Strange Behavior

[Crystal]

My boar is just over a year old, and has acted normally since we got him at 3 months. This morning, for no reason at all, he got spooked and leaped into the side of the cage. (this may have nothing to do with anything, but maybe). Later today, I noticed he would walk forward 2-3 steps, then back up to where he was. He would not move from his spot. When coming near him, he would jerk back like he was scared of us. My husband put his arm in the cage and he climbed up his arm (as he normally does.) He was put on the floor and he ran around as normal - no walking problems that we could tell. After putting him back in his cage, he went back to his spot and would not move for hours. His "spot" is stationed next to his food and water and he is drinking and eating normally - but he would not move from that spot. He takes a few steps forward, then backs up when tempted with treats. He would lean forward and sniff around, but would not come near the treat. We took him out of the cage this evening and he pooped 4-5 times while on my lap (in a 5 minute period. He never does that.) Some of the poop has indents in the middle...so the ends are normal width, but the middle is skinnier (never saw that before). Sometimes, he only poops half a poop, like it's been broken in half, but he doesn't seem blocked up. He is puffed up all the time and seems unhappy. When we put him back in his cage, he went back to his "spot", got puffed up, and laid down. The poop and the spook may have nothing to do with anything, but he is either in pain or has some kind of neurological issue. He doesn't shreak or make any unhappy noises. Any ideas?

 

[denise]

sorry I don't know what is wrong. I would take him to the vets to be checked over. It sounds like something scared him and he remembers. Maybe cleaning out his cage will make him forget. I really am not being any help but I'm thinking of you.

 

[Crystal]

Thankyou. I really think something may have scared him because he won't go past his water bottle and he stays on one side of the cage. I had to move everything to that side of the cage. He's eating and drinking normally. I noticed he didn't poop much last night and wonder if when they get scared or stressed if it affects that cause he was pooping more than normal last night.

 

[TAN]

Being "puffed up " is not usually a good sign - unless he is cold - but saying that mine puff up when they are eating because it makes them look bigger - I think its supposed to intimidate the others - ie . bigger pigger grabs more veg and a smaller piggy might let them get away with it - hopefully one of the more experienced members such as abi nurse / suzygpr will be on soon to help.

 

[Crystal]

I'm beginning to think something spooked him because he's favoring one side of the cage. When I take him out he acts perfectly normal. I'm gonna try putting him in a different cage I have tonight it's smaller but since he's only staying in one little area of the c&c cage I think it's worth a shot. He just seems really nervous which is not like him at all.

 

[sparkie42]

Hi Crystal, hope your piggy is better by now. I had the same problem with one of my boys, I noticed he was tired more than normal and kept bounding out of his spot then back to it and also a bit bloated. I also noticed he hadn't drank much water or eaten much since the night before and there weren't many poops about. I took him to the vet as he seemed to get worse by the hour. Whilst at the vet he did a couple of poops just like you described and they also had bubbles on them. The vet said it was colitis, the colon secretes mucus which forms bubbles around the excrement, and gave him a triple injection of antibiotic, pain killer and something to get his bowels moving, he said the best thing was to make sure he ate as they need to have constant movement through their digestive system. He was to be back at the vets the following morning, I mushed up his pellets with water and syringe fed him regularly all through the night and also laid him on a massage mat (someone recommended this for bloat as it helps make the small air bubbles join together which makes it easier to pass) through the night he'd maybe done a few very irregular shaped poops and just as we were setting off for the vets he fired quite a few normal ones out and just generally looked a lot better. The vet gave him baytril and pain killer in oral liquid form for a week.
I know this is a lengthy reply but the symtoms you described were so similar to what my piggy experienced I just wanted to emphasise how rapidly something like this can develop into something more serious and emphasise how important it is to see a vet. When mine lunged forward from his spot it was probably due to griping pains he was experiencing.
I hope your piggy is fine and that it was only just a spook of some kind.

 

[ninz]

Is your piggies a single piggie? Perhaps he might have more confidence with a friend around?

I wonder what caused him to act this way...

 

[Crystal]

Bailey is completely back to normal now. I really think that something spooked him because he wouldn't go on one side of the cage. Once I cleaned the cage and moved things around he was back to normal. I also recently got him a friend (a little baby boy) and they bonded last wednesday so I'm really happy about that and I think Bailey is too! Thank you all for your helpful comments!