Eriathwens piggies

Theyre surprisingly smart, it took them no time at all to learn I was going to pick them up when I tap bear them, how to eat their veggies, where there water bottles are etc.

I've made an appointment for Pumpkin to have a check over, little bugger scared the life out of me earlier. I have been pretty sure for a while know she is deaf, she rarely wakes up when I come into the room and doesn't react to sound while out of the cage but earlier she was completely unresponsive, even to throwing pellets near her, until I picked her up. She's lost a little bit of weight but other than that, she seems her regular self. Better safe than sorry though, her appointment is on Tuesday, but if she seems off I can always call and try to get a cancellation or an appointment with a different vet. Hopefully it's nothing.

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Hope it goes well for Pumkin at the vets. Those boys are just like the pair Debbie had, totally fearless😆
 
Eriathwen said:
So I've been trialling some toys to find some that aren't too stimulating for Silver, and safe to be left in with them without them getting legs caught, or biting anything off they shouldn't. Anyway, the biggest, unexpected, hit with them has been the large grassy carrot. They don't chew it, they move it around and use it as a jump 🤣
I've been looking at agility equipment for rats to see if anything can be altered to be safe for their use. But if not I might just get them a few more carrots 😅

(Excuse the obnoxious music, it was late at night and it made me laugh!)

Blind and deaf? Don't care 😅
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I’m still laughing 😂
 
Eriathwen said:
Theyre surprisingly smart, it took them no time at all to learn I was going to pick them up when I tap bear them, how to eat their veggies, where there water bottles are etc.

I've made an appointment for Pumpkin to have a check over, little bugger scared the life out of me earlier. I have been pretty sure for a while know she is deaf, she rarely wakes up when I come into the room and doesn't react to sound while out of the cage but earlier she was completely unresponsive, even to throwing pellets near her, until I picked her up. She's lost a little bit of weight but other than that, she seems her regular self. Better safe than sorry though, her appointment is on Tuesday, but if she seems off I can always call and try to get a cancellation or an appointment with a different vet. Hopefully it's nothing.

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Hope it’s nothing but it’s always best to err on the side of caution
 
Thankyou, fingers crossed! She's been absolutely fine since, I've given her a couple of checks over and found nothing both times although she gives absolutely zero reaction to any noise so I'm as certain as I can be now that she is actually deaf. She was right up the front waiting for veggies, wheeking and has eaten them with her usual enthusiasm too. I would have had her seen by someone else today but I'd hate to take an appointment from someone that needs it more when she is so well in herself, but on the flip side if I didn't take her at all, I'd never forgive myself if she suddenly went downhill. Plus I'm a creature of habit 🤣 I like seeing my regular vet lol

While I'm there I can speak to the ladies on reception about getting Thistle booked in for a Monday for her bloodwork as well so 2 birds, 1 stone. So hopefully that we will have some answers for her too as well.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one whose piggies like to freak them out! Pumpkins appointment went well, as far as we can see there's nothing wrong with her minus a very slight, on/off head tilt so she's on panacur for that and we'll see how she goes.
Thistle is booked in for Monday for her bloodwork, I'm really hopeful this time we might get some answers for her. I mentioned about the cutting a nail too short, which apparently was a way they had looked at, but is considered more painful than cutting the leg so I wouldn't think they would go with that, but I suppose it depends how much Thistle wants to hang onto her blood!
He's going to speak to the exotics locum about Misty too and get his input on her urinary issues. So..today was productive if nothing else 😅

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Eriathwen said:
So proud of these boys, they're so independent! Even if they have made my bedroom stink of testosterone while I've got to try to sleep 🤣 don't know what they've been upto all day but phew.. lots of boar smell lol

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Teenagers...their brain has moved out and the gonads have taken over! Belly is still trying to hold the fort to keep the body running until such time as the ammunition runs out and the brain can sneak back in through the postern gate.
 
Wiebke said:
Teenagers...their brain has moved out and the gonads have taken over! Belly is still trying to hold the fort and to keep the gonads running.
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Definitely seems to be the case 😅 I think I'm going to have to get them some stuffed toys if I want to save Silvers lovely little train of long hair from having to have glue cut out of it all the time!
 
Ive been giggling at this for ages, so I figured I would share it here 🤣 Forrest has absolutely mastered where the walls are in the larger cage and loves a good zoom! I can never seem to catch them at full speed on video but both of them are more than happy to run in big bounds across the length, and in circles in Silvers case.

 
Ever get the feeling you just want to go lay face down somewhere for a week or so? 🤣
I didnt sleep last night worrying about Thistles bloodwork being done today. I was at least hoping it wouldn't matter if we got good news but really I have more questions than anything.

She was put under GA to get more blood, but they didn't get a drop. They tried both back legs, both sides of her neck and her vena cava, they also cut her back nails. While under, she regurgitated a large amount of food which obviously shouldn't happen..her chest is deformed which is preventing them accessing the artery for blood and could be putting pressure on her oesophagus and causing the drooling. Her sternum has always felt very prominent bit so do they all in pigs with no muscle mass, clearly hers is not from that though.
But we still don't know what's going on with her. My options are:

Keep doing what I'm doing, although I am beginning to reach my limit in regards to lack of sleep, missing meals, having absolutely no free time that isn't devoted to her needs..but of course if that's what she needs, that's what she will get.

We can also start from scratch, xray to check out the deformity, ultrasound her bladder, take a urine sample and a blood prick to check for glucose.

Once I've had a few days to catch up on sleep and digest the news, I will be going ahead with testing.

We do have 2 other options which are trial treating for Cushings but if she doesn't have it, we risk making her worse and her getting Addisons.

Euthenasia.

She will tell me when she wants to go, or she will take herself off in her own time so neither of those options feel right, I want to exhaust other options before potentially doing something that could make her worse.

So thats where we are with her :( While I was there I got some Gabapentin for Misty to try and I'll let him know how she gets on with that.

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Eriathwen said:
Ever get the feeling you just want to go lay face down somewhere for a week or so? 🤣
I didnt sleep last night worrying about Thistles bloodwork being done today. I was at least hoping it wouldn't matter if we got good news but really I have more questions than anything.

She was put under GA to get more blood, but they didn't get a drop. They tried both back legs, both sides of her neck and her vena cava, they also cut her back nails. While under, she regurgitated a large amount of food which obviously shouldn't happen..her chest is deformed which is preventing them accessing the artery for blood and could be putting pressure on her oesophagus and causing the drooling. Her sternum has always felt very prominent bit so do they all in pigs with no muscle mass, clearly hers is not from that though.
But we still don't know what's going on with her. My options are:

Keep doing what I'm doing, although I am beginning to reach my limit in regards to lack of sleep, missing meals, having absolutely no free time that isn't devoted to her needs..but of course if that's what she needs, that's what she will get.

We can also start from scratch, xray to check out the deformity, ultrasound her bladder, take a urine sample and a blood prick to check for glucose.

Once I've had a few days to catch up on sleep and digest the news, I will be going ahead with testing.

We do have 2 other options which are trial treating for Cushings but if she doesn't have it, we risk making her worse and her getting Addisons.

Euthenasia.

She will tell me when she wants to go, or she will take herself off in her own time so neither of those options feel right, I want to exhaust other options before potentially doing something that could make her worse.

So thats where we are with her :( While I was there I got some Gabapentin for Misty to try and I'll let him know how she gets on with that.

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You must be so exhausted. My heart goes out to you. She is so lucky to be with you. I hope you can get some rest. Keep reaching out here. We're all here to support you. Hugs
 
Sounds like you need a bit of care too, hope it goes well for Thistle and Misty, try and get an early night x
 
Thankyou both, ive definitely felt better, that's for sure. But on the plus side, I've definitely had worse.
I called my vets a little while ago because I forgot to order more cisipride for Thistle while I was in earlier, I've made my decision that I want to go ahead with more testing so I figured I may as well leave a message for my vet to let him know when I go to collect it tomorrow, so we can get that sorted when he is able to fit her in. I'm not sure about the ultrasound, because her bladder as far as I'm concerned isn't an issue, but I can see value in doing everything else.
I feel bad for my vet too, I'm sure he could do without the stress of my ridiculous piggy problems 😅 he deserves a medal for putting up with me.

Shes getting some critical care just now, although she was up and eating as soon as she woke up apparently. But bless her she seems happy to be home.
I need to buy some shares in Oxbow at this rate, I dont want to know how much I've gone through in just the last month 😅

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I’m sending healing vibes your way. I hope you get some answers soon. Take care of yourself too ❤️
 
Eriathwen said:
Ever get the feeling you just want to go lay face down somewhere for a week or so? 🤣
I didnt sleep last night worrying about Thistles bloodwork being done today. I was at least hoping it wouldn't matter if we got good news but really I have more questions than anything.

She was put under GA to get more blood, but they didn't get a drop. They tried both back legs, both sides of her neck and her vena cava, they also cut her back nails. While under, she regurgitated a large amount of food which obviously shouldn't happen..her chest is deformed which is preventing them accessing the artery for blood and could be putting pressure on her oesophagus and causing the drooling. Her sternum has always felt very prominent bit so do they all in pigs with no muscle mass, clearly hers is not from that though.
But we still don't know what's going on with her. My options are:

Keep doing what I'm doing, although I am beginning to reach my limit in regards to lack of sleep, missing meals, having absolutely no free time that isn't devoted to her needs..but of course if that's what she needs, that's what she will get.

We can also start from scratch, xray to check out the deformity, ultrasound her bladder, take a urine sample and a blood prick to check for glucose.

Once I've had a few days to catch up on sleep and digest the news, I will be going ahead with testing.

We do have 2 other options which are trial treating for Cushings but if she doesn't have it, we risk making her worse and her getting Addisons.

Euthenasia.

She will tell me when she wants to go, or she will take herself off in her own time so neither of those options feel right, I want to exhaust other options before potentially doing something that could make her worse.

So thats where we are with her :( While I was there I got some Gabapentin for Misty to try and I'll let him know how she gets on with that.

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BIG HUGS

And yes, I know the feeling only too well! :(
 
I do hope all this test helps give you an answer for Thistle.
She’s such a pretty girl.
Hope Misty gets well soon too.
Look after yourself- you are just as important as the piggies.
 
Sending huge hugs and sleepy vibes! Really hope gorgeous Thistle’s tests go well and you can get some sleep very soon too. Your piglets are so lucky to have such an amazing mum :hug:xx
 
It's past midnight so it technically counts! But as its the 20th, today marks 8 months since our little Daisy recieved her terminal cancer diagnosis. She is doing so, so well still. Her behaviour and pain levels have remained the same as last month which is good, no new medications or dose increases. Unfortunately it has spread to the lymph nodes in her armpits but they do not seem to be growing very quickly.

Here's hoping to many more months yet to come!

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