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Nose Bleed

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DM030819

Typically I'm not at home!

Boyfriend has just sent me this photo. Podrick was snuffling when he was eating his dinner and so he got him out.

His nose is bleeding from one nostril. Not a heavy bleed but he's wiped it again after 20 mins and there's still a bit on the cotton bud.

He said that he's not noticeably fallen out with his cagemate, they're still acting the same around each other but the picture looks like a bite to me.

What do people think?

If worst happens I'll set off back home. I can be there in 3 hours.

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Sorry no great advice to offer.

I am just super impressed that your boyfriend;
a. Noticed
b. Sent you a photo

To be honest if he seems fine, is eating, and seems ok with his cafe mate, then I would probably assume he is ok, and leave things alone.
But if you are concerned is there some way to temporarily divide the cage?.
 
I've told him to leave it be for an hour or two to give it chance to heal a bit. Then he can give it a wipe again gently to see if it's still bleeding.

My lone boar moves into a temporary cage when I'm aware as boyfriend has a bad back and so can't get him out of the C&C. So if need be he can pop Jon (Podrick's cagemate) in the other cage for the weekend. I've asked boyfriend to keep popping in to check on them, or switch on PigCam so I can keep an eye on how they're acting with each other.
 
I wondered about poking a piece of hay up it. He does like to rumble around under the hay and has had a piece of hay in his eye before. Quite often he has a bit of hay stuck in his hair, so it's very possible.

Boyfriend said it's stopped bleeding but he'll keep an eye on him and Jon, just in case it was an argument.

I think I'll make him a vet appointment with Kim Maddock as he's had a random snotty nose twice over summer. That and a nose bleed can be a sign of heart issues so it's worth a quick check.
 
One of my past pigs, Linney, suffered from nosebleeds in old age. Sometimes they were fairly mild (we though she poked herself), other times they were clearly unprovoked and were gushers (she would snort blood all over trying to clear her nose, it was very alarming and looked like someone had been ax murdered!) I would try to keep her calm and sop up all the blood with a compress but they did always stop on their own. We saw the vet, who said it could anything from a minor injury to a malignancy in the sinuses. They couldn't see anything externally. We chose not to x-ray, as it might not have shown any soft-tissue problems like polyps or a tumor, and if it was something serious there really wasn't much we could do other than make her comfortable. At any rate, she had intermittent nosebleeds over a matter of months, often in clusters (i.e. once every week or 10 days or so for a few weeks, then nothing for months, then another 1 a weeks for a few weeks.) I don't suspect there was any kind of malignancy, as she lived with them quite normally for many, many months before passing away from something totally different (she was over 6 at that time and an elderly pig, so I don't think it was at all related to her nose.) Definitely let me know what the vet says, I'm curious to see if you get an actual diagnosis, as we never really did! I suspect she had some sort of polyp or weakened vein or something in her nasal sinuses that would intermittently bleed, but can't say for sure.
 
Yep, I'll definitely update you all. I'll post an update after I see him tomorrow and again after we see the vet.
 
Well, the bleed wasn't from a bite! His nostril and nose look completely normal! I've had a look up his nose and it lookes okay but I won't rule out a hay poke or a bash on the nose yet.

He's booked into the vet's on Thursday.

Podrick was the healthy pig of my 3, haha
 
Pod went to see the vet on Thursday.

We believe that it was probably a poke up his nose, although there doesn't seem to be any scab up there. But, his nose is quite small and hard to look up. He is very much a burrower and was buried under the hay in his carry case

He was thoroughly checked to see if he had a hay seed up there, but he has no swelling or discharge which would suggest something was stuck up there. He was also checked to make sure he is still breathing through both nostrils.

The only other thing it could be is issues with the blood vessels in his nose, similar to humans that suffer from nosebleeds. The only cause of action would be to cauterise it but it's impossible to do on pigs. We've decided to just monitor him. Kim would like to see him again if he has a few more nose bleeds, definitely if they happen quite close together.

Other than that he was given a full bill of health and peed twice whilst on the table. He is a very scaredy pig and spent the whole appointment doing an impression of a baked potato.
 
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