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Black Scabs On Mouth

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Tony112

Tony112

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One of my pigs is about 8 months old and has developed large black scabs on the front and in the corners of his mouth, I have looked into it and have been told it could be a problem with his stomach and is some type of immune deficiency condition and it may not be possible to cure it. It seems to be making him a bit miserable and he does scream sometimes when he scratches the scabs off.
I am trying to find out the best way to treat it, but there are many different suggestions out there including Chamomile and peroxide.
Does anyone have any experience with this condition or know of a good way to treat it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I've never heard of this is he alone or with a mate. You need to get him to a vet ASAPif the sores on this mouth get any worse, it could put him off eating. Let us know how he gets on.l certainly wouldn't put peroxide on him. If you read things on the net etc doesn't mean you should self medicate. Let the vet diagnose him.
 
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Please do not treat at home with anything until you have a diagnosis by a competent vet.

It could be Chelitis which is sores around the mouth usually caused by too much acidic fruit. Infection can sometimes set in too, but it would be impossible to diagnose over the Internet.

Have you checked the recommended vet locator on the forum for vets near you that are good with pigs?
 
Tony112 said:
One of my pigs is about 8 months old and has developed large black scabs on the front and in the corners of his mouth, I have looked into it and have been told it could be a problem with his stomach and is some type of immune deficiency condition and it may not be possible to cure it. It seems to be making him a bit miserable and he does scream sometimes when he scratches the scabs off.
I am trying to find out the best way to treat it, but there are many different suggestions out there including Chamomile and peroxide.
Does anyone have any experience with this condition or know of a good way to treat it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Hi! Please see a vet as soon as you can next week. Your boy has got cheilitis (lip infection), which can be fatal if mistreated and too far advanced. Do not home treat on spec. It is likely that he needs an antibiotic and/or fungal cream. In the UK, the sores can also be cause by a pox virus, which is hard to treat.

Please take any fruit and tomatoes off his menu; the acid in them can cause cheilitis if you feed too much and/or too often. Fruit (including tomatoes) should be fed no more than twice weekly in a small quantity at the most. Rather switch to feeding fresh herbs like coriander/chilantro and slices of sweet pepper for vitamin C.
 
Thanks for your replies, I have already taken him to a vet, but unfortunately my local vet is a bit clueless with pigs, she thought it was not fungal and suggested I just clean it daily with antiseptic cream, which I have been but it doesn't seem to help much, the scabs go but keep returning, I will take him back to the vet and ask about chelitis. The other advice I've been getting was from the lady who runs the guinea pig rescue where I got him from, she has had previous experience with similar conditions but is struggling to come up with the best treatment and mentioned the peroxide (I didn't like the sound of that so looking for other options). He is not on his own and the other pig he's with has no sign of it, so I don't believe it's catchy. Thanks again for your advice, I will keep trying to make him better and let you know if I have any success. I'll also take a look at the recommended vet locator on here.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! Please see a vet as soon as you can next week. Your boy has got cheilitis (lip infection), which can be fatal if mistreated and too far advanced. Do not home treat on spec. It is likely that he needs an antibiotic and/or fungal cream. In the UK, the sores can also be cause by a pox virus, which is hard to treat.

Please take any fruit and tomatoes off his menu; the acid in them can cause cheilitis if you feed too much and/or too often. Fruit (including tomatoes) should be fed no more than twice weekly in a small quantity at the most. Rather switch to feeding fresh herbs like coriander/chilantro and slices of sweet pepper for vitamin C.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply, I am aware of the fruit issue and it's funny but he's very much off fruit like he knows it's not doing him any good, he's also off his leafy greens (spinach mainly) which he used to like. He likes coriander but won't touch peppers, although my other pig likes them. I have seen the vet and will take him back again and keep trying.
 
Have you looked at our vet locator on the above green bar, it will tell you the closest cavy savy vet to you.
 
UPDATE: So I found a good pig friendly vet using your locator and they were great, did several on the spot tests and concluded that he is diabetic and this is causing the scabs. They gave me some pain killers (Tramadol) and told me to use 'Healx soother plus cream' on his mouth which I have ordered online. I now have to be careful what veg I give him and no fruit at all, I may post a new thread asking for advice on diabetic pig care. Thanks for your help.
 
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