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Getting Piggie To Eat Independently Again

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Weight went down again, were leaving for the vet shortly, I have him as much food as possible this morning, but every day it's less and less. It looks like he is just wasting away.

Anything in particular I shohld ask the vet to check for/ do? I'm considering my options as far as quality of life goes if they can't find anything wrong with him.
 
Has your vet checked for gut adhesion or an internal abscess/infection? There is certainly something going on in his body and he may need a very strong antibiotic like zithromax. Is he on metacam and gut stimulants?

My Hywel ended up with a band of swelling at the back of the operated area that caused gut adhesion; but the swelling could be felt and he was OK for the first 2 weeks post-op. He needed a full course of zithromax and half a year of metacam. Thankfully when swelling came down, it moved away from the guts again and not towards them. It was a very rare complication and I was very lucky that he has made it. His operating vet clinic (used by a then local rescue) was hopeless and it was touch and go to get thim through the crucial weekend.
 
I am currently caring for a piggy who came to TEAS as it was thought she was a dental piggy. Teeth fine, and she can eat but her weight is just falling off. We are currently giving septrin and panacur, with the thought it could be parasitic or coccidiosis. I am also giving fibreplex as that's a good way to get extra calories in too.
 
Went to the vet, she checked his teeth again. she is going to check him out in detail on Monday but doesn't seem to think there is anything wrong with him.

We're considering PTS at this point as he is just not with it anymore. We were given more baytril and metacam to give over the weekend to see if it makes any difference. He is hugely refusing to take the syringe now which makes feeding even more difficult. It feels like he is loosing the will to live and I just don't feel like it's fair on him anymore.
 
Well I have to say I am sort of at the end here.. £300 in vet bills, £460 electricity bill and £350 tax just paid :(

He's having critical care, mashed pellets and some wheat bran, which he seems to like.

He is on baytril and metacam and he is having vit c and probiotics as well. Not much more we can do. If he perks up and doesn't look too bad we will not put him down but if he continues downhill I will definitely not carry on. This weekend will be critical but we will give it everything we have...
 
Oh you are having such a hard time at the moment. You are such a wonderful piggy mummy - regardless of what happens you need to hold on to that and the knowledge that you have done everything possible to make him better. Sending healing vibes x
 
missdoofus said:
Well I have to say I am sort of at the end here.. £300 in vet bills, £460 electricity bill and £350 tax just paid :(

He's having critical care, mashed pellets and some wheat bran, which he seems to like.

He is on baytril and metacam and he is having vit c and probiotics as well. Not much more we can do. If he perks up and doesn't look too bad we will not put him down but if he continues downhill I will definitely not carry on. This weekend will be critical but we will give it everything we have...
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My heart goes out to you. You're trying so hard. Hoping very hard for you and everything crossed x
 
His chin/ upper Chest is looking really red and sore from all His dribbling and food coming down his front. Is it safe to use sudocream on him? Do you think it I'll help? It looks darker in real life then I'm the picture..

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missdoofus said:
His chin/ upper Chest is looking really red and sore from all His dribbling and food coming down his front. Is it safe to use sudocream on him? Do you think it I'll help? It looks darker in real life then I'm the picture..

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Hi missdoofus. How is Cookie today? Was thinking overnight, when Biggles got really sore under his chin from dribbling food etc. I bathed it all gently with warm water cottonwool and dried it with a soft towel. It seemed to calm it down a lot but I didn't put anything on it - just let the air get to it. Don't know if this was right but it worked for him. Still have everything crossed for you both x
 
Mr Biggles said:
Hi missdoofus. How is Cookie today? Was thinking overnight, when Biggles got really sore under his chin from dribbling food etc. I bathed it all gently with warm water cottonwool and dried it with a soft towel. It seemed to calm it down a lot but I didn't put anything on it - just let the air get to it. Don't know if this was right but it worked for him. Still have everything crossed for you both x
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Hiya, I got in contact with TEAS to see if there is any help for him. I manager to get around 100g onto him yesterday across about 14 hours then went to sleep for 5 hours and this morning he was back at 460g!

I washed the area yesterday and dried it. Within around 20 mins he was all wet again from dribbling. I put some sudocrem on it just to put a barrier onto the skin and it looks better this morning allthough he is still all wet. So lets hope its not too sore for him.
 
missdoofus said:
Hiya, I got in contact with TEAS to see if there is any help for him. I manager to get around 100g onto him yesterday across about 14 hours then went to sleep for 5 hours and this morning he was back at 460g!

I washed the area yesterday and dried it. Within around 20 mins he was all wet again from dribbling. I put some sudocrem on it just to put a barrier onto the skin and it looks better this morning allthough he is still all wet. So lets hope its not too sore for him.
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The rollercoaster ride is exhausting and horrible but you're obviously doing all you can. It's great you got food into him yesterday which seems to 'have stuck to his ribs'. Make sure you get some more sleep (think I should rename as mother hen!) Will be thinking of you.
 
missdoofus said:
Hiya, I got in contact with TEAS to see if there is any help for him. I manager to get around 100g onto him yesterday across about 14 hours then went to sleep for 5 hours and this morning he was back at 460g!

I washed the area yesterday and dried it. Within around 20 mins he was all wet again from dribbling. I put some sudocrem on it just to put a barrier onto the skin and it looks better this morning allthough he is still all wet. So lets hope its not too sore for him.
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I've messaged you, and hopefully we can try and get some help for Cookie xx
 
missdoofus said:
His chin/ upper Chest is looking really red and sore from all His dribbling and food coming down his front. Is it safe to use sudocream on him? Do you think it I'll help? It looks darker in real life then I'm the picture..

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It is safe to use sudocrem. I use it for urine scald areas in my elderly/arthritic piggies with the consent of the treating vet. Poor boy and poor you!
 
You're in wonderful hands Cookie - please say hello to my Valentine piggie and tell him I'm missing him (oh - and please don;t try to woo his new wifepig Tabitha - I know what you boys are like)
x
 
@Pebble HAHA! He has no chance! The husboar would knock him out..! Seeing all the normal sized piggies makes you quickly realise how tiny he is. I am so glad now though, that we can try and find help for him. Thanks again @furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary. This trip was very exhausting though! Never thought it would take quite so long :)
 
He also has two lovely littile lethal girlies to chat to (Can;t believe my own Valentine started chatting them up whilst on honeymoon with his own wifepig - such bad piggie etiquette!)

That M1 journey is a burger! You can never tell how long it will take. I've had to twice cancel appoitnments with Simon recently whilst stuck on the M1 - even though I'd allowed 3hrs to do a 90min journey.

When Cookie's ready to come home - we may be able to organise a lift for him with me (I am doing the M1 run to Simon regularly atm but it would need to fit in with my own travel arrengements)

I'm confident that Simon and Debbie will help little Cookie get back to normal;...his teeth are in the best possible hands!
x
 
Cookie has settled in beautifully and has had a lot of syringe food He's been pottering around the cage and having a good look around. He will see Simon tomorrow, as even if they are fully booked I already have an appointment booked for another piggy and can soon do a bit of move around.
 
Here is Cookie, desperately trying to eat some grated carrot. Hopefully after his visit to uncle Simon later, we will know more about what is going on with him, and how to get him back to good health. I will start a new thread later to document Cookie's journey.

 
Cookie has seen Simon and he was found to have a very sore, ulcerated mouth. His top teeth were overgrown and rubbing his cheek and the bottom teeth were growing across the tongue. Fur, from grooming, was caught in his mouth and mixed together with trapped food that was going all rotten and smelly. His mouth has been cleaned, his teeth have been filed and he has been prescribed itrafungal and fibreplex, in addition to the Metacam he has already been taking. He is going to need a lot of supportive care to get his strength back up and hopefully start to put on some weight. Once his mouth is feeling less painful, he will hopefully start to eat. The prognosis is guarded, as he is a very weak boy but he still has fight in him and hopefully he can win this battle!
 
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