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Dave ill - not eating and loosing weight - advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter Trip
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Trip

We had Dave, Mavis and Sharon from one of you nice people in April. All has been going well and they have been getting on great and been happy settled little charactors

but we now have a problem with Dave - and I'm looking for ideas before we go back to the vet

We came back from a weeks hol (neighbour looking after piggies) to find Dave was very quiet. He had noticably lost weight (down to 1050g from his top wt of 1400g) and is now not eating or drinking. he is not himself at all and is spending all his time in the bedroom, not reacting when any one approaches, no chatting or rumbling or generally joining in with the other piggies.

I had him to the vet yesterday who could find nothing wrong specifically other than he had some unswallowed grass/food in his mouth by the cheek teeth which the vet felt was not normal. The vet wants to aneathasise him and check out the mouth properly - suspecting the cheek teeth might be overgrown/may need filing down ? In any event it seems Dave is reluctant to/unable to swallow.....do you have any other suggestions? no sign of lumps or bumps in his thoat, too much food material in the mouth to be able to rule out ulcers......

perhaps a splinter in his throat (they have willow twigs to chew but also do have a nibble of their cage)

I'm very reluctant to rush to an anesthetic but he seems so much weaker and sorry for himself today and the vet felt that he couldn't really get to see anything in his mouth whilst Dave was fully awake.....

any suggestions?

Dave is a castrated male assumed to be about 3 yrs old


many thanks

Trip
 
i'm going throughteh very same dilema with my 2 year old rocky at the moment...returned from teh vets tonight, whom if he doesnt gain weight in teh next week, wants to sedate him and have a better look around his mouth as can see a small spur on a molar, and wants to check if any other problems - and if this is the cause treat.

the thing is rocky appears to be eating - but the vet has said they can sometimes take the food and hide it (which having a cagemate the cagemate would then eat it).

so i'm going to be observing very closely these next fews days.

a member on here has said vets can do dentals without anisthetics, though each of them i know use them...i;m going to ring round see if i can find one who does them without,within a decent travelling distance, but i'm not holding out much hope.

i hope your dave gets better soon, keep us posted wont you.
 
It sounds very much that it could be his back teeth!

For the time being, you can soak his pellets in a bit of warm water, until they are mushy, as well as pureed veg (either by yourself or as baby food), so he can swallow without chewing. Make sure that drinks as well. Critical Care is another option to kep his weight from going downhill further.
 
Thanks Becks..I did see your thread but didn't want to hijack. Hope your little fella gets better soon. I saw the other poster saying that an anaesthetic wasn't always necessarry and the discussion on the CCT - Are they in Cambridge?| I'm pretty close to Cambs would it be worth me looking them up?
 
Trip said:
Thanks Becks..I did see your thread but didn't want to hijack. Hope your little fella gets better soon. I saw the other poster saying that an anaesthetic wasn't always necessarry and the discussion on the CCT - Are they in Cambridge?| I'm pretty close to Cambs would it be worth me looking them up?
Click to expand...

If you are within reach, it would be definitely worth, as you'd get the best care and treatment possible!
 
they are about 20 mins north of cambridge if that helps any and would fully recommend and they are GREAT!
 
sophiew said:
Definitely worth a trip to CCT

http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/index.html

If you text Vedra she'll let you know when to go. It's not worth putting an already weak pig through an unnecessary anaesthetic, Vedra did mine all fully conscious and they were fine almost immediately once the teeth were sorted. I hope this is the case for you

Sophie
x
Click to expand...

i'd definiatly give them a go with dave, if cambridge were nearer i know i wouldn't hesitate! let us know if you try them and how you get along.
 
Thanks guys for the great advice!

Have texted CCT just now and await a response. I estimate its about 40mins from here....

I'd never heard of CCT so really appreciate your help. I like our local vet but just dont feel confident in him giving an anesthetic ...even if he does keep piggies himself!

Just fingers crossed now that its a straight forward teeth job

Meanwhile, will keep trying to get some water into him....like the baby food idea too. just bit perplexed as to why he isn't swallowing?

Trip
x
 
Just to let you know in advance, Vedra doesn't agree with hay as bedding so don't take any in the carrier as she won't let you bring the carrier in :) Best use a towel or something hygienic.

Have you tried grating the veg, sometimes they can eat this more easily

Sophie
x
 
I too can recommend the CCT. I live within a mile of it now, but for a time I lived in North Essex - Saffron Walden. The journey often took as little as 30 minutes, it's well worth the trip.

A sore mouth and throat can lead to the reluctance to swallow. When you syringe-feed, give him some water by syringe in between some mouthfuls of food, and at the end of the feeding be sure to give him some water - this should clean out the mouth a little, and encourage him to swallow the last of his food.

Good luck, let us know how you and Dave get on.
 
Sophie, our piggies are bedded on vet bed - but I would have put hay in the traveller so thanks for the heads up 8)

relieved to hear its only 30 mins from Walden (We're in Thaxted - small world!).

No word from CCT yet. just off to the Spar to get some baby food to try and get into him. Don't think grated veg will work as he just isn't interested and will barely swallow the water we syringe into him. My Son has just got him out for a cuddle and Dave seems a bit floppy and definately fed up.

hate seeing the big ole guy like this
 
Yep, know Thaxted, lovely little place! My dad works (and we used to live) at Wimbish. On an average day it should only take around 30 mins to get to Huntingdon, it is a straight forward route.

It sounds like Dave is definitely in need of some food, I hope you find some baby food that he enjoys. Making up a pellet mash as described earlier should help him keep his strength up; often the pig refuses water from a syringe but will take a few syringes of food, in which case you can sneak some water in every so often.

Vedra may take a little while to reply, she's usually up until the early hours - many a time I have had a repy at 1am!
 
Sorry to but in but outdoors what does Vedra think makes a good bedding material. Also what doesn't she like about hay as bedding?

I only ask incase i'm doing something detrimental to myoutdoor piggies bedding them on hay.

Hope the baby food goes down for poor Dave.
 
update - alarming developments

can't quite believe what has just happened.......

got back from the Spar with the baby food to try..to find my son cuddling Dave and alarmed. When he put Dave on the floor Dave promptly flipped over onto his right side. within 30 seconds Dave was fitting.

I rang our local vet to say we were on our way.....only a 3 minute journey..Dave died in my daughters arms during the 3 minute journey.

I can't quite believe it

three stunned and devestated children all stood in the vets office in their PJs and traumatised by the suddeness of this....

The vet checked out his mouth etc and all was fine so not a teeth or throat/larynx ulcer problem. not dehydrated. Best estimate was that it was a neurological related problem that had stiflled his swallow reflex and ultimately lead to the fitting...

So bloody quick...he wasn't THAT ill

A mercy in that sense I suppose, and as I said to my daughter, so nice for Dave that he died in loving owners arms.

8...

Our lovely big old fella
Mavis had been grooming him and licking him today...guess we'll need to watch for their grief

still just too stunned for words.....
 
Oh geez....I am so sorry. I am heartbroken with you, I feel your pain in your post. I am so sorry. I see you have another thread so I will read through that as well, but wanted to be sure you know how saddened I am for you. Sadly when piggies go downhill, they tend to go quite fast. I'm so sorry. Sending lots of hugs to you and your family, please do take great comfort that you did all you could for Dave and he was very loved, and passed away in your daughters loving arms.

Lisajazz - hay and newspaper is fine bedding, but Vedra is aware of the parasites and fungal spores that live on hay so she prefers that hay isn't brought in the carrier. She's also allergic to woodshavings, so it is very wise to give her a heads up if the pigs normally live on woodshavings, and definitely don't take any in the carrier! I tend to take a handful of hay in a bag to give the pigs for the return journey.
 
Thanks, I try to learn something new every day, keeps the brain cells active!
 
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