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Poor Hector, I'm really worried.

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Tallulah

Tallulah

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Hi, we noticed a couple of weeks ago Hector making some strange noises. I checked him over as much as I could, he didn't seem in pain, was quite happy and soon munching into tea. We've noticed nothing since, and he's been fine, behaving as normal. I put it down to hungry chatter, my piggies make all sorts of noises when
 
sorry, on my mobile, ran out of space.

hungry. So i've just been keeping an eye on him. Just cleaning him out, and today I've noticed he's passing massive poos. I found two balls about an inch or more across, and when I picked him up he was passing more. He was shall we say stretched. Sorry to be so gruesome. I've never seen anything like this before. Does anyone have any advice? He doesn't seem to be pain, but i'm not happy at all. I'm very concerned.
 
sounds like anal compaction to me (sorry if it's spelled wrong!).

I don't know much about it but it's fairly common and i'm sure someone on here will be able to help you.

Poor guy!
 
Impaction is very common in boars. Just check him once a day, if he is impacted just roll the lump out of the pig. It should only take a few seconds to do that. That is all you need to do.
 
thanks so much that was my gut feeling but i thought it best to check. Should i keep feeding him the same? He has dry food veg and greens, and has never had problems before.
 
Thanks so much I feel suitably reassured, and hector is delighted he does not have to start eating less or different foods. Thanks to all!
 
You might find that some extra 'wet' foods help the compaction. I give Wilbur, my 5 year old impacted boar, extra cucumber. It's quite daunting when you have to empty the sac out for the first time and it may be a two-person job for the first couple of times. It won't hurt Hector to roll the sac backwards and ease out the lump. When I clean out Wilbur, I dab a touch of Vaseline inside the sac to make emptying the next time a bit easier. I've found it to help. I also have to tell you about a wonder product - Vetark Pro-C Probiotic. You get it from Pets at Home and it's a green powder which can be added to water. I used it in Wilbur as he was a rescue boar in poor health but I was amazed at how it helped his impaction. It doesn't 'cure' the impaction as such, but I've found it reduces the number of times I need to clean him out. It may or may not work for you but it's fairly inexpensive and you can give it to other pigs if you want to, so it may be worth a try. Good luck and don't worry :)
 
There is no need at all to put Vaseline, or any other ointment in the sac. It will only help hay etc to stick in place, it will stop the natural skin secretions from lubricating the sac lining and it will probably increase the risk of a fungal infection. You just have to get in there and get your fingers dirty, if you feel you must "do something" then just clean out the sac with a cotton bud.
 
Well, two days on and Hector has had no more symptoms. I will continue to check, much to his delight, he loves the attention.

I'm a biologist so getting my hands dirty no problem. Should it happen again I feel prepared, thanks so mcuh.
 
AP, I have found that lubricating Wilbur's sac helps me empty it the following day. :)

So glad that you are getting on OK with Hector x)
 
I have a pig that needs cleaning out twice daily, I just roll out whatever is there and then leave well alone until the next time. As the advert says "Simple".
 
I'm glad you found something that has worked for you, and I have posted what works for me :)
 
Why don't you modify your technique so that you can clean him out without having to use greasy, sticky Vaseline on him?
It really is simple!
Hundreds, more likely thousands, of owners can't be wrong, can we?
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with my technique!
If you look on Guinea Lynx they reccomend using a mineral oil to minimise build-up, I believe Vaseline works in the same way. :)
 
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