had mineralisation of the tendons that connect the abdominal muscles to her hips. The vet had never seen it before in guinea pigs so i was also curious if anyone here has encountered it.

Thank you!

 

[WhyzPiggies2021]

You could add more towels for extra padding... if nothing else it's extra comfy for guinea pigs. My guinea pig was prescribed glucosamine (liquid form) for osteoarthritis. You could purchase Oxbow Joint Support. It has all sorts of interesting ingredients in it. Out of curiousity, was your guinea pig a "jumper" too ��?

 

[pigs down under]

Thank you for the reply! I'll ask the vet about that medication next time we're in. She was definitely a jumper and loved the little shelves and ikea dolls bed. (Both removed from her current area and will be taken out completely when she gets back in with her sisters)She also loves standing up on her back legs to beg for food when she sees me. Ill put extra towels down when i do a cage clean today so its more padded.
Thank you again!

 

[bpatters]

Don't pad it too much. Trying to move on soft padding is harder than on a firmer surface. You don't want a hard surface, but a lot of towels are not the answer. If you've got something waterproof you can put over the towels to make a smoother surface that would help. You can then put shavings down as bedding.

 

[WhyzPiggies2021]

My arthritic knee hurts more when I walk on my memory foam bathroom carpets and up an incline so...
That's a good point. Thanks BPatters!
The goal is for our piggies to walk on something flat. I only keep extra towels/u-haul where my guinea pig sleeps.

Any thoughts on the benefits of glucosime? Is it worth the money?
I ask for my guinea pig and for me.
It's been recommended to me for years but I haven't found any evidence that it is effective...
I've been told glucosamine MAY only be effective if it is combined with chondroitin & msm.

 

[bpatters]

There's not enough research on glucosamine in guinea pigs to say whether it works or not.

How old is your pig?

I kept an eight-year-old pig with severe arthritis going for several months on metacam, but eventually it lost its effectiveness and I had to have her put down.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I used glucosamine on two of my senior boars, Pooper and Sly. In the last six months of his life, Poopers left hind leg turned in on itself, and seemed to pain him especially on damp cool days.

I started supplementing them both with glucosamine liquid with chondroitin, 1ml per pig per day. Added vitamin C to that to make sure they got enough.

It DID seem to help Pooper some, and Sly really never dealt with arthritis until the final few months of his life. He was already on metacam at that point, but since he still loved his "juice" so much I still gave it to him.

I had also taken it myself many, many years ago with I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. I was 18. I don't recall if it had much of an effect on me but it must have if I remembered it for my pigs decades later.