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Tan Has Another Bladder Stone Pig - High Enough Weight To Operate?

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TAN

TAN

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As above - my 6 year old boar Reg, that has never had anything wrong with him until now went off to the local vets (as they do PDSA and I couldn't afford to insure any more of my tribe) - he was treated for cystitis / uti with baytril as I noticed blood on the fleece but no pain squeaking or hunching - this was about 3 weeks ago - I have been monitoring his weight (he has always been a light pig - hovering around the 1000gm mark which is low for a boar ) and he had dropped down to 920gm - he seemed to be eating ok,but I had been away for a night house sitting and in the space of 48hrs had dropped down to 820gms and there was a lot of blood in his wee.
We rushed off at 10 pm last night to my specialist piggy vets,who x-rayed him and have found 4 small stones in the bladder.He stayed in over night and they have said he is eating and have been syringe feeding,but I have brought him home and he is now down to 790gms - Rachel can operate on Monday morning (expected bill anywhere between £250 - £500 - fee so far for x-rays out of hours meds and overnight stay £185 - my son is giving me the money to pay for it from his university bursary and I think Reg deserves every chance - but is 790 gms too light for a boar of his age to pull through? I don't realisticly know how much weight I can get him to put on between now and Monday morning and from my previous experience with Bumble,they usually loose about 100gms in the first day or two after an operation - Bumble does this every time and he has a good appetite and a starting weight of 1300gms - or should I ask them to delay the op until I can get the weight on,butRachel's second in command thinks that they should come out now as their is the risk (as there always is ) that they could get stuck.
I will try to syringe the 40mls or so into him every 24 hrs (I will look up the guide on here ) but experiences with weights from you guys would be helpful.
 
A piggy thats not eating usually needs 120ml in 24 hours so try an aim for more each feed. Personally i think the stones are better out sooner rather than later, as you then have more of a risk from that side of things if you wait to bulk him up. What has your vet said about the weight situation? At least you have until monday to get food into him x
 
The weight is still in the safe range; my Hywel dipped as low with hid dental abscesses, and my Ceri was much lower than that (borderline at below 600g) when she had an emergency bladder operation aged ca. 5.

The sooner you can have the stones out, the better. Things are not going to improve while the stones are causing problems, and Tan may continue to lose weight just from the pain of the stones.

Please follow the recommendations in our guide and try to get as much feed into him as he will take, little but often round the clock - the more often the less you get into him; 40ml is the absolute minimum to keep the guts going. The more you can get into him, the better obviously; ideally you want to aim for 60-80 ml to keep his weight.

Have you got metacam?
 
Hi - yes - they have been syringe feeding him at the vets and he has eaten a little on his own - I have metacam buprecare emiprid and baytril to give him in a minute _ I also have that carrot flavoured stuff in the syringe (whos name escapes me but you know what I mean) and some probiotic powder to pop on the lettuce that he is eating - I will give the pain relief 20 mins to work so he is more receptive to feeding - he is such a good little boy - only Wednesday evening he started singing - Nuggets was my only other chirping piggy - am off now to give the meds!
 
You are doing all the right stuff. Just hang in there. I know that it is a worrying time!
 
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Weighed Reg this morning and his weight has stayed the same at 790 gm - he seems to want to nibble at food but not really eat - has had a few blades of grass today ,half a strawberry and a little bit of lettuce - seems reluctant to take his syringe feed byt is taking it - just sitting in the same place in the cage - so Rachel is going to operate tomorrow morning - but worried he wont pull through as he is already 6 - thank goodness son is paying as have just spent out £575 in the last 6 weeks as Bumble has exceeded his insurance limit and will not be covered again until 4th October - the healing fairy and the money fairy need to pay me a visit asap!
 
Good luck for tomorrow! Crunchie has been fighting me with her syringe feeds, but have managed to keep her weight at 970/990 so still gonna keep going! She has a dental tomorrow so trying to bulk her up, and possible bladder flushing surgery at somepoint soon! Iv found crunchie prefers recovery to critical care, switching may give him an interest xx
 
TAN said:
Weighed Reg this morning and his weight has stayed the same at 790 gm - he seems to want to nibble at food but not really eat - has had a few blades of grass today ,half a strawberry and a little bit of lettuce - seems reluctant to take his syringe feed byt is taking it - just sitting in the same place in the cage - so Rachel is going to operate tomorrow morning - but worried he wont pull through as he is already 6 - thank goodness son is paying as have just spent out £575 in the last 6 weeks as Bumble has exceeded his insurance limit and will not be covered again until 4th October - the healing fairy and the money fairy need to pay me a visit asap!
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I hope that he can make it; you can never tell - older piggies can surprise you, even some frails ones!
That is very kind from your son! The fact that the weight is stable is a good sign under the circumstances.
All you can do is give him a chance. My 6 year old Hywel has made it through a major dental and abscess operation in April. Fingers very firmly crossed!
Here are our post-op care tips, which you may find helpful: Tips For Post-operative Care
 
Sadly Reg has gone to rainbow bridge. Rachel operated on him this morning and took out the 4 stones that showed up on the x_ray - what the x-ray didn't show was that there were lots of smaller stones in his kidney and stones were also working their way down the ureters - she also took an x-ray herself (Alison her second in command had taken the first one on Friday night) which showed that he had severe arthritis in his spine and while the teeth looked ok there were lots of bumps in his jawline where problems were brewing - so we thought it fairer to not bring him round from the operation.
I am so glad we gave him the chance though - he was rescued from my daughters friend where he and Nuggets lived in a tiny cage with no fresh veg or hay and was neglected - so glad he had 6 happy years and a wifepig.
 
TAN said:
Sadly Reg has gone to rainbow bridge. Rachel operated on him this morning and took out the 4 stones that showed up on the x_ray - what the x-ray didn't show was that there were lots of smaller stones in his kidney and stones were also working their way down the ureters - she also took an x-ray herself (Alison her second in command had taken the first one on Friday night) which showed that he had severe arthritis in his spine and while the teeth looked ok there were lots of bumps in his jawline where problems were brewing - so we thought it fairer to not bring him round from the operation.
I am so glad we gave him the chance though - he was rescued from my daughters friend where he and Nuggets lived in a tiny cage with no fresh veg or hay and was neglected - so glad he had 6 happy years and a wifepig.
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I'm very sorry to hear this, sounds like you gave him a very happy life.
RIP Reg x x
 
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TAN said:
Sadly Reg has gone to rainbow bridge. Rachel operated on him this morning and took out the 4 stones that showed up on the x_ray - what the x-ray didn't show was that there were lots of smaller stones in his kidney and stones were also working their way down the ureters - she also took an x-ray herself (Alison her second in command had taken the first one on Friday night) which showed that he had severe arthritis in his spine and while the teeth looked ok there were lots of bumps in his jawline where problems were brewing - so we thought it fairer to not bring him round from the operation.
I am so glad we gave him the chance though - he was rescued from my daughters friend where he and Nuggets lived in a tiny cage with no fresh veg or hay and was neglected - so glad he had 6 happy years and a wifepig.
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BIG HUGS

I am so sorry - but at least you know the pain and discomfort you have spared him, and what a happy, long life you have given Reg. It is in some ways easier when you can make an informed decision and are not left with lots of what ifs or feelings that you have failed Reg. But it doesn't make the pain of your loss any less after such a long and happy time.
 
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I'm so sorry for your loss, you made the right decision not to bring him round, knowing all the things he had against him.

Sleep tight little one x
 
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I am so sorry for your loss, it sounds like he found a wonderful caring owner in you & you gave him a very happy life xx
 
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