Strange behavior

Question
I have had my guinea pig for only a month and a half and recently she has been acting strange. She is a baby, but I am not sure how old she is since the pet store didn't tell me. I took my pig to the vet because she was walking funny and wouldn't put pressure on her front leg, but the vet just told me she pulled a muscle in her shoulder. She kind of wobbles when she walks...it seems like she is having a hard time. It's understandable that she may have pulled a muscle since when he pushes on her right shoulder she squeaks, but I have a feeling there is definitely something else wrong with her and my vet wouldn't listen to me. She always lays on her side and lifts her legs into the air so they aren't touching the ground. And when she is on her side, it is sometimes hard for her to get back up, almost like she is stiff. She also licks this spot behind her back leg and it is kind of swollen so I'm not sure what to do for her. I want to take her to a different vet to get a second opinion but it is just too expensive. If you can offer any advice or reason why this is happening it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
I'm so sorry to hear you're having a problem with your new baby. My first instinct is that she may be suffering from Vitamin C deficiency, also known as Scurvy. I was recently asked by another member about her pig having Scurvy, but the symptoms she described were not that of a vitamin deficiency. Yours however, are quite descriptive.

Vitamin C is a necessary vitamin to all living things. Some animals make their own Vit C and other, like guinea pigs, do not. If the mother were not fed properly she may have passed on some of the deficiency to the babies. Since your pig is so young this has to have started before birth.

Vitamin C helps our bodies to build connective tissue, to make our bones and joints solid and healthy, helps us to absorb iron and to aid in healing our tissues when ill or injured. Without it the bones can become soft, the joints become swollen and painful and our muscles also become hardened and painful. Without it the gums can be affected and become swollen and bleed. In other words we can't live a healthy life without it.

One of the most obvious symptoms are joint tenderness and swelling. Pulling a muscle, although a possibility, is not making her do what she is doing. Feeding rabbit food instead of guinea pig food is a cause of Scurvy if adequate measures have not been taken to make sure the pig has enough Vit C. It is already added to guinea pig feed, but since rabbits make their own it's not necessary to add to their food.

The food you buy must be fresh. Sometimes there is a milling date on the package. That's not an expiration date. The Vit C begins to degrade quickly so the food must be used up in a month or two. Keeping it in the refrigerator is an option if you have only one pig. Put it in a plastic container, or even a zip lock bag. That helps keep it fresh as well.

If caught early it is treatable. She needs Vit C on a daily basis. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can buy Vitamin C crystals from places like Trader Joe's and it's quite inexpensive when you figure the amount of time that it lasts. It doesn't take much. One fourth of a teaspoon per gallon of water is all it takes. However, you have to mix it fresh every day and change the water bottle daily.

Parsley is an excellent source of Vit C. It has more per oz than any other fruit or vegetable. If you're not currently feeding guinea pig food you need to change that first. Don't buy the kind that has all the little colored things in it. That's just put there to look good to the owner. There's no nutritional value in it for the pig.

If she didn't act like her joints were hurting I would think that maybe she had an injury at birth, during delivery. But the swelling makes me think more that she is suffering from this vitamin deficiency.

Don't put vitamins (other than the Vit C crystals) in her water. It will make it taste funny and she won't drink it. The crystals have no smell or taste. I've tasted it myself to be sure. It's unfortunate that your vet didn't pick up on this, but in all fairness not many veterinarians have a great deal of experience with guinea pigs. So we can't completely fault him for that.

Try the supplementation first and start right away. Hopefully since she's young she may recover from it. Give her parsley every day, and get the vitamin crystals for her water. I have friends who have successfully used Vit C tablets, the chewable kind.  Their pigs eat them like candy. Mine won't touch them, so not all pigs find the same foods attractive.

I hope this brings some relief to your baby, and to you. Please keep in touch and let me know how she is doing.  Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray she hasn't gone too long to make a full recovery. In the meantime don't hesitate to write me anytime you feel you need to.