Poo/Wee :S

[lucyjoanne]

Hi,

I'm not sure if I am over worrying- but I was wondering if anyone could help me?

One of my girls (shes 1 years old), has all of a sudden had a bit of a messy bum. She doesnt seem to be in pain when going to poo...but.....even after bathing her, her bum is a little messy, and it looks as if her bottom is a bit swollen, from what I can see, but I am not sure if it is something I should be worried about, seeing as she is acting normally eating/drinking/playing.

Also, she has started to be having a problem when going to wee - she goes ALOT, but always used to be so clean, but now i find she gets wet/messy, no matter how many times I clean her. Again, she does not seem to have any discomfort in going to wee but basically I was wondering if it is common for some piggies to be a bit messy 'down there' and if the 'swollen' bottom is anything to be worried about? :{

 

[threelittlepigs]

I would withhold veggies for 24hrs and feed hay and pellets only. If it doesn't clear then a visit to the vets is in order. You need to start weighing your piggy daily so that you can see if she starts to deteriorate (lose weight).

Is your piggy losing weight?
Have you changed its diet recently?
Do you feed lots of lettuce?

My piggy had this once and it turned out that she'd eaten too much lettuce. Some recovery food bought from the vets sorted her out, but it could be so many other things that I think you need the animal examined by a professional. It could be bacterial diarrhea which would need antibiotics but your vet will be able to examine your pig's stomach, kidneys etc in just a few seconds which will be well worth the consultation fee.

 

[Laura-CCC4]

It can be frustrating when they get messy underneath; sometimes it's just a piggie's habit but there can be medical reasons too.

When you say she's messy, do you mean she has soft poop/diarrhoea?

Does the urine smell at all? Any hair loss on or around the swollen genitals? The symptoms you describe - polyuria (increased urination), wetness around the bottom, swollen genitals - can be typical of cystitis/urinary tract infection, even without obvious discomfort on peeing.

I would recommend getting a urine sample and taking it along to the vets with an appointment for her, so the vet can examine her and see if there is any evidence of infection. To get a urine sample, pop her into a plastic box until she pees, then use a sterile 1ml syringe to collect some urine. You don't need to collect much urine, the vet should place a drop of urine on each of the test squares on a urine test strip to do the initial test for levels of protein, glucose, blood, leukocytes, pH etc. which can indicate infection.