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Big Jowls

piggl

piggl

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Hi, I’ve just taken home my new piggie today from a rescue. He is 2-3 years old and a very big boy.

I’ve not had a chance to weigh him yet, although I will be doing so tomorrow morning. I’ve noticed he has a very fat neck. I’m wondering if this is because he is overweight or if it just who he is, as i’ve never had a piggie with a “double chin” before.

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piggl said:
Hi, I’ve just taken home my new piggie today from a rescue. He is 2-3 years old and a very big boy.

I’ve not had a chance to weigh him yet, although I will be doing so tomorrow morning. I’ve noticed he has a very fat neck. I’m wondering if this is because he is overweight or if it just who he is, as i’ve never had a piggie with a “double chin” before.

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Hi and welcome

What a handsome chap!

This doesn't look like a normal 'dewlap' of overweight piggies to me and should be vet checked promptly. It could be an abscess or a fluid build up but it needs a hands-on examination to see what is going on.
 
It doesn’t look like a dewlap to me either.

Have you been able to gently touch the area, can you feel anything?
 
It doesn’t really feel like an abscess, it just feels like skin. I’ve had a piggie with a neck abscess and it was in one concentrated area, this flub goes from his left to right jaw connecting under his chin.

What makes you feel it’s unusual?
 
I'm wondering if he’s just overweight. He lies down a lot and i’ve seen him struggle to groom his face with two hands at the same time.
 
He’s gorgeous and hopefully he’s just a chunky chap but I once had a piggy with a neck like that and it was fluid buildup. He was about 7 years though. Hopefully a vet can put your mind at rest
 
weepweeps said:
He’s gorgeous and hopefully he’s just a chunky chap but I once had a piggy with a neck like that and it was fluid buildup. He was about 7 years though. Hopefully a vet can put your mind at rest
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Really? I just met him and didn’t even think about something like this.
 
It felt like a water balloon.

Like I say hopefully he’s absolutely fine but they are very large.
 
weepweeps said:
It felt like a water balloon.

Like I say hopefully he’s absolutely fine but they are very large.
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Was it spread over the neck? This piggy’s neck just feels like skin, there’s no notice mass or fluid from what I can feel.

I also don’t have a car until Monday, will he be okay until then?
 
This is the picture we were sent of him which I am 90% sure was taken in December. I do feel he looks very different, but I thought maybe it was just a strangely good picture.

I really hope fluid isn’t the case. Not only is their bond looking to be very tense, I’ve also already had an abscess removal from a pig this year, which led to around 15 post-op visits due to complications. I know hard times is part of being an owner of something, but I really struggle with anxiety and what was supposed to be a happy day has turned into a very nerve wracking one.
 

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It looked like a massive double chin. So from one side to the other.

I noticed it because I knew he didn’t have it before. As you have just got him you don’t know if it’s his normal. I assume the rescue had him checked over by a vet?
 
weepweeps said:
It looked like a massive double chin. So from one side to the other.

I noticed it because I knew he didn’t have it before. As you have just got him you don’t know if it’s his normal. I assume the rescue had him checked over by a vet?
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Honestly i’m not sure. I’ve seen a post recently mentioning they found lumps on a pig that are being treated by a vet therefore leaving them unavailable for adopting, but I don’t know if every pig is checked routinely.
I also know they neuter all their male rabbits/makes posts reminding people of the importance in doing so. I would imagine all their pigs get a vet visit on arrival, but if you see my picture attached above their is quite a difference in appearance.

Assuming/hoping their bond makes it through the weekend, I will be making an appointment for Monday tomorrow.

How did they deal with your boys fluid?
 
We didn’t wake him up from the anaesthetic 😢.

He was 7 and I think it was a heart problem. It was quite a few years ago now.
 
I’ve just spent a good few minutes scrolling between those two images to try and work out how that can even be the same pig!
Good luck with your vets appointment.
 
We got his official diagnosis.... chunky boy ;)

Our vet is happy with the way his neck feels, no fluid build up or any inflammation of the lymph nodes. She said that some boars just have that, almost like little personal wind deflectors, haha. He is coming in at a whopping 1300g, so he's definitely a big boy.

He does have mites though unfortunately, for which I do have a few questions.
1) Do I need to move him away from Reggie? They are currently sharing the same cage with a barrier in between, but they've already been together for around 5-6 hours yesterday.
2) I failed to mention that they had already been together to the vet, as she mentioned I should quarantine him for at least 3 weeks, and I got nervous she would judge me lol. But should Reggie be treated aswell?
3) Do I need to do anything different with him? He only has one fleece bed and one wooden barrier (to stop them fighting through the bars), but I am worried the mites have infected basically my whole room, haha.
4) His treatment. I am a bit worried as the medication she is ordering in is apparently the same stuff they sell at the pet shop, which from what I have seen on here is not strong enough to fight anything? But I cant go against what the vet said. She said I could pick it up from the petshop myself but I opted for her to order it in, in the hopes it would be stronger than the pet shop one.
 
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Glad he is just a chunky boy!

I think you will need to treat them both
This is the recommended product, you get 6 pipettes. I think you treat on certain days with breaks in between. You can wash and freeze fleece for 36 hours to kill any
eggs, what a shame but at least he is ok regarding his dewlap 😊
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Bill & Ted said:
Glad he is just a chunky boy!

I think you will need to treat them both
This is the recommended product, you get 6 pipettes. I think you treat on certain days with breaks in between. You can wash and freeze fleece for 36 hours to kill any
eggs, what a shame but at least he is ok regarding his dewlap 😊
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Do I wash the fleece first then freeze it?
Do I change it after their first round of medication or do I change it now?

The lady who was looking after him before his bonding has let me know that she already gave him a treatment on Wednesday evening, but she was not aware he had mites. Its just as well the vet didn't have any treatment on hand!
 
You need xeno as the treatment as Bill&Ted has said.
It’s three separate treatments with two weeks between each treatment (so six weeks from start to finish). Treatment only kills live mites so first treatment kills current mites. Two weeks time the eggs which are currently eggs will have hatched and the second treatment catches them. The third treatment mops any stragglers up.

Disinfect anything which can be disinfected with F10, wash everything else.

They will not infest the whole room. Mites need a host - they need to be on a guinea pig to survive.

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights
 
As he has already had a treatment, he cannot have anymore until Wednesday after next - so 27 March.

You treat, then change and wash bedding a couple of days after treatment. Do this for each treatment
 
Piggies&buns said:
As he has already had a treatment, he cannot have anymore until Wednesday after next - so 27 March.

You treat, then change and wash bedding a couple of days after treatment. Do this for each treatment
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Thank you! Should I buy it online? I already asked the vet to order some, but I do not even know what they are ordering, and I have to wait until Monday to recieve it.

Edit - Does this one work the same? https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/...ts--ferrets--birds-and-guinea-pigs-over-800g# - I can pick this one up tomorrow.
 
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One last question, sorry! Can I treat Reggie straight away? He might not have mites now, I'm just worried it will be detrimental if he isnt infected to be treated for it.
 
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