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Aging piggy

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Hi..i'm new here & have decided to come on to get some advice from all you experts!
I have a little female piggy named Alice who is now 6 years 2 months old. Just recently i have noticed that she doesnt run for cover every time i approach but rather sits huddled in her cage & doesnt 'react' until the last moment. She often sits facing into the corner of the cage alone, rather than snuggled up with her 'partner' as she used to.
She is still eating & drinking & appears otherwise fine...am i witnessing the signs of dementia & senility approaching...i understand 6 is quite elderly for a pig.
Any advice/suggestions would be welcome. Thank you.
 
Have you checked her hearing and seeing? They can have faded. You can find out by clapping a hand behind her where she can't see or by moving your hand in her field of vision.

Otherwise, I would suspect illness. Are you weighing her regularly? If you are worried, do so daily, otherwise once weekly. A variance of 30g daily can be just down to a full tummy/full bladder, so you are looking out for trends over several days. You may want to see whether she is not in any pain/discomfort.

I would recommend to have her checked by your vet.

http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/aging.html
 
A similar thing is happening to my 6-and-a-half-year-old piggy. Holly has lost loads of weight and puffs her hair up, as if she's really cold, all the time. She is eating and generally acting the same but the weight loss is concerning. I think it's just age but as soon as she appears in pain, I'm taking her to the vets :(
 
Welcome to the forum :). Aww, I really hope you're old girl isn't sick, but she is old for a piggy. I hope she's ok and it's just signs of her age, hopefully she'll live a good while longer :)
 
I don't think she has lost weight as she is still eating but i am going to do as Wiebke suggests and weigh her regularly just to check...thanks.
 
Sitting facing a corner normally indicates a piggie has a problem and often pain is involved. In view of her age I would definitely take her to a vet for a check up and specifically check for possible urethra/bladder stones.

HTH
xx
 
Sitting facing a corner normally indicates a piggie has a problem and often pain is involved. In view of her age I would definitely take her to a vet for a check up and specifically check for possible urethra/bladder stones.

HTH
xx

OH!

Shes not doing it all the time...i thought she was getting confused maybe & losing her way in her cage! Hmm...think maybe a trip to the vet is in order...hate taking them though because they freak so much i'm worried she'll keel over with a heart attack!
Thanx though.
 
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