PiggyRitz
New Born Pup
Hi all, I'm just after some thoughts regarding Guzzie (our un-neutered boar) and a few problems he's been grappling with recently.
He lives with his brother Guinness, another un-neutered boar. They're almost five years old. A couple of months back I was trimming their claws and having just done one of Guzzie's front feet, I turned him round to get at the other one and was horrified to find it swollen to a ball that seemed to go almost up to the top of his leg. We had given him a bath two nights previously when clearing an anal impaction (something he is bothered by fairly frequently) and both feet were perfectly normal then.
We discovered the swelling on a Friday night, minutes after his usual vet had closed for the weekend (naturally!), so first thing the next morning we took him to another branch of the same practice. The vet told us that it wasn't bumblefoot but said there was a possibility it could be a tumour. Because of the risks of anaesthetic it was decided not to investigate any further - he was on pain killers for a week and antibiotics for three, after which the swelling went down considerably and the vet said he'd always have a lumpy foot.
He's always been a big piggy (someone I knew who has been owned by lots of piggies said he's the biggest piggy she's ever seen), and I can actually remember commenting recently that his smaller brother (who was never exactly Twiggy piggy either) was catching up with him. Oh, for the benefit of hindsight.
We have a big rug that we get out for them for floor play every evening, and last Friday (again, minutes after the vet had closed for the weekend!), my daughter was offering Guzzie a slice of apple and noticed that he was repeatedly extending his head towards it and then jerking it back again. It took minutes to establish that he would only eat very small pieces of food and, worse still, just what a lot of weight he'd lost. I think I'll feel bad about this until my dying day for not noticing this sooner - Guinness wasn't getting as big as Guzzie, Guzzie had got as small as Guinness.
We gave him finely chopped food all weekend and took him to his usual vet first thing on Monday morning. She confirmed his weight loss, said his jaw felt very strange, asked us if he'd been dropped (he hadn't), looked in his mouth and eventually established that his back teeth had grown so long (in an arch which almost met over his tongue) that he couldn't close his mouth. A procedure under general anaesthetic was the only option, and so it was agreed they'd look at his lumpy foot at the same time. This was arranged for the next day, which turned out to be one of the longest days of my life ever.
Just before lunchtime, when we'd been told we'd be able to pick him up if all went well, the practice rang to say he was having difficulty coming through the anaesthetic and we'd need to wait until six-ish to pick him up as they wanted to keep an eye on him. They said that after sorting out his teeth they'd found that the problem had caused his jaw to drop and that only time would tell if he'd eat comfortably again. In addition, they'd been unable to diagnose the problem with his foot as it had bled so badly that they'd had to do everything they could just to stop the flow. If the leg becomes worse in any way in the future, amputation is likely to be the only option.
Much to our relief, we did get to bring him home at the end of the day. Happily, although understandably a little subdued he was eating his finely chopped salad almost as soon as he got home, inviting his brother to hump his head(!) and hobbling about on a leg bandaged with blue vet tape. As arranged, we took him to the vet again the next morning. She told us he was progressing well, showed us how to change the bandage every other day (he helpfully tears it off himself every day to let us know it needs doing sooner!) and arranged to see him on Wednesday to remove the cotton wool plugging his wound. She also checked his back legs after my husband expressed concerns with the way he was walking but could find nothing wrong. As well as changing his bandage, we're giving him anti-biotics and pain killers fed via syringe each day.
When my husband first mentioned his worries to me I could see nothing wrong with Guzzie's back legs either and fully expected the vet's answer. Now that the vets have closed for the long bank holiday weekend (of course!), it's blindingly obvious that something odd is going on. Whether it's normal is what's bothering me. It was barely noticeable at first - he'd wobble along for a bit and then teeter over on to his bum on the side of the unbandaged leg, then fold that back leg beneath him and sit down with his little back legs crossed together. Understandable enough, but then after a while he decided that he wouldn't bother with the getting back up properly thing again and would just hobble around standing on one un-bandaged front leg, one bandaged one and dragging his bum round behind him in a semi-seated position with his back legs crossed to one side beneath. He's still standing up properly sometimes and even running a little so I know he can do it, but I'd swear he's not standing straight and he's not doing it often.
We've also been clearing impactions almost constantly since he's got home, to the point where we were so worried that we put him in a cage on his own last night so that we could see if he was eliminating anything at all without help. I haven't found a single turd or puddle in there all day, but after we cleared another impaction tonight he half-passed a turd (the type like a bunch of grapes) on the rug, which my husband eventually helped him out with. He's currently got another one on it's way out, which we hope he can pass properly on his own. He is eating and drinking well and tackling pieces of food that are quite a bit bigger now. We dragged out my old postage scales and implemented a weekly weighing system for both piggies the day after he had his op so that big losses would not get past us ever again, and weighed him again this morning. He's not gained anything since the op, but hasn't lost anything either.
So... what I'm really worried about, as well as the cage free of poop and pee today thing, is the weird way he's getting around. Hopefully I'll be successful in attaching a picture showing him in the sitting position (his blue bandage should be partly visible, but he is the lighter coloured piggy in the foreground). Imagine him standing up at the front in that position, putting his weight on his un-bandaged leg then half-rising at the back, legs still crossed to one side beneath him and dragging his bum behind him. I've often seen him sitting in this position in the past and it's normal enough for him. He's also well known for being bone idle and both he and his brother have frequently been called 'snake piggies' because of just how far they can stretch their front ends for food when lying down in order to avoid moving their bums.
Is he getting around like this because he's impacted? Because of the surgery and the bandage on his front foot? Because he's worn out after everything he's been through just lately and just can't be bothered yet? A combination of some or all of these things? Should I be worried, or is this something that will sort itself out as he recovers from all this? I'm sorry this is so long, but I'd be grateful for any answers.
He lives with his brother Guinness, another un-neutered boar. They're almost five years old. A couple of months back I was trimming their claws and having just done one of Guzzie's front feet, I turned him round to get at the other one and was horrified to find it swollen to a ball that seemed to go almost up to the top of his leg. We had given him a bath two nights previously when clearing an anal impaction (something he is bothered by fairly frequently) and both feet were perfectly normal then.
We discovered the swelling on a Friday night, minutes after his usual vet had closed for the weekend (naturally!), so first thing the next morning we took him to another branch of the same practice. The vet told us that it wasn't bumblefoot but said there was a possibility it could be a tumour. Because of the risks of anaesthetic it was decided not to investigate any further - he was on pain killers for a week and antibiotics for three, after which the swelling went down considerably and the vet said he'd always have a lumpy foot.
He's always been a big piggy (someone I knew who has been owned by lots of piggies said he's the biggest piggy she's ever seen), and I can actually remember commenting recently that his smaller brother (who was never exactly Twiggy piggy either) was catching up with him. Oh, for the benefit of hindsight.
We have a big rug that we get out for them for floor play every evening, and last Friday (again, minutes after the vet had closed for the weekend!), my daughter was offering Guzzie a slice of apple and noticed that he was repeatedly extending his head towards it and then jerking it back again. It took minutes to establish that he would only eat very small pieces of food and, worse still, just what a lot of weight he'd lost. I think I'll feel bad about this until my dying day for not noticing this sooner - Guinness wasn't getting as big as Guzzie, Guzzie had got as small as Guinness.
We gave him finely chopped food all weekend and took him to his usual vet first thing on Monday morning. She confirmed his weight loss, said his jaw felt very strange, asked us if he'd been dropped (he hadn't), looked in his mouth and eventually established that his back teeth had grown so long (in an arch which almost met over his tongue) that he couldn't close his mouth. A procedure under general anaesthetic was the only option, and so it was agreed they'd look at his lumpy foot at the same time. This was arranged for the next day, which turned out to be one of the longest days of my life ever.
Just before lunchtime, when we'd been told we'd be able to pick him up if all went well, the practice rang to say he was having difficulty coming through the anaesthetic and we'd need to wait until six-ish to pick him up as they wanted to keep an eye on him. They said that after sorting out his teeth they'd found that the problem had caused his jaw to drop and that only time would tell if he'd eat comfortably again. In addition, they'd been unable to diagnose the problem with his foot as it had bled so badly that they'd had to do everything they could just to stop the flow. If the leg becomes worse in any way in the future, amputation is likely to be the only option.
Much to our relief, we did get to bring him home at the end of the day. Happily, although understandably a little subdued he was eating his finely chopped salad almost as soon as he got home, inviting his brother to hump his head(!) and hobbling about on a leg bandaged with blue vet tape. As arranged, we took him to the vet again the next morning. She told us he was progressing well, showed us how to change the bandage every other day (he helpfully tears it off himself every day to let us know it needs doing sooner!) and arranged to see him on Wednesday to remove the cotton wool plugging his wound. She also checked his back legs after my husband expressed concerns with the way he was walking but could find nothing wrong. As well as changing his bandage, we're giving him anti-biotics and pain killers fed via syringe each day.
When my husband first mentioned his worries to me I could see nothing wrong with Guzzie's back legs either and fully expected the vet's answer. Now that the vets have closed for the long bank holiday weekend (of course!), it's blindingly obvious that something odd is going on. Whether it's normal is what's bothering me. It was barely noticeable at first - he'd wobble along for a bit and then teeter over on to his bum on the side of the unbandaged leg, then fold that back leg beneath him and sit down with his little back legs crossed together. Understandable enough, but then after a while he decided that he wouldn't bother with the getting back up properly thing again and would just hobble around standing on one un-bandaged front leg, one bandaged one and dragging his bum round behind him in a semi-seated position with his back legs crossed to one side beneath. He's still standing up properly sometimes and even running a little so I know he can do it, but I'd swear he's not standing straight and he's not doing it often.
We've also been clearing impactions almost constantly since he's got home, to the point where we were so worried that we put him in a cage on his own last night so that we could see if he was eliminating anything at all without help. I haven't found a single turd or puddle in there all day, but after we cleared another impaction tonight he half-passed a turd (the type like a bunch of grapes) on the rug, which my husband eventually helped him out with. He's currently got another one on it's way out, which we hope he can pass properly on his own. He is eating and drinking well and tackling pieces of food that are quite a bit bigger now. We dragged out my old postage scales and implemented a weekly weighing system for both piggies the day after he had his op so that big losses would not get past us ever again, and weighed him again this morning. He's not gained anything since the op, but hasn't lost anything either.
So... what I'm really worried about, as well as the cage free of poop and pee today thing, is the weird way he's getting around. Hopefully I'll be successful in attaching a picture showing him in the sitting position (his blue bandage should be partly visible, but he is the lighter coloured piggy in the foreground). Imagine him standing up at the front in that position, putting his weight on his un-bandaged leg then half-rising at the back, legs still crossed to one side beneath him and dragging his bum behind him. I've often seen him sitting in this position in the past and it's normal enough for him. He's also well known for being bone idle and both he and his brother have frequently been called 'snake piggies' because of just how far they can stretch their front ends for food when lying down in order to avoid moving their bums.
Is he getting around like this because he's impacted? Because of the surgery and the bandage on his front foot? Because he's worn out after everything he's been through just lately and just can't be bothered yet? A combination of some or all of these things? Should I be worried, or is this something that will sort itself out as he recovers from all this? I'm sorry this is so long, but I'd be grateful for any answers.
As soon as I hit the post button, my daughter ran upstairs to tell me that Guzzie had passed two turds. I went down to take a look and he is sitting (still cross-legged) cheerfully tucking into them 
Please start syringe feeding him, try to get little & often in him to keep his system moving, the bunch of grapes poop is usually because their guts have been affected from the anaesthetic. How long ago was his op? A week? When did he start sitting like that? It's certainly not normal & if your vet is open tomorrow morning I would get him seen asap.
