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- Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire
We got two sibling baby boar piggies in April 2010 for our daughter. They have lived indoors with us in the "toy" room (ex dining room).
We did a lot of research into the best pet for our daughter and piggies won hands down.
Today one of our boys passed away. He had elongated routes, which were probably congenital and he was struggling to eat.
My vets have let us down quite badly on this, as we took Flute into them three months ago indicating weight loss issues. The vet inspected his teeth and was adamant that there was nothing wrong with them. She further insisted that although he was small, his weight was not an issue. He weighed 750g when we took him in. At no time did she mention that we should have an x-ray done to see if he had elongated routes.
Three days I ago I took Flute to see a different vet. I made sure this vet had the necessary experience in piggies to diagnose what was going on. He checked Flutes teeth. No problems there. But he then said that he wanted to do an x-ray on Flutes teeth to look for elongated routes.
I had no problems with this, but asked what he would do if he found them. He said nothing could be done. I was aware that Flute was struggling to eat and it was clear to me that his problem was elongated routes.
My five year old daughter was with me. So I needed a day to manage the news with her. Later that day I told her that Flute was in a lot of pain and that if we took him to our (normal) vet she would arrange for him to go to the angels.
I realise that there is nothing that could have been done for Flute and his condition. I have read about some techniques employed to grind the top teeth to try and arrest the route growth, but not reverse it and the use of chin straps. That seemed a little too late for us now, anyway. Flute's weight was down to 670g and eating was obviously causing him great pain.
We took him in to the vets this afternoon so that he could be put to sleep.
There are two things that have really made me cross about this. The first is that my vet totally missed the opportunity to diagnose Flutes condition in June this year. This is added to the poor diagnosis they made of one of my dogs recently means they are to be replaced immediatley.
Secondly we are left with Trumpet. And we want to get him a friend. Our two boys have been the greatest of friends and Trumpet has stayed by Flutes side constantly.
I know we will need to get another boar and I know the new boar should be younger and smaller and I also have read about "introducing" them.
I am thinking of getting piggie from the RSPCA but don't know if there's an age issue with this as many will be older.
Has anyone any experience of this please which they would be prepared to share with me. I am trying to be proactive about events and do what I can to assure Trumpet gets the company he needs - should I be concerned about doing this too quickly?
It's been a difficult day.
Thank you for any replies in advance
Nuttymut :-)
We did a lot of research into the best pet for our daughter and piggies won hands down.
Today one of our boys passed away. He had elongated routes, which were probably congenital and he was struggling to eat.
My vets have let us down quite badly on this, as we took Flute into them three months ago indicating weight loss issues. The vet inspected his teeth and was adamant that there was nothing wrong with them. She further insisted that although he was small, his weight was not an issue. He weighed 750g when we took him in. At no time did she mention that we should have an x-ray done to see if he had elongated routes.
Three days I ago I took Flute to see a different vet. I made sure this vet had the necessary experience in piggies to diagnose what was going on. He checked Flutes teeth. No problems there. But he then said that he wanted to do an x-ray on Flutes teeth to look for elongated routes.
I had no problems with this, but asked what he would do if he found them. He said nothing could be done. I was aware that Flute was struggling to eat and it was clear to me that his problem was elongated routes.
My five year old daughter was with me. So I needed a day to manage the news with her. Later that day I told her that Flute was in a lot of pain and that if we took him to our (normal) vet she would arrange for him to go to the angels.
I realise that there is nothing that could have been done for Flute and his condition. I have read about some techniques employed to grind the top teeth to try and arrest the route growth, but not reverse it and the use of chin straps. That seemed a little too late for us now, anyway. Flute's weight was down to 670g and eating was obviously causing him great pain.
We took him in to the vets this afternoon so that he could be put to sleep.
There are two things that have really made me cross about this. The first is that my vet totally missed the opportunity to diagnose Flutes condition in June this year. This is added to the poor diagnosis they made of one of my dogs recently means they are to be replaced immediatley.
Secondly we are left with Trumpet. And we want to get him a friend. Our two boys have been the greatest of friends and Trumpet has stayed by Flutes side constantly.
I know we will need to get another boar and I know the new boar should be younger and smaller and I also have read about "introducing" them.
I am thinking of getting piggie from the RSPCA but don't know if there's an age issue with this as many will be older.
Has anyone any experience of this please which they would be prepared to share with me. I am trying to be proactive about events and do what I can to assure Trumpet gets the company he needs - should I be concerned about doing this too quickly?
It's been a difficult day.
Thank you for any replies in advance
Nuttymut :-)
And I think it is a wise choice to change vets!
