Skinny pig with hip/leg injury

Question
QUESTION: I got a skinny pig from pet store last week who had been treated for head tilt. He still had signs of head tilt when got him home shoe has been to the vet and is now on antibiotics.  Last night he was running around pop corning everywhere and was good when I put him in his cage at night. This morning he woke up with a limp left leg. When I look at him from above, the left hip looks further out than the right one and his femur is being held in different position from the other leg. I have no idea what happened to him -maybe he fell from his head tilt. Should leave it Ora while to see if it heals itself?

TX
Kathy

ANSWER: To be honest Kathy I think I would have a serious talk with the store you bought him from. He may have had an underlying issue with his hip before you got him. The head tilt is also concerning.

Head tilt can be caused by a couple of things. The most common is an inner ear infection. That causes them to lose their equilibrium, thus tilting the head because they are off balance and essentially can't straighten themselves out.  Head tilt from this kind of thing is usually permanent. The cochlea in the ear is damaged and when you pick them up the tilt gets worse because their balancing mechanism doesn't know which end is up and they feel like the room is spinning.

The other cause is spinal or brain damage at birth. Again a permanent thing. It's possible that he might have fallen, although hip and leg injuries in cavies are generally caused by trauma such as being tugged on as they try to run from you or having gotten caught in something and dislocated the hip in an attempt to free themselves. In that case they are crippled by a permanent injury.

The leg injuries I've seen were caused by children grabbing the foot or leg as they try to catch the pig. It's an accidental injury, not abuse. But it happens. And it's permanent.

I'm sure your heart was in the right place when you decided to 'save' this poor Skinny Pig and take it home. But the fact that he was ill when you got him makes me wonder why the pet store would sell him in the first place??  Without meaning to sound harsh, they willingly sold you damaged goods. And Skinny Pigs usually sell for a pretty good price.

This is a decision you will have to make as to how far you're willing to go for a sick pig that you will very likely not be able to heal. But I definitely think you should talk to the manager of that store about future expenses for treatment and care.

I'm sure the store manager will vehemently disagree with me. After all they're in business to make money and even though they're selling adorable pets to families who are stricken with love by the sight of them, their number one interest is profit, not the welfare of the animals they sell. And in my opinion this is a good example of those priorities.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response.

Unfortunately I was of the impression that I was purchasing a healthy skinny pig. The head tilt was only mentioned to me in passing after I purchased him and I was told that it had been cured. Nonetheless, the head tilt has improved substantially but I am now much more concerned about his hip which in my non expert opinion does look dislocated. I was more wondering if this is a treatable condition?
Yes I have already contacted the pet store who is honoring a 14 day return policy but will not tell me if they will offer him any treatment as it is their "property". You are right the manager is all business -he was more upset at the person who mentioned the head tilt to me.
Anyway I am in a Dilems as this little pig is absolutely sweat, more cuddly than I could have imagined and otherwise seems perfectly happy in his new home.  It would seem ridiculous to most but I wonder if he can be treated?

Kathy

ANSWER: Honesty I think you should save yourself some real heartache and return the pig. Isn't it ironic that the manager was more concerned about the clerk disclosing the head tilt then he was about the health of the pig.

What will probably happen is that one of the clerks will end up taking it home and getting a price break from the vet if the store has one. Stores like PetSmart have in house vets and they sometimes do that for the employees. However, this little guy will have a short life because of all the troubles, despite whatever effort is made to keep him going.

A hip dislocation may take surgery at this point to fix. The pig is likely in pain from it. As hard as it is to be realistic you really need to consider the problems you're facing by keeping him. In the end you may lose the battle anyway, and heaven knows how much money in the meantime. So give serious consideration to just biting the bullet and returning him.  

I know that's hard because you've gotten attached. But if you're still asking my opinion this isn't a time for sentiment to get in the way.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well as it turns out he has a dislocated knee cap which the vet thinks will pop back into place once the ligaments begin to tighten up again. So in the mean time he is being limited in his activity and has some pain medication. Fortunately,I  found a very good exotic vet who seems to be in it for the love of animals rather than money. Obviously my vet bill has already been more than I anticipated 2 weeks ago. Webster has become very attached to me already and I to him so I was relieved that at least it is not his hip as I probably would have taken him back.
I also feel bad for the poor Petsmart employee (kind and helpful) who probably got into trouble for giving me "too much" information. Not at all impressed with Petsmart management!

Answer
Thank you so much for the update. It's funny how many people don't like the hairless pigs because they have not hair. But they all seem to have the sweet dispositions that make them so loving.  

I do think you should write to PetSmart corporate headquarters and tell them about the whole incident. If they are reprimanding employees for being truthful to customers that doesn't speak well for their ethics. They should know how you as a customer feel. And trust me, they do act on those things and they WILL get back to you.

Word of mouth is a very powerful tool and they know that if you have a bad experience you're going to tell everyone you know. They don't want that kind of bad press, so they will do what they need to for the sake of their reputation.

You're very fortunate to have found a vet that can deal with cavies. Most of them don't.

Thanks again for keeping me posted.