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Can you do anything for a diabetic piggie?

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gingerpig

gingerpig

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When I was at the vets with Rosie our vet mentioned that a piggie who drinks excessively is most probably diabetic (Rosie wasnt but our Smudge drinks all the time). I said I had a pig at home which guzzled constantly and was there anything we could be doing for her if she was diabetic.

The vet just said no, there wasn't anything which could be done.

Does anyone know different? Smudge is 5 on Tuesday (Happy birthday Smudgiex>>) and otherwise seems a picture of health - but could I make her life better or longer?
 
They have a dry mix from the pet shop with alfalfa and dried fruit and veg.

THey have a fair bit of veg too.x
 
Yes, it can and should be treated. But drinking excessively isnt an indiction of simply diabetes. It could be any number of things. It needs a proper work up and diagnosis. See a different vet for some advice.

x.
 
Abi_nurse said:
Yes, it can and should be treated. But drinking excessively isnt an indiction of simply diabetes. It could be any number of things. It needs a proper work up and diagnosis. See a different vet for some advice.

x.
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^^^^^

I concur!

I have had many pigs who drink lots - all for different reasons once full diagnostics had been performed......and not one was found to have diabetes.


You've had a particularly bad time recently with your buns and pigs..and quite understandably you are now worried/sensitive about the health of those remaining. This is completely normal/ understandeable.

Please be kind to yourself and approach any observations your vet makes with as much detachment as you are able to at this time.

i.e. Don;t panic...and if you are at all worried then PM one of the more experienced health and illness members on the forum to talk things through before worrying/acting,

Hugs to you
x
 
Hi i have a diabetic girl, Velvet, she is 2yrs 7mths, her signs and the only one that gave me any warnings was cataracts. Sadly one day one eye went opaque and within a month the other one did. She has never been an excessive drinker, tho she does have a wet butt often but she has long hair.
I am very careful what i feed her, she doesn't have carrots or corn or fruits. Loads of hay is essential, i buy the Timothy Western Hay from Oxbow and also feed meadow hay from my produce store, plus i've just sourced another meadow hay that i can buy in smaller quantities.
She has had regular tests, these are both bloods and urine. I take her urine samples a few times a week. At the moment tho her readings are high i think this is because of the meadow hay it was very green, but now the hay is very dry (UGH it's hard to get a controlled hay here in OZ)

Hope that helps. Velvet isn't on any medication at this stage whee are hoping not too, also cause my vet had never dealt with a diabetic piggie before! One of the thoughts also is that they maynot live as long.

Velvet sends some wheeeeeeeks to Smudge xoxoxoxoxoxo
 
Abi_nurse said:
Yes, it can and should be treated. But drinking excessively isnt an indiction of simply diabetes. It could be any number of things. It needs a proper work up and diagnosis. See a different vet for some advice.

x.
Click to expand...

I agree, and it's very simple to test for as well. Just be careful if you feed alfalfa as your sole source of hay - it's not suitable as a staple forage for adult guinea pigs as it has an excessively high calcium content.
 
daftscotslass said:
I agree, and it's very simple to test for as well. Just be careful if you feed alfalfa as your sole source of hay - it's not suitable as a staple forage for adult guinea pigs as it has an excessively high calcium content.
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Ooh no, its not the sole source of hay, the dried mix just has some alfalfa bits mixed in with it . . . . they have lashings of normal hay. Yes its just a kind of litmus test isn't it? . . . that's what the vet was doing with Rosie when we had the conversation about pigs who drink a lot, although Rosie didn't, but the vet was asking. This made me think of Smudge, who does.

Abi nurse: - what kind of treatment does a diabetic piggy have to have? (Although of course I would get a proper diagnosis first, just wondering)
 
Sounds like you definitely need to find an exotic vet if your current one is giving out such misinformation. Good luck. x
 
The reason I asked for the brand of dry food you are using is because one particular brand gives a lot of the symptoms of diabetes in piggies & there are many vets misdiagnosing them because of this. If you can tell me the name I can tell you if it is the brand that gives false positives for diabetes. That way it rules one explanation for the symptoms.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
The reason I asked for the brand of dry food you are using is because one particular brand gives a lot of the symptoms of diabetes in piggies & there are many vets misdiagnosing them because of this. If you can tell me the name I can tell you if it is the brand that gives false positives for diabetes. That way it rules one explanation for the symptoms.
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I buy it loose in the pet shop so I don't know the brand. I could change though if need be. It certainly looks nice and fresh and smells good. They get through a lot of it so I presumed it's fresh . . .

What should I steer clear of? You can pm me if we're not allowed to say which brand it is on here lol, thanks x
 
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