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Concerns Regarding My Sow

Katie1988

Katie1988

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 21, 2015
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Location
England
Hello
I have a few concerns regarding my 4 year old lady Kiwi. First off she is her normal happy greedy self, no change in appetite or water intake, not showing any aggressive or withdrawal behaviour towards her cage buddy.

However, I have noticed her fur is not as thick as it usually is. Theres some hair loss under her belly and her nipples are a little crusty but no sign of excessive itching. She has felt a lil boney for a while now. I have checked her myself for any cysts which she detests (always been like this so it's difficult to tell if she's being a diva or in actual pain whilst I'm checking).

Also her eyesight is deteriorating, pea eye and she has cateracts but this does not affect her navigation. No sign of joint pain as she is still jumping up on the platform for music.

I don't know where to go with this? I was thinking mite treatment for them both? They do seem quite itchy at times.

Many thanks guys,
Katie
 
Katie1988 said:
Hello
I have a few concerns regarding my 4 year old lady Kiwi. First off she is her normal happy greedy self, no change in appetite or water intake, not showing any aggressive or withdrawal behaviour towards her cage buddy.

However, I have noticed her fur is not as thick as it usually is. Theres some hair loss under her belly and her nipples are a little crusty but no sign of excessive itching. She has felt a lil boney for a while now. I have checked her myself for any cysts which she detests (always been like this so it's difficult to tell if she's being a diva or in actual pain whilst I'm checking).

Also her eyesight is deteriorating, pea eye and she has cateracts but this does not affect her navigation. No sign of joint pain as she is still jumping up on the platform for music.

I don't know where to go with this? I was thinking mite treatment for them both? They do seem quite itchy at times.

Many thanks guys,
Katie
Click to expand...

Please have your girl checked for ovarian cysts. They can be treated either by hormone (usually chorulon) injections or by a spaying operation. Ovarian cysts are very common in older sows, but they don't cause problems in the majority of cases. Your girl is however presenting with the classic symptoms. You won't in most cases see the full array, but crusts on the nipples are dead giveaway, as is hair loss on the sides and weight loss. It is not necessarily the large cysts that are causing hormonal issues; often it is the smaller cysts.

There is not much you can do about cataracts. Just give your piggy her normal life. Her other senses will compensate if loss of sight becomes severe.
 
Wiebke said:
Please have your girl checked for ovarian cysts. They can be treated either by hormone (usually chorulon) injections or by a spaying operation. Ovarian cysts are very common in older sows, but they don't cause problems in the majority of cases. Your girl is however presenting with the classic symptoms. You won't in most cases see the full array, but crusts on the nipples are dead giveaway, as is hair loss on the sides and weight loss.

There is not much you can do about cataracts. Just give your piggy her normal life. Her other senses will compensate if loss of sight becomes severe.
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Hi thank you for your quick response. Her hair loss is not on the sides which I know are the classic tell tell signs, but under her on the belly. I am terrified if she needs an operation, I couldn't cope when she had to had a bladder flush!
 
Katie1988 said:
Hi thank you for your quick response. Her hair loss is not on the sides which I know are the classic tell tell signs, but under her on the belly. I am terrified if she needs an operation, I couldn't cope when she had to had a bladder flush!
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As the symptoms are clearly hormonal, I would talk about trying hormone injections with your vet. They are a lot less invasive. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
As the symptoms are clearly hormonal, I would talk about trying hormone injections with your vet. They are a lot less invasive. ;)
Click to expand...
Thank you, I will take her to our exotics vet this week. If it was mites would she be patchy mainly on her sides and back? How often would she need hormonal injections? Do they reduce the risk of cycts?

Thanks!
 
@Wiebke
Hi just to update, we visited our exotics vet this morning. He felt around her belly and listened to her digestion system and heart rate and said there was no issues. He checked her teeth and said her back teeth went level but not a concern.

He confirmed she had lost quite a bit of weight but said her change in diet (I was advised to take her off nuggets due to UTI problems). She was given a shot of hormone which was awful to watch, she's due for another dose in 10-14 days time.

I asked the vet if I should try to feed her fatty foods to try and bulk her up but he advised me not to change her diet yet... Not quite sure why though?

I've been to work and came back and could feel that she's filled out a little, I'm not sure whether this is in my head though.
 
Katie1988 said:
@Wiebke
Hi just to update, we visited our exotics vet this morning. He felt around her belly and listened to her digestion system and heart rate and said there was no issues. He checked her teeth and said her back teeth went level but not a concern.

He confirmed she had lost quite a bit of weight but said her change in diet (I was advised to take her off nuggets due to UTI problems). She was given a shot of hormone which was awful to watch, she's due for another dose in 10-14 days time.

I asked the vet if I should try to feed her fatty foods to try and bulk her up but he advised me not to change her diet yet... Not quite sure why though?

I've been to work and came back and could feel that she's filled out a little, I'm not sure whether this is in my head though.
Click to expand...

Feeding empty calories is not a good solution, as they will come off as soon as they come on, and hthey are not contributing to good health. The more hay she gets, the better. If she is OK in herself, then at least part of the weight will come back on once the hormones are working.

Watching a piggy getting an injection is never quite fun, especially if you have a drama queen. But the more upset you get, the more upset your piggy will get.
 
@Wiebke thanks for your reply.
Yeah true, I just want to get back to her chunky self. Yeah Kiwi is a drama Queen haha. She's lost most of her sight as well but doesn't seem to be bothering her.

How long will it take for the hormones to kick in and are there any side affects I should know about?

Thanks, Katie, Kiwi and Peri
 
Katie1988 said:
@Wiebke thanks for your reply.
Yeah true, I just want to get back to her chunky self. Yeah Kiwi is a drama Queen haha. She's lost most of her sight as well but doesn't seem to be bothering her.

How long will it take for the hormones to kick in and are there any side affects I should know about?

Thanks, Katie, Kiwi and Peri
Click to expand...

You have to ask other members with experiences in that respect.

If your piggy is a bit on the overweight side, then it is actually good if some of that extra weight has come off. Too much fat around the organs can actually decrease longevity and definitely increases the risk during an operation.
You can check whether a piggy is a good weight for its size by feeling around the ribs. Ideally you should just be able to feel them. If you can't your piggy is too fat; if you can feel every rib stand out, it is too thin.
 
Thanks for that but she use to be a bit of a chunky pig and seems to have lost a lot of weight since I eased her off nuggets.

I'm thinking of putting her and Peri back on the nuggets but like a couple of handfuls cos they are good for keeping teeth trim and have nutrients.
 
pig in the city said:
mollyvargavet.co.uk/clinics
Molly taught my vet to do the operation. She is in St Helens
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We can unfortunately no longer recommend Molly Varga clinics after a most unfortunate experience from one of our members with a REALLY botched neutering operation. :(
 
My vet Sara Jones at Cheshire Pet does the procedure. She is however leaving in a week or so and I haven’t yet met her replacement.
 
Katie1988 said:
Was this keyhole Surgery? Just been crying my eyes out as I've just found a large lump which moved under one of her nipples
Click to expand...


keyhole surgery is less invasive then traditional abdominal surgery .

it's called keyhole because the incision is just a small hole .
 
VickiA said:
My vet Sara Jones at Cheshire Pet does the procedure. She is however leaving in a week or so and I haven’t yet met her replacement.
Click to expand...
Can you please find out where she is moving to? I really don't want to put my 4 year old under that big op. Thank you
 
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