Hypochondriac pig mum - sticking feet out?

[Dwarfpotato]

Esk is about a year old. Apparently she was originally a pets at home pig, ended up in a rescue and I adopted her and two others in March - so I don't know her complete history.

The non-anxious part of me says she is just the world's LAZIEST pig. She's quite a quiet girl and takes a little while to start eating on your lap. Before she's decided to be brave enough to eat, though, she'll have decided she's brave enough to lie down. She lies down a lot on the cage too, even when she's merrily eating. She's perfectly happy to wander around, stand up at the bars to beg, climb on the log house etc and I don't notice her moving weirdly then.

She's also working on her superpig impression and regularly lies with her front paws out. OUT out.


I just want to be sure that she really is just lazy and there's not some sort of underlying bone/muscle problem that might cause her to be lying down a lot? Is there any piggy disability/illness that it sounds like or is she just a feet out Friday prodigy?

 

[Merab]

She’s beautiful
I can’t answer your question as I don’t have the experience but we always recommend that if you have any concern then go to the vet.
A vet will be able to do a proper hands on check and either diagnose an issue or reassure you there’s nothing wrong.
Every vet I know would rather see a healthy piggy with a worried owner than a piggy whose owner has left it too late.

Hope that you just have a lazy piggy with vey cute paws

 

[Wiebke]

Esk is about a year old. Apparently she was originally a pets at home pig, ended up in a rescue and I adopted her and two others in March - so I don't know her complete history.

The non-anxious part of me says she is just the world's LAZIEST pig. She's quite a quiet girl and takes a little while to start eating on your lap. Before she's decided to be brave enough to eat, though, she'll have decided she's brave enough to lie down. She lies down a lot on the cage too, even when she's merrily eating. She's perfectly happy to wander around, stand up at the bars to beg, climb on the log house etc and I don't notice her moving weirdly then.

She's also working on her superpig impression and regularly lies with her front paws out. OUT out.
View attachment 273223

I just want to be sure that she really is just lazy and there's not some sort of underlying bone/muscle problem that might cause her to be lying down a lot? Is there any piggy disability/illness that it sounds like or is she just a feet out Friday prodigy?

Hi

Would I help you if I told you that my Nerys (the big piggy in my avatar picture on the left) was also a compulsive plonker and front feet sticker-outer? She lived to celebrate her 8th birthday (2008-16) and outlived her much more energetic litter sister Nia (the First Lady of my big group) by two years.

A lot of piggies become very lazy as adults. If there is anything to check during your next general health check, it would be rather the heart.

Please keep in mind that you have not mentioned any telltale symptoms that would point specifically in this direction so please take a deep breath and don't panic; any check is more likely to come back negative.
There is now also fairly effective heart medication that can keep a piggy going for quite a few years more to live a normal life span if that should really be needed.

 

[Truffolo]

Esk is rather beautiful I hope we have more pigtures soon. Welcome to the forum

 

[Dwarfpotato]

Thanks so much for the reassurance! I had heard mention that the front paws thing can be related to the heart. A number of years ago I lost a pig very suddenly and very young. She also sometimes lay with her feet out, which was when the heart thing was mentioned. But all of that gives me the paranoids!

Esk's officially the first of the three new girls to hit the big four figures (Stella is trolling me and has been in the 990s for three weeks, and Tiff has an unfair disadvantage by being three months younger). I have an appointment at C&R in September for Cookie's arthritis so if she hasn't changed at all before then, I'll ask if it's worth getting an appointment for her own checkup. (Obviously if anything changes I'll get her something straight away)

In the interests of fairness, I've attached a picture of the rest of them too.

 

[Truffolo]

Gorgeous girls Good luck with the vet appointments

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much for the reassurance! I had heard mention that the front paws thing can be related to the heart. A number of years ago I lost a pig very suddenly and very young. She also sometimes lay with her feet out, which was when the heart thing was mentioned. But all of that gives me the paranoids!

Esk's officially the first of the three new girls to hit the big four figures (Stella is trolling me and has been in the 990s for three weeks, and Tiff has an unfair disadvantage by being three months younger). I have an appointment at C&R in September for Cookie's arthritis so if she hasn't changed at all before then, I'll ask if it's worth getting an appointment for her own checkup. (Obviously if anything changes I'll get her something straight away)

In the interests of fairness, I've attached a picture of the rest of them too.

To be honest - with coming up to 100 piggies over half a century, the front paws link doesn't hold up. It's just a personal preference of resting and in older piggies can be an indication of potential arthritis or enlarged ovarian cysts if the preferred sleeping position changes.
Some piggies simply like to plonk on their bellies while others prefer to sleep on their sides. The majority often does a bit of everything.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

Esk is about a year old. Apparently she was originally a pets at home pig, ended up in a rescue and I adopted her and two others in March - so I don't know her complete history.

The non-anxious part of me says she is just the world's LAZIEST pig. She's quite a quiet girl and takes a little while to start eating on your lap. Before she's decided to be brave enough to eat, though, she'll have decided she's brave enough to lie down. She lies down a lot on the cage too, even when she's merrily eating. She's perfectly happy to wander around, stand up at the bars to beg, climb on the log house etc and I don't notice her moving weirdly then.

She's also working on her superpig impression and regularly lies with her front paws out. OUT out.
View attachment 273223

I just want to be sure that she really is just lazy and there's not some sort of underlying bone/muscle problem that might cause her to be lying down a lot? Is there any piggy disability/illness that it sounds like or is she just a feet out Friday prodigy?

Feet out prodigy, definitely! How fitting that you're posting today.

The photo makes me think of the Cobra yoga pose - arms straight out in front - even tho Esk's spine is not curved up and back. Piggy yoga - who needs to go all the way? And of course anypig who practises yoga is far from lazy!

I'm glad that those who know are pretty sure your little feet out Friday prodigy has not got any health problems.