Conditions Pig Struggling to Walk

[alblaylock]

So I have a pig I adopted last July, he is about a year and a half old.

When I adopted him, I was told it was because he was too shy to sell. They had him in quarantine and were trying to work with him to help him overcome his fear of people.

SO, turns out he's actually super friendly. However, he has troubles walking. His back legs don't seem to work the way he wants them to. He can't run, and even when walking he will fall over and kind of flail to get back up. If you looked at him, it almost looks like he has the shakes, even when standing in one spot. I've had him checked out by a specialty vet, and they think perhaps he had a back injury that caused his back legs and motor skills to be damaged. She also don't think that it's going to affect him negatively in the long run as long as I watch his food, since he's not as physically active as the others.

He's a happy pig, don't really have any trouble eating or interacting with me. He is currently separated from my other three boars, since he can't defend himself and they tend to pick on him. He's in a portion 2x2 C&C, that's connected to the other boars. I haven't really considered putting him in anything bigger, because when he was in a larger area, he seemed to struggle more getting around.

He is a little smaller than my other pigs, weight wise although he has maintained that pretty well. I've thought about supplementing his diet with critical care to ensure he's getting all of his proper nutrients. He eats well, but is pretty picky. Thoughts?

Thank you in advance!

 

[SquigglyPigs]

I could definitely be wrong about this, but did the vet mention that he could have vitamin C deficiency? It can cause guinea pigs to hop when they walk or have stiff legs. If your pig likes Critical Care, you could mix in some of the vitamin C drops from the pet store (the kind that is meant to be put in water, but shouldn't be) just to cover your bases. They recommend 50 mg of vitamin C per day if the pig has a deficiency. Here's the Guinea Lynx page about it: http://www.guinealynx.info/scurvy.html

It's just a thought and it wouldn't hurt to try it. Perhaps your pig already gets enough vitamin C and your vet could be right. Just take a look at some of the symptoms on the guinea lynx page if you're curious. Good luck!

 

[alblaylock]

I don't *think* it's Vit C deficiency, only because he's pretty good about to eating green peppers and other Vit. C foods. I did check out the Guinea Lynx page, and his legs are really the only thing on that list that sticks out.

I'm not sure if I can add a video here or not? To be honest, it looks very similar to someone who has Parkinson's. Even when standing, he has a hard time controlling his motions.

 

[PandaPiggle]

When you say he eats well but is pretty picky, what does that mean? If he's eating hay and 1/8 cup of good pellets, then he doesn't need critical care, but if he's not eating any veggies with vitamin C then he needs a supplement of vitamin C only. Actually I've got to go get one for Clarissa (my newest) because even now that she's in with the herd she still won't touch green pepper or anything else with appreciable vitamin C.

Also I'd go join the GuineaLynx forum and post this there because they're much more into medical stuff than we are here, especially odd medical cases, but do come back and let us know how he's doing!

 

[alblaylock]

He eats his pellets, hay, green peps, and some other veggies. He's just picky about what kinds of veggies he'll eat. Medically he's been like this since I got him and he's been checked out by two separate vets, one when I adopted him, plus my normal exotic vet.

I was just curious if anyone thought it might be a good idea to supplement his intake. Originally when I got him, we thought maybe he was just weak from being in an extremely small cage, but it hasn't gone away. I just want to make sure he keeps up his strength and is getting 100% of his nutrients.

 

[PandaPiggle]

Critical care is just basically ground pellets, so if he's eating his pellets then he shouldn't need critical care. And if he eats pellets then the only veggie he absolutely needs is green pepper, and leaf lettuces are good too, but everything else is for fun. Now if I could just get Clarissa to eat what he eats I'd be a happy mama

 

[foggycreekcavy]

If you can post a video that would be great.

How is he doing now?

Did any of the vets take an X-ray?