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Losing his wheek?!

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Amanda1801

Amanda1801

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For a couple of days now, I've noticed that when Big Dave starts to wheek, or if he wheeks half heartedly, no noise comes out! He only seems to get his wheeks out when he's really fired up.

Is this normal? Could it be significant of anything?

TIA!

Amanda & Big Dave
 
Artie couldn't wheek very well when he has his chest infection, he had a 'rattly' chest and cough and when he breathed too. :( If you notice anything unusual like that I'd have him checked out.

Otherwise he might just be lazy :))
 
AudioHeart said:
Artie couldn't wheek very well when he has his chest infection, he had a 'rattly' chest and cough and when he breathed too. :( If you notice anything unusual like that I'd have him checked out.

Otherwise he might just be lazy :))
Click to expand...

I've attacked him with a stethoscope daily for the last three days, lung sounds are all normal!
 
My Mimsi lost his wheek as he got older, and it was funny to see him silently wheeking! He always had a sort of raspy wheek compared to the shrillness of the other piggies....As long as your piggie doesnt have a URI or any other condition, he should be okay!
 
Athena is like this, bless her as hard as she tries all it sounds like is someone who tries to whistle but just blows out air. She occasionally gets the odd wheek out, but not very often and has been like that for a couple of years now.

As far as she's concerned she's wheeking along with the rest of them though so no-one tell her otherwise! rolleyes
 
How old is your piggie?

My piggie too seems to have lost his wheeeek slightly. He is about 1 and it just sounds like he is not trying very hard. I am aware that a URI could effect this but I have only seen him sneeze once with only a tiny bit of clear discharge and he shows no other signs so I am not concerned.
 
I have had a coupleof piggies "lose their wheek". (sounded like the had layrigitis!) Both times it was restored with frusemide treatment......one was a heart pig and the other is a leukaemia pig.

It was fluid on the lungs that stopped them breathing properly to wheek...however in one other case I have read about it was a bacterial infection in the trachea (URI) that didn;t respond to the normal antibioitics and it took a proper microbial culture/sensitivity testing and then prescribing the right anitibiotic to get rid

You know your piggies best..if this is a "change in behaviour" then getting it checked out is the best thing to do

HTH
x
 
my first though is it's chest infection: one of our pigs long time ago was weak from cancer and caught an infection that's affected his lungs. He lost his wheek when it was already pretty bad and affected his all lungs. There was no rattling/clicking noise, no sneezing or coughing or any symptoms like a standard lung infection.

At that time I posted on forum and someone responded saying they had similar situation and it was throat infection that was successfully treated by antibiotics.

IMHO I think you need a vet.
 
Thanks guys. It is my big fat big Dave and I've had him checked out a few times as he's fat and seems quite odematous, but nothing significant found. I think Ian, my piggy vet of choice is on duty today, so I'll get him checked out. Thanks guys!
 
Off to the vets in an hour. These bloomin' fur balls cause me nothing but stress!
 
I've had Athena to and from the vets countless times over the last couple of years, she's been on all sorts of antibiotics in that time, often long courses, and never regained her wheek so to me I think it's just the way she is. Obviously though you should still get him checked over incase there is an underlying cause. Good luck today, let us know how you get on
 
Well Big Dave went to the vets.

Lung sounds are all normal (always nice to have what I've observed confirmed by a vet!). Throat sounds (around the level of the larynx, so consistent with losing his wheek?) were a little squeaky. Nothing to warrant bombarding him with antibiotics yet though, mutual decision made by myself and the vet.

As for his almost odematous abdomen... He has lost weight, about 30g in a year, but I have been trying to get him to lose some and have been monitoring closely. He's lost it gradually and has been at a stable weight since April, but he seems to have lost weight from his upper body during his "diet", and still has quite a round abdomen. He almost looks like a pregnant sow. The vet agrees that this isn't quite right, but he has no fluid wave (basically, tapping on his abdomen didn't produce any fluid movement, like ripples almost, it was just soft squishy intestines), and there's no palpable lumps or anything untoward. Again, I've examined him and couldn't feel anything either.

So, the verdict is to monitor him for now. If he deteriorates in any way, then obviously he's going straight back, Ian the vet has said if its out of hours and the other exotics vet isn't on duty, to call him directly and he'll see him. If he's ok and doesn't deteriorate, he wants to see him back in a fortnight to re-examine throat sounds, palpate his abdomen and see if there's any changes etc.
 
Hope Big Dave is going to be ok. People loose their voice for no apparent reason, too, why not pigs :)
 
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