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Signs Of Illness

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Piggly

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My old boar Eddie (about 5 years 4 months) is showing signs of being poorly, more than usual. He has had suspected renal failure to some degree for several months (not confirmed) and so has been quite a heavy drinker and lost weight gradually. He feels like a bag of bones these days. Today I notice he has small poops, though appears to have a good appetite, and has been hunched up facing the corner the last two times I've been to see them. He has been getting sores on his feet suggesting he has been sat still for long periods of time in wee patches. He has also been drifting off and closing his eyes every few seconds which is not like him at all.

I'm in north devon and there are no piggy savvy vets on the vet locator. I'm heading back to Swansea tomorrow.

Can anyone advise please?
 
My first thought is whether he has been checked for heart problems. It can cause weight loss, bumblefoot and make them lethargic so they stay in one place most of the time. Is his breathing laboured? Does he look like he is nodding?

Doesn't fit in with the drinking more though.
 
Hmm.. he hasn't actually ever been checked for this specifically, but a vet has listened to his chest a couple of times in the last few months and not mentioned anything. Well the drinking is not massively excessive, but its noticeably more than average. He does have small poos as well though?
 
It was just a thought really but something to ask the vet about. The small poos could be related to him eating less maybe. It sounds like he could be in some element of pain though if he is hunched up, is there a vet you can go to when you go back to Swansea? If he deteriorates tonight though he will need to see the emergency vet in Devon.
 
Poor lad. Definitely a vets visit. The small poo's can be a sign of the gut slowing down also... Let us know how he gets on at vets, love to Eddie.
 
Thankyou all, very helpful thoughts to mention to the vets! I think I will try to get a saturday appointment at st james in swansea for him, he is coping fairly well currently and eating and drinking so its not an emergency.

@helen105281 I have read that heart problems can relate to kidney problems, so whether he could have one or both is something to consider.

@Teddybear22 No sign of either, hopefully its not diabetes!
 
I think I have heard that too. Let me know if you need any more information.
 
I would talk to the vet about getting an Xray done to check firstly for stones/sludge (including kidney stones) and secondly to look at his heart and the size of it in relation to his ribcage.

Useful thread on guinea lynx here about heart pigs and half way down under the case studies are links to Xray images showing pigs with heart disease
http://www.guinealynx.info/heart.html
 
It's down to the individual vet.....it's not just whether the pig can sit motionless but also whether he will lie on his side for the view best needed to see if there are stones in the ureter or urethra. Most pigs can;t lie on their sides hence why vets Xray under GA. For Xrays vets tend to put them out using a whiff of gas not the full injection anaesthetic requiring reversal (which is the one that tends to cause the problems with piggies).

My vet has XRayed and taken bloods from several of my frail elderly piggies (including heart pigs) with no problem using the whiff of gas method.

If you;re going back to Swansea - best bet is to go to St James and try to see Lance or Geraint (cardiologist) at whichever practice they are at tomorrow or saturday.

HTH
x
 
Sorry to hear Eddie is unwell - I agree with what everyone else has suggested here but just thought Id mention that the small poos could be connected to his renal failure (if he does indeed have this and not something else). When Tango's kidney failure presented itself the first symptoms were tiny poo and discomfort when passing them.

I hope you can get some answers soon.
 
Hes got an appointment at st james in swansea tomorrow at 11am. @Pebble he wont be seeing Lance as hes only in that branch on Wednesday, but I'll be armed with plenty of information in any case. Just noticed you're in surrey - Lance does a monthly surgery somewhere there doesn't he?
 
The outcome was pretty much what I expected - the culprit is almost certainly kidney failure. I already knew he had something like this for the best part of a year, but its only now starting to cause him discomfort. He will be on metacam for foreseeable future, and baytril for 7 days in case there is any lingering cystitis which he had a few months ago. I've got a wee stick to check his wee for any sign of blood too. Teeths have been checked and look good, and no signs of any masses in him. The small poops are related to dehydration from the kidney failure. There are no signs of heart failure so that is great news! She thinks its possible he has a touch of arthritis which the metacam would help anyway.

Monty had a quick check while he was there as its good to take advantage of opportunities for checking their health! He got a clean bill of health and an official diagnosis of 'chubby tummy' haha.
 
At least you know what is going on now. Hopefully the Metacam will keep him comfortable.
 
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