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Willy Has Polyps On His Eyes

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PopcornPigs

PopcornPigs

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It's been decided by my vet that after steroid treatment being unsuccessful, Willy has been booked in to have polyps removed from his eyes.

He's been booked in for his op for two weeks time as my vet is away. She's the only person I trust and she's advised it's not urgent but does need sorting. She has warned me they most probably will grow back but it is the best thing to do for now.

My poor little Willy :( They've said I can bring his wife in with him for when he wakes up - do you think this is a good idea? Tilly is not the friendliest pig to human contact but loves Wills.
 
Good luck Willy. I would think it would be ok for his wife to be there. As long as it won't stress her out.
 
Aw bless Willy. I am sure he would love to have his lady pig for company when he comes round.
 
Aw poor Willy, you're in the best hands with Anne so I'm sure the op will be fine, and he'll have his lovely wifey there to look after him once he's out!
 
Willy and Tilly are both at the vets now, have been since last night.

I've been asked to call them at 1/1.30 to see how he is..
 
Any news? Fingers crossed it all went well!
 
Poor lad! I hope they can remove them all well and he can have a bit less irritation on his poor eye :( Any news?
 
I called at 1 and they said he was doing well and to pick him up at 3.30.

Got him home and he didn't seem 100%, not moving around or eating. I got him on my lap and fed him some lettuce which he ate, but very slowly .. so much so that it started dribbling back out his mouth. I put him back in his cage to observe him but wasn't happy so took him out again.

I had him on the bed with the fan on him and had fed him lettuce initially as this was all he would take. I also wetted a few pellets which he took (something he liked when he was ill before). Once he'd had this he decided to try some pepper slowly, then took part of a green bean and half a baby sweetcorn slowly but surely. I had to hand feed small bits to him but better than nothing.

I'm a bit happier now he's eaten something but he's feeling very sorry for himself. His eyes are great it's just the anaesthetic.
 
Hopefully he'll start picking up soon. Anaesthetic can be horrible for people so I can't imagine how little piggies feel!
 
Sorry to hear about Willy! I hope he starts perking up soon - it's a horrible waiting game trying to get them eating after an op isn't it :(
 
Poor thing, hopefully it is just the anaesthetic. Has he been sent home on pain relief?
 
No, I don't have any pain relief only drops for his eyes but they may have a mild pain relief in them. I did put the drops in this evening and it was about 5-10 mins later he started eating.
 
Did the vet say whether he had been given any, not sure what his procedure involved, so don't know if it would be the same as a pig having an actual op.
 
No they didn't mention any pain killer. He had a GA and the polyps were cut from his eye. I think its more the anaesthetic he's not recovering well from. He's still not moving around much.. is this normal? I can't remember what he was like when he was neutered.
 
I am not sure as I have not had any of my pigs operated on yet. Hopefully someone will be along who knows. If you are worried, could you speak to the vet?
 
He'll eat veg and the occasional pellet but hes not eating much hay still. I'm trying to coax him eating hay. Irs strange.. he starts eating it then stops with it in his mouth. This might sound strange but can anaesthetic affect their brains afterwards? I'm worried hes not going to go back to normal. I'm syringed him some critical care yesterday to try and boost him, he had slightly wet poo too which worried me - I think its the lack of hay. I'm going to buy some posh timothy hay to see if itll help.
 
Hopefully he's still just feeling groggy from the anaesthetic, I doubt the heat would help with that either. Fingers crossed he's back to his normal self soon
 
I would think he is still being affected by it too but it would not hurt to call the vet and ask.
 
Slow recovery/lethargy/not eating after a GA is worrying.
As a rule of thumb - piggies should not be discharged to their owners until they are completely bright and alert and eating/drinking for themselves. However sometimes the piggie can become lethargic once discharged (this has happened to me a couple of times). A piggie should be completely recovered within 24hours, if not you need to go back to the vet as a matter of urgency.

Anaesthetic can affect the swallowing reflex (in a very small minority of cases) - it can also make a piggie very lethargic if it doesn't clear out of their system properly. Some pigs also become dehydrated during the GA and the grogginess can be due to lack of fluid intake afterwards/dehydration. Not eating can also be a feature of pain so pain relief may be required.

I have found that syringe feeding fluids (water and a small amount of Diarolyte, 10ml in total every 2-4 hours) to lethargic piggies to flush out/rehdyrate the piggie sees them recover within 24hours. If not, I go back to the vet.
Suggest you try and see if he will take some water from a syringe. As it's now been 24hours I would also ring your vet with a view to getting some pain relief and/or taking him back in for a check-up (and rehydration with fluids if deemed necessary)

Hope he improves today.
x
 
Thanks for your replies. Willy still hasnt picked up 100%, hes still quite lethargic. He seems interested in food sometimes but then stops eating mid way. I'm also not sure if maybe his vision has been affected by the surgery. His wife pig is very concerned for him, shes nudges him when veggies arrive to remind him to eat and she lyes next to him all the time.

Willy is going back to the vets this morning to try and find out what's wrong and get him better. I don't think I could live with myself if something happened. I've been doing my best hand feeding and giving him water but its hard when he starts refusing.
 
Wills has been back to the vet, he's been given a pain relief injection. They also syringed him some more critical care for me, because he is a big drama queen. As he is pooing at the moment and they are quite 'wet' (but not diarrhoea) she didn't give him a gut stimulant. She thinks that it's just the pain which is putting him off food and making him lethargic/sorry for himself. We've been given metacam to give him in addition to the drops. When he got back he nibbled on some ready grass and a little hay so hopefully he will pick up soon.
 
Glad you have been given Metacam to give at home too. Seen so many cases recently where the vet gives a pain relief injection and that is it. Hope it helps and he feels better soon.
 
Just to let you know, Willy has picked up a little bit.
He's now moving more (he has never been a very active pig anyway), and drinking for himself. He's also got more interest in food but still not eating as much as I'd like him to.

My OH thinks Willy is now playing up to it, as I had him on my lap feeding him the fuzzy ends of timothy hay we bought specially for him. He'd eat the fuzzy ends then not the normal bit of hay. When he was put back he started munching on some ready grass.

My main worry is that his poos are really small, in width and length. They look like mini pig poos (or what I imagine them to look like). Why would this be? Is it just because he's not eating enough / maybe needs more water?
 
It will be because he is not eating or drinking enough. Are you syringe feeding still?
 
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