Hello,
I'm currently having a bit of a nightmare with one of my pigs and would be very grateful for any advice and opinions please! He's 3 1/2 years old and never had any health problems before.
On Saturday I noticed that he seemed to be taking an incredibly long time to chew his vegetables. This quickly progressed into more difficulties - he still wanted his food and showed interest, but would just keep picking it up and dropping it as if he couldn't properly bite. I took him to the vets on the Sunday, who advised a dental under GA and he was booked in for this on Monday. Thankfully he came round from this with no issues, and the vet said his back teeth were overgrown and he'd filed them down. He seemed to think he'd solved the current issue.
However, he didn't eat anything all Monday night and Tuesday morning or open his bowels. I took him back to the vets, who kept him I'm under observation until last night (Thursday night). They have been syringe feeding him and giving him metacam. They said he'd started to nibble on food himself and his bowels were opening ok again, and so it was decided that I take him home last night. They weren't sure why he wasn't yet eating normal amounts again, but queried whether it was due to the stress of being there (and housed in the same room as some noisy cats!) or if his mouth is still a bit sore. The vet said he examined his mouth again yesterday and couldn't see any issues.
Since being back home with his brother, he's been pretty much back to his normal character - very inquisitive, chatty and active! He didn't seem to be suffering or in pain last night. However, he is still exhibiting major issues with eating! He seems to desperately want to eat (squeaking for his breakfast this morning, running up to the bars etc, even stealing bits of food from his brother). With broccoli (his absolute favourite food), he just picks it up and drops it continuously like he can't get a proper bite into it. He seems to manage celery and small bits of cabbage/spinach, but takes about 50 times longer to eat it than normal/compared to his brother. Then after so long, he will give up. I've not seem him manage any dry food or hay yet. He is very interested in any new hay, rummaging through and picking bits out with his teeth - however, he doesn't seem to be able to get a full chew going on it and so it's just dropped again.
The vets have given me some syringe feed formula and metacam to keep trying today. Syringe feeding is proving rather tricky at present but I'm persevering. He definitely seems to have lost weight since this started last weekend and I'm worried that I can't sustain him properly on the syringe.
I also don't really know what to do next! Something is still clearly wrong with his eating ability but I don't think the vet is sure what it is. He does seem to be managing slightly more than immediately post dental, but the amounts are so small and he is exhibiting physical difficulties with it. The vet did suggest x rays as a possible next option.
Any opinions would be gratefully received! Thank you x x
I'm currently having a bit of a nightmare with one of my pigs and would be very grateful for any advice and opinions please! He's 3 1/2 years old and never had any health problems before.
On Saturday I noticed that he seemed to be taking an incredibly long time to chew his vegetables. This quickly progressed into more difficulties - he still wanted his food and showed interest, but would just keep picking it up and dropping it as if he couldn't properly bite. I took him to the vets on the Sunday, who advised a dental under GA and he was booked in for this on Monday. Thankfully he came round from this with no issues, and the vet said his back teeth were overgrown and he'd filed them down. He seemed to think he'd solved the current issue.
However, he didn't eat anything all Monday night and Tuesday morning or open his bowels. I took him back to the vets, who kept him I'm under observation until last night (Thursday night). They have been syringe feeding him and giving him metacam. They said he'd started to nibble on food himself and his bowels were opening ok again, and so it was decided that I take him home last night. They weren't sure why he wasn't yet eating normal amounts again, but queried whether it was due to the stress of being there (and housed in the same room as some noisy cats!) or if his mouth is still a bit sore. The vet said he examined his mouth again yesterday and couldn't see any issues.
Since being back home with his brother, he's been pretty much back to his normal character - very inquisitive, chatty and active! He didn't seem to be suffering or in pain last night. However, he is still exhibiting major issues with eating! He seems to desperately want to eat (squeaking for his breakfast this morning, running up to the bars etc, even stealing bits of food from his brother). With broccoli (his absolute favourite food), he just picks it up and drops it continuously like he can't get a proper bite into it. He seems to manage celery and small bits of cabbage/spinach, but takes about 50 times longer to eat it than normal/compared to his brother. Then after so long, he will give up. I've not seem him manage any dry food or hay yet. He is very interested in any new hay, rummaging through and picking bits out with his teeth - however, he doesn't seem to be able to get a full chew going on it and so it's just dropped again.
The vets have given me some syringe feed formula and metacam to keep trying today. Syringe feeding is proving rather tricky at present but I'm persevering. He definitely seems to have lost weight since this started last weekend and I'm worried that I can't sustain him properly on the syringe.
I also don't really know what to do next! Something is still clearly wrong with his eating ability but I don't think the vet is sure what it is. He does seem to be managing slightly more than immediately post dental, but the amounts are so small and he is exhibiting physical difficulties with it. The vet did suggest x rays as a possible next option.
Any opinions would be gratefully received! Thank you x x
