Sick Foster Pig -Blackberry leaves

[x-vic-x]

I had a foster pig in a couple of weeks ago, he has always been very quiet. Over the weekend we noticed he had some diarrhoea, and had virtually stopped eating, we took him to the vets yesterday and he was given antibiotics (baytril), some rehydration fluid, probiotic and science selective recovery food.

Since yesterday the only thing he has eaten on his own is blackberry leaves, everytime I put them in he eats them straight away but he won't eat anything else. I am syringing him the recovery food which he is taking well. So I have a few quetions:

Is there a limit to the amount of blackberry leaves he can have?

The vet thinks he has an infection and I need to syringe feed him until the antibiotics start to work then he should feel better and eat on his own, does this sound about right?

 

[daleksarah]

sorry i dont have any helpful advice but wanted to say i hope he gets better soon.its good hes eating something, they must be his favourite maybe keep trying him with other things as well maybe lettuce leaves (not iceberg) or spring cabbage or cucumber.

 

[alcesterpigs]

I have never heard of a pig having problems from blackberry leaves.
The very fact that he is eating at all is a good sign.
Try him with celery, carrot, apple, hay and grass.
What is the Baytril dose?

 

[x-vic-x]

He's on 0.2ml of baytril twice a day.

I have tried to tempt him with all the normal things he just isn't interested, he won't even look at them. I have also tried grating things.

I have just given him another couple of blackberry leaves and he has eaten those.

 

[alcesterpigs]

I don't know about blackberry leaves but there are some plants eg Shepherd's Purse that they will tend to eat if they have diaorrhea. It could be that is what he is doing, self treatment.

 

[x-vic-x]

He is starting to show some improvement now,he has been back to the vets and they put him on a 5 day course of panacur, the diarrhoea has stopped and he is eating 2 large bowls of greens a day although he will only eat leaves, nothing else and he is nibbling on hay.

He is still refusing to eat the pellets, and is now refusing to be syringe fed, I think he is associating the syringe with medincine.

Do you think I am stressing him out more by trying to make him eat? I was thinking of stopping syringe feeding him the pellets and just let him eat the veg and hay, would this be ok for him at the min, my only concern is he many loose more weight.

 

[daleksarah]

as long as he is eating i wouldnt worry so much it may be it hurts to eat hard food like pellets or veg,leaves and hay are easy to nibble arent they.are his teeth ok?

 

[x-vic-x]

2 different vets have checked his teeth and said they were fine, but I will ask them to have another look when i take him back.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Are you sure that the vets know what normal teeth should look like, just a thought?

 

[x-vic-x]

I would hope so, he first went to my local vet and then to Birmingham animal hospital. Would you recommend I take him somewhere else?

Could it be something else to do with his mouth/ jaw or would that stop him eating altogether?