Possible Spinal Injury with Guinea Pig..

Question
Our 1-year-old male guinea pig fell off the bed to the floor this afternoon. Afterwords, he appeared to have his back legs paralyzed. I called our vet and took him in to have him looked at. She did a pelvic x-ray which was negative for any fractures. She beleives he may have a spinal injury. He does have feeling in his back legs and is moving them slightly. She gave him a shot of an anti-inflammatory and recommended that I take him tomorrow to an exotic animal specialist an hour away since she does not treat many small animals.

Any thoughts on this advise? Also, as he is currently, he can get around his cage to food, water, etc. He has also urinated twice that I know of since the injury. What are the chances that the injury or his mobility could get worse?

Thank you for any advise you can give.

Answer
Hi Christina

I think the vet gave you honest advice in that if she isnt an expert in exotic pets, a different vet would be able to help you better.

Its possible that the leg movement problem is temporary due to the shock of falling. Guinea pigs are sturdy animals and a fall from a bed shouldnt do too much damage. I dont think we will know the full extent of the damage until he is properly examined but there is reason to be optimistic in my opinion.

Please feel free to keep me posted on your piggies' progress.

Andy