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Dental Issues/Ulcers on Tongue/Anorexia

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susie_q

susie_q

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Aplogies for not being active but I've been..well. away. I come crawling back for some help. :(

My old boy, Patches (5) started dribbling on the 30th of August. I was away but my mum started to syringe feed him (not much mind you) until I got back on the 31st, where the dribbling and anorexia were in full flow. By this point he was weighing 1020g, which was well down from his usual 1200g(average).

We went to the vets on the 1st September, and as suspected it was dental. The vet had a good look in his mouth and saw that his premolars were slightly overgrown. Unfortunatly no-one in my concevable area can do dental without anthesthetic, so he went under on the 2nd and had his teeth trimmed.

His back molars on the left hand side had overgrown so extensively they were cutting into his tongue and he couldn't lift it. He recovered from the anesthethic very well and had started to nibble on a little grass when I took him home.

He was prescribed 0.05ml of metacam everyday, and 0.2ml of baytril. I carried on with syringe feeding every two hours for the next few days. Despite this, his weight dropped to 1000g and he still wasn't eating.

by the next evening he began to eat veg, but slowly and only a little. I assumed it was because he was in pain to raised his metacam dose to 0.1ml twice a day for two days, and then down to 0.05ml twice a day. His weight continued to drop so I began to feed hourly. His intrest in food rose, then declined, and then finally rose again. He seemed to be only eating veg so back to the vets we went on the fifth for a zantac injection as he was gassy in his abdomen. By this point he weigh 990g, thereabouts. We also switched from critical care to science recovery with a vit c supplement.

This worked beutifully and by monday I had weaned him onto 0.05ml of metacam once a day, and we were only on two or three syringe feeds a day to maintain his weight (saturday and sunday). I saw him eating dried food on monday so decided yay! no more syringe feeding. His weight even went back up to 1015g.

Now it's wednesday and his weight has dropped to 964g, and while he still eats veg I think he has totally gone off the dried food and hay. I have started syringe feeding again.

I'm about to pop back to the vets for some more science recovery but I am at a loss. There is still a little bit of dribble down his chin, and when he was looked at on saturday there were still ulcers, but healing on his tongue.

His poos are very small, and all stuck together but are formed like normal poo pellets and are their usual healthy colour. They often seem to be so small that they're bunched up and stuck (half in half out) in his anus, as if he isn't passing them properly. Naturally, this is concerning me.

Any advice, of any sort, will be welcomed.
 
Sorry to hear of Patches' saga.

Small poops are usually down to dehydration - are you syringing him fluids as well as the science recovery?

I know others have used Daktarin oral gel for sore mouths, as the pain can put them off eating. I bought some recently in Boots, you have to ask for it as it's behind the counter (don't say it's for a guinea pig or they won't sell it to you!). This might ease the ulceration.

You could also try Metatone tonic (again, for humans, can get in Tesco) to boost him a little. I always give this to convalescing pigs.

I do hope he perks up soon, it's such a worry when they are ill. Did the vet give him a B vitamin injection to boost his appetite?

Sophie
x
 
i'd second the daktarin oral gel, often pigs get complications in the mouth due to fungal and it can help them with that as well as ulcers. Hope he gets well soon x
 
Hey Sophie - thanks for the advice. :)

I have been syringing him water too - this seems to be the only thing he is taking enthusastically! The probiotic I've been giving him is pets at home own brand with the vit C - the blue powder? Would you recommend something else, or is this ok to stick to?

We went back to the vets this afternoon (right after I wrote this) and she gave him another jab of zantac. If he doesn't perk up by tomorrow I'll go back and ask for a vit B jab - I had no idea this could stimulate appetite!

And thanks for the advice on the daktarin - i actually have a tube of it in the piggy first aid kit, and never thought to use it! Will it be ok to use along with his metacam? And do I just apply it gently with a cotton wool bud?
 
Hi Susie,

Sorry to hear about Patches. During my Bobs dental problems I used to give her metatone tonic which always seemed to perk her up again. Sending get well wheeks to Patches from Mimsi, Montgomery, Matilda & Lady Penelope..
 
Lovely to see you back Susie, although I am sorry to see poor Patches is ill!

I believe the Daktarin saved a lot of hassle with my own dental pig; even once the teeth are trimmed, the mouth will still be sore, which will still put the pig off eating! The Daktarin is great at soothing the sore patches, I noticed quite a difference when using it on Tuppy.

A probiotic should help with the poops, with powder ones like the PAH Pro-C one I make up half the recommended amount (usually around half a scoop in 100ml water) and store it in the fridge. I syringe the pig as much as he will take with each syringe-feed and refresh the whole mixture after 12 to 24 hours.

When you offer Patches water during a syringe-feed, do you give some at the end of the syringe-feeding session? This can also help to clean and soothe the mouth a little.

Hope things improve for him soon. He may need his teeth examining again in a few days if he's not back to eating hard food soon, unfortunately teeth grow very quickly!
 
It is as with any other oral medication - syringe the 0.5ml into the mouth as normal. It usually takes two mouthfuls to get it all down the pig, I don't like putting more than 0.3ml in the pig for each mouthful. It coats the mouth nicely on its own.
 
Hey Laura - thanks for the advice about applying the daktarin. Initally I've just measured it out with a syringe and then smeared it onto a cotton bud and rubbed it about his mouth. But will definatly just apply it by syringe next time.

I did this about half seven in the hope it would help him with evening veg dinner at eight - it didn't but it has made a huge difference at nine o'clock syrine feed! Gobbling up the recovery, and he even managed several dandelion leaves by himself and is now tucking into grass.

Laura - I was wondering whether or not he was just drinking water so happily out the syringe because it "felt nice" or whether or not he was actually thirsty as he has been drinking himself out the water bottle. I'll definatly start doing it at the end of feeding sessions though - it anything to stop the food sitting in his mouth and possibly infecting the wounds.

One last question, but I am just being silly. Is there any possibility that he's now rather "used" to the syringe feeds and rather than getting up and feeding himself because he's hungry, he's looking to be syringe fed? Also, is there any possibilty that, as his appeite comes back I may hinder him from feeding himself by keeping up with regular syringe feeding? (Although I do offer him something fresh at every syringe feed and sometimes he takes it and sometimes he doesn't - it is mostly the hay and dried food he does not seem to feed himself and I worry that he won't get enough fiber without it.)

Thanks guys (and you Farquar! Thank you! :) ) - I am feeling so much better about Patches' prospects now, I'll be sure to keep you updated. (And get more involved in the fancy new lay out of the forum!)
 
susie_q said:
One last question, but I am just being silly. Is there any possibility that he's now rather "used" to the syringe feeds and rather than getting up and feeding himself because he's hungry, he's looking to be syringe fed? Also, is there any possibilty that, as his appeite comes back I may hinder him from feeding himself by keeping up with regular syringe feeding?
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It is such a tough one to call, isn't it? On the one hand you don't want to reduce the feeds in case he's not eating well enough on his own yet, but on the other hand there is a risk that he'll just get used to the syringe feeds and not really bother with hard food! I remember that dilemma so well.

I think the easiest thing to do is start by weighing him daily. Syringe feed him as normal for the next few days, keeping an eye on what he is actually eating. If he is maintaining or gaining weight, you can either cut out one of the syringe feeds (space the remaining feeds further apart) or reduce the amount you give him each feed. Ultimately you will do both, but see which one works best for you and Patches. Keep him on the new rate of feeds until he is maintaining his weight and then reduce the feeds again, until he's eating normally and no longer needs the syringe feeds.

If he begins eating hay and pellets on his own, take this as a sign to reduce the syringe feeds. I would not be inclined to cut the feeds out altogether until he is at least holding his weight on his own, but significantly reducing them (ideally down to two or three a day) if he is eating more food himself should help him return to some normality.

Eleanor, I know I'm not Sophie but hopefully you won't mind me answering you. The dose for Metatone is 0.5ml daily for the first week, down to 0.3ml daily thereafter, until the pigs appetite returns to normal.
 
It is preferable to apply Daktarin either by a syringe or from a finger. There is always a slight risk, when using a cotton bud, that cotton fibres may stick inside the mouth, even though the Daktarin is moist.
Small stringy pellets, as others have said, are usually a sign of dehydration.
You should always be aware, as you probably are, that a general anaesthetic may cause problems with the metabolism, eg liver functon. Recovery from a g.a. should be fairly quick, ie hours not days, you must bear in mind that the older the pig the greater risk, both during the procedure and during the post-operative period.
I would syringe feed him as often, and as much, as he will take. The "risk" of him becoming spoilt is very low, and if he did become "addicted" the response is "So what?" It is better that, than he doesn't eat at all!
 
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