Signs of Aging?

[Bunsby]

Hi. My lethal pig, Vanilla, is approximately 4 years old. She has become very grumpy. She doesn't appear to want me to hold her as much and she has little patience for her friend. They live in separate cages, but when they have floor time, she gets frustrated when Juliette comes up to sniff her (Vanilla is blind, so she can't see Juliette come up to her). Vanilla used to love to have me cuddle her, but she just would prefer to be alone now. Her vet says that she is impressed with the care we have given Vanilla, considering her status. She does not have any infections. Her head tilt has not gotten worse; however, I feel her neurological status may have gone downhill a little because she will walk in circles and get herself dizzy, making me pick her up and making her "forget" that she was walking in circles to make her stop. Her back is extremely sensitive to touch and she doesn't want us touching her. She does NOT have mites or any other skin problem. We checked. My husband thinks she may be in pain, but it is very difficult to gauge. I don't know if she is exhibiting normal behaviour for an aging lethal pig or if I should have the vet give her an even more thorough exam. The vet we have (2 of them, actually) is very cavy savy and they believe that Vanilla is just aging, but is showing signs of decline. Any pointers in making sure she is happy and content? Besides floor time and lots of cuddles, that is. I would prefer not to medicate her at this point, as it is not a for sure thing that she is in pain. If we are positive she is in pain, we'll be sure to give her meds at that point. I guess I just wanted to ask if this is normal for an older lethal pig. Sorry for the rambling; she is just so sweet and I love her so much.

 

[twiams]

I guess the only way you can find out whats best for the piggy is talk to your vet, sometimes they will start to decline quickly and it depends on wether letting the piggy slowly decline and get in more pain is fair on them or not.

The grumpy'ness is a sign i've heard is often related to pain, as they have a low tolerance when they're uncomfortable.

 

[Suzygpr]

Has your vet scanned for ovarian cysts at all? General grumpiness in older females can be down to cysts becoming uncomfortable, or the hormone levels being too high/low.

HTH

Suzy x

 

[MandFpiggies]

I understand you not wanting to medicate too soon or unnecessarily, but I wonder if some pain relief would allow you to judge if some of her behaviors were pain induced, ie. if her behaviors stopped once she was on the meds, then started up again when you had stopped giving them, you would know they were being caused by pain. I also know pain is sometimes necessary for a vet to work out the source of the problem, but once that was located, you would then know either it could be fixed, or if that was not possible, you would know that the time has come and your girl now needs meds to help her see out the rest of her time with you in comfort.
I'm not preaching, or having a dig :x, but I know how hard it is to be objective, and think clearly when you are looking down into that little face x)
And if it turns out that she doesn't need the pain meds then there's no harm done and you can go on confident that for now at least she is in no discomfort.
That all said, I openly admit I have no experience of lethal piggies, so if I have said something wrong, or if you have some reason for avoiding meds, I apologize for my mistake and would welcome being better informed for the future.