Potential fall/stroke/unknown injury

Question
I had to have my guinea pig put to sleep this morning after several days of him not really being able to use his back legs and having to be hand fed and watered. The vets that I saw could not work out whether he had fallen or had some kind of stroke. He made a small improvement after initially looking like he was going to pass away but, after that seemed to get worse and thinner, despite the fact that he was eating. The only place he can have fallen from is the ramp in his hutch, which at its highest point is about a foot high. He was a very small little chap anyway and we are pretty sure he was the runt of the litter. I noticed that he could only crawl using his front legs a couple of days ago then he got worse and could not even stand. Later that day he could stand but, showed no inclination to move anywhere, hence hand feeding and watering him. All he wanted to do was drink a bit, eat a bit then sleep. The vet felt that as he had not improved at all, he was not going to. I am sure she is right as she tried to help him but, I keep wondering what might have been. Could a fall from that height have injured him that badly? The vet also thinks he may have had some kind of stroke, but, in his spine rather than his brain. I am feeling guilty about the possibility that he could have fallen off the ramp and wondering if there is anything else I could have done. Any thoughts with all your experience would be helpful and may put my mind at rest a little.

Answer
Oh Rebecca, I'm so sorry. How awful that must have been for you. I agree with your vet, he would not have survived this. I honestly don't think it was the result of a fall of that small height. I've had pigs jump out of my hands and land 4 feet to the hard ground and never more than maybe a chipped tooth. I honestly think there was something else going on.  Without a necropsy (the animal version of an autopsy) it would be impossible to say. But even with a necropsy it isn't going to change the outcome.

Being a runt isn't usually an issue with guinea pigs if they're healthy enough to reach adult weight. There's usually one in a litter that is smaller than the others, especially if the litter is more than three babies. So that's probably not a factor either.

That would leave the possiblity that there may have been either some kind of stroke or also could be a congenital defect of some kind. The bottom line is that I personally feel it's unlikely that a fall from that short distance caused this injury. I'm not saying it's impossible, but unlikely.

So please don't punish yourself into thinking you could or should have done anything any different. This was an unfair twist of fate that unfortunately landed on you. In cases like this the kindest thing we can do is gently put the poor thing out of his suffering.

You did the right thing.