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possible jaw abscess - advice please

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bunny mad lisa

bunny mad lisa

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hi all
I took my piggy, Fozzie Bear to the vet today as when i weighed him and he's lost 200gms. He's had a broken front tooth for some time which i have been keeping a close eye on and presumed this was the cause of his weight loss. When the vet checked him she found a lump under his chin about the size of a small grape. She thinks it's an abscess and could be due to dental issues. Our concern is that the bone may be involved. He's still eating and drinking ok and seems happy enough and he's going to the vet friday to have it investigated and sorted out.

I've had experience with rabbit abscesses but never pigs... Is it the same procedures? and what antibiotics are good for abscesses in pigs?

I'm a little worried as my experiences with pigs and ops hasn't always been good and i'm concerned it will all be too much for him. I know i have to wait and see what we find but he's such a special little guy(in my avatar).

any advice would be gratefully recieved!
 
also any suggestion of food to help him gain weight would be good. I have tried him on porraige oats but doesn't seem interested.
 
hi, sorry to hear your piggy is unwell. his abscess could quite well be related to his broken tooth especially if the pulp cavity has been exposed. there is always a risk with jaw abscesses that the bone may be involved but hopefully when he goes back to the vet they will be able to lance it and get some drainage.

from my experience the best antibiotic for abcesses in piggies is zithromax, but sadly not all vets are aware of it. if it something your vet is not familiar with i would urge them to look into it.

he may be finding it painful to eat at the moment so some syringe feeding may help get calories into him. has your vet prescribed any pain relief?
 
thank you! he's on metacam and baytril and I have used zithromax for my rabbits with great sucess so my vet will be happy to use it, just need to find a dosage, we did 1mil per kilo for the bunnies
 
Lisa pm Debbie (Furryfriends) as her vet Simon Maddocks uses Zithromax and I'm sure she will have the doses for a piggy - if i can find my print out I'll pop back and add the details - alternatively try giving them a call http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/

Hope FB makes a speedy recovery xx
 
Hello Lisa, looks like Debbie has seen this and she has all the answers for you, but i just wanted to say i had a very very poorly boy earlier this year with a dental abscess in his Jaw, he wouldn't eat for 4 - 5 weeks and he was syringe fed around the clock, he lost a lot of weight and at one point i wondered if it was fair on him, but with the advice and support from members on here and with the help from an excellent vet who lanced drained and flushed out the abscess 4 times and with the baytril i was giving him aswell, he made a full recovery and he is now the picture of a healthy piggy. It was hard work and very emotionally draining, but it all paid off and i would do it all over again!

Healing vibes you your gorgeous piggy!

xx
 
Thanks everyone for the advice and support! Will let you know what happens tomorrow and will get zithrax if it is an abcess. I nursed my rabbit for 5 months and had to flush it twice a day so have alot of experience but found it very hard especially as I lost her in the end but I'm trying to think positive!
 
It was an abscess and a bad one, my vet had to leave early on an emergency and so haven't spoken to her yet but it has effected his teeth, hes home and doing well! Eating a little on his own and even took some critical care from a syringe without having to put it in his mouth! we are back on Tuesday and will talk to vet then but for now I'm just so pleased to have my little brave piggy home!
I'll do an update on tues when we know full details
 
i'm glad he is home safely, leaving them at the vets is always such a worrying time. it is good he is wanting to eat for himself too. good luck for tuesday, please keep us updated. if his teeth are badly affected speak to Debbie, furryfriends, she is very experienced with dental piggies and her vet is a fantastic piggy dentist :)
 
Hope Fozzie Bear is doing ok, will watch out for your update :)
 
Good news that he's home safely and doing well. I am more than happy to have a chat with you at any point about dental issues or any problems you may have dealing with the abscess. I have lots of experience with dental piggies and abscesses as I have a Sanctuary for piggies with ongoing problems, mainly dental. My contact details are on my website www.teasnorthampton.co.uk
 
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