Poor Red's rear leg

[MrPid]

Hi everyone

We noticed our smaller pig (Red) holding his right rear leg up on Friday and kept an eye on it over the weekend. It appeared as if he was resting it, akin to if I were to sprain my foot, etc.

Took him to the Vet this afternoon and they checked for broken bones which fortunately there aren't any and she said its more than likely he's caught it somewhere and it could indeed be some kind of sprain. It is definately more swollen than the other which I didn't see at the weekend. She gave him an injection of Metacam which he squeaked at

We also have a small bottle of Metacam to give him a single drop on food for the next 6 days.

Anyone have any tips on applying the Metacam to food, and in particular is there a definate food that they will instantly munch on, or would it be safer to take him from the cage which he shares with Morgan to ensure he solely eats the food? Also, any tips for recouperating piggies, or just let him rest it up himself?

Thanks

Stu

 

[TAN]

Hi
I had my Bumble at the vets just over 2 weeks ago with a very badly sprained right front paw - (they wriggle and try and launch themselves back into their cage and Bumble landed badly ) -
Try to limit his movement as much as you can so it gets rest - Bumble is in a 2 tier cage so I took him out and placed him into a smaller one without ramps/ ledges - no cuddles in case I squashed his sore paw - metacam you can put on a piece of cucumber flesh so it will sink in - unless the vet gave you a syringe which Bumble happily took (and then looked for more as apparently it tastes of honey) - it did take a week to heal - was not much improvement to start with but he is back to normal now popcorning around the lounge calling out to all the ladies

 

[Goldie]

Hi MrPid and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about Red. I have had a couple of piggies in the past that have needed Metacam. Obviously be very careful with only giving them exactly the dose that the vet has prescribed as it is pretty strong stuff!

Basically I have either administered the Metacam via the bottle directly into the mouth - only one drop was the prescribed amount for mine. Or if you don't feel confident with doing that, pop the dose onto a piece of cucumber (all piggies like cucumber don't they?! ) away from other piggies so you know Red has taken what he needs to.

Hope that makes sense and healing vibes coming Red's way for a speeding recovery.

Keep us posted.

 

[Pat Shields]

I had my Bumble at the vets just over 2 weeks ago with a very badly sprained right front paw - (they wriggle and try and launch themselves back into their cage and Bumble landed badly )

I am not glad that Bumble got hurt, but I am glad that you posted those words; My Red (Redemption, of course) does the same thing, gets excited when he sees he is going "home" and does exactly that, wriggles and tries to launch himself into his cage when I have him in my hands. I always keep him low as I fear he might get hurt, but knowing now this is something they do, I will keep a much closer watch on how I handle him and will make much more use of his carry basket to transfer him. He does not get so excited when I have him in a basket.

I certainly hope the "Red" of this thread heals soon and that the Metacam has taken his mind off of things.

 

[MrPid]

Hi All

Red made a full recovery and his leg was fine after only a few days. We finished the course and he was fine afterwards.

Stu