[Gpdd] HEALTH: arthritic piggies

[Ann Sadoian]

 OK, Penny, here is one "lurker," responding to your challenge! =) I have wanted to post, as I may have some helpful advice for any piggies out there suffering from arthritis. We have been dealing with arthritis all this year, as my two elderly girls both developed it in their old age. Dart passed away in June at 7y/4m; Tessie is now 7y/4m, and doing quite well except for stiff, arthritic back legs. I am thrilled that this bunch of piggies has been so long-lived, as I have had piggies as pets off-and-on throughout my life, and none of my previous ones ever lived to this ripe, old age.
Penny gave me great advice to help me when Tessie seemed be paralyzed in her rear legs in January. I couldn't get Tabritis pills or English vetbed (though I tried!), so I used the closest American equivalent to Tabritis I could find in a local supplement shop. I also gave her pain meds per our vet's prescription. She didn't immediately show improvement with the supplement treatment, but eventually she recovered. She has never been as spry and light on her feet (she spends most of her day lying in one or two spots), but she is able to get to her food and drink on her own, so that's a good thing.
This summer, I read a post from the VP of the rescue where we got our piggies (and where Joanne got hers, as well!). I believe there is a link to this rescue on the undercover piggies site (ctguineapigrescue.org--The Critter Connection). She had success using glucosamine/chondroitin (cosequin) for cats with her arthritic guinea pig. Her vet recommended dividing the powder in the capsule into four portions, and giving a portion per day. I checked with our vet, and she thought it couldn't hurt, so we have been doing so for almost five weeks. I can't say for certain that it has helped tremendously, though Tessie does seem to rest much more comfortably (before treatment, she seemed to be standing for long periods on her stiff, old legs). She still doesn't move around much. But I will continue the course of treatment. She is also on prescription pain meds as needed. And I was able to order European vetbed from Amazon, and both Tessie and her friend enjoy
 lounging on it.
I am including links to the article about the cat cosequin and the Amazon site where I ordered the vetbed. Last I checked, you could no longer link to the vetbed site. Maybe a little digging will turn something up.
As for my poor, old Dart (who passed away in June), all we did was give her the pain meds and Depends to sleep on (someone on GPDD recommended this)--also Critical Care, as she got to the point where it was very difficult for her to get around. She was a good, old girl--we miss her very much!
Below are the links. I hope this is a help to someone out there.
http://guineapigconnection.typepad.com/pig_notes/guinea-pig-health/ 
http://sleepypaws.com/
AnnTessie & her young friend, Purdy (who is doing "home healthcare" for old Tessie--being a nice companion, as Tessie seemed to be depressed when Dart died--Purdy is one of my friend's gp's)