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New Rescue Lethargic - Worried

BenjiBear

BenjiBear

New Born Pup
Joined
Oct 23, 2021
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Location
Scotland
Hey everyone,

This is my first post here so bear with me!

A few days ago I got 2 rescue piggies who I've named Jasper and Ozzy. They were well looked after by their previous owner and are only around 1 year old.

Jasper is very shy while Ozzy is very energetic and outgoing. Their personalities were well showcased before I took them home.

I got them Thursday this week (21st) and last night I noticed Ozzy seemed a bit lethargic but i thought he was just tired so left it. Today he didnt move from his hide at all and he didn't eat while Jasper was out and about throughout the day. I took Ozzy out and noticed his tummy was all wet from pee cause he hasnt moved so i dried him off and managed to get him to eat some spinach leaves.

Friday morning i noticed he'd nibbled his puppy pad under the fleece. I looked it up on this forum and people said their pigs had done that at some point and it didnt effect them. My other thought is I gave them grass to eat and i dont think they were eating fresh grass before i adopted them. I remember years ago when i had piggies we needed to slowly give them grass with their food in the summer to wean them back onto it.

Its been about 5/6 years since ive had pigs and I'm just so worried about my new baby.

Thank you!
Benji
 
BenjiBear said:
Hey everyone,

This is my first post here so bear with me!

A few days ago I got 2 rescue piggies who I've named Jasper and Ozzy. They were well looked after by their previous owner and are only around 1 year old.

Jasper is very shy while Ozzy is very energetic and outgoing. Their personalities were well showcased before I took them home.

I got them Thursday this week (21st) and last night I noticed Ozzy seemed a bit lethargic but i thought he was just tired so left it. Today he didnt move from his hide at all and he didn't eat while Jasper was out and about throughout the day. I took Ozzy out and noticed his tummy was all wet from pee cause he hasnt moved so i dried him off and managed to get him to eat some spinach leaves.

Friday morning i noticed he'd nibbled his puppy pad under the fleece. I looked it up on this forum and people said their pigs had done that at some point and it didnt effect them. My other thought is I gave them grass to eat and i dont think they were eating fresh grass before i adopted them. I remember years ago when i had piggies we needed to slowly give them grass with their food in the summer to wean them back onto it.

Its been about 5/6 years since ive had pigs and I'm just so worried about my new baby.

Thank you!
Benji
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Hi

If he is not eating and moving, then he needs to see a vet as soon as possible and you need to step in with fibrous feeding support to replace the hay (the main food source) he is not eating. Please always introduce grass (or any other new food slowly and ideally as part of a veg and herb mix); especially at this time of year when is often not dry and even more likely to cause a tummy upset.

You can mush up pellets in a pinch. Please take the time to read these guide links here. You should find them helpful:
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment (including how you can improvise in an emergency)
How Soon Should My Guinea Pig See A Vet? - A Quick Guide
Digestive Disorders: Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement) And Not Eating
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

Hopefully your boy will be coming round again soon. Piggies with a tummy upset like to nibble on very basic fibre to relign their tummy; unfortunately that can be transferred onto puppy pad. It shouldn't do any lasting damage.
 
Thank you for your reply! I'm going to see if i can take him to the vet on Monday if he's not improved as mine dont open Sundays.

I'm syringe feeding him water (putting it by his mouth and letting him drink from it) and he ate a bit of cucumber and some spinach but he sort of brought the spinach back up? I know pigs cant vomit but it was almost like he was just chewing it to liquid but not swallowing? Its hard to describe. He's still reaponsive and shifts around a little on my body and ive got him wrapped in a fleece blanket as he was quite cold but is warmer now.
 
BenjiBear said:
Thank you for your reply! I'm going to see if i can take him to the vet on Monday if he's not improved as mine dont open Sundays.

I'm syringe feeding him water (putting it by his mouth and letting him drink from it) and he ate a bit of cucumber and some spinach but he sort of brought the spinach back up? I know pigs cant vomit but it was almost like he was just chewing it to liquid but not swallowing? Its hard to describe. He's still reaponsive and shifts around a little on my body and ive got him wrapped in a fleece blanket as he was quite cold but is warmer now.
Click to expand...

Your piggy doesn't need any veg, he needs dry fibre. If he is unable to chew or swallow, then you need to google for an out-of-hours vet as a life or death emergency if at all possible. It can point to either an obstruction anywhere in the digestive tract from the mouth (teeth or mouth/throat infections, lumps in the throat, or further down through the stomach, gut or anus. Without a hands-on examination, nobody can tell you what is going on. Our guesses are as good as yours because they are entirely based on them and your interpretation of the symptoms.

Please take the time to carefully read the links I have linked into my first post. They contain all the practical details and information on how to look after your piggy and what to do.
 
Aw, poor little chap, hope you can get him to a vet very soon, he doesn't sound well at all x
 
Thank you everyone for your well wishes <3

I read the articles and did my best to feed him pellets but he just doesnt want to eat. He was moving about a little more when I put him back in his cage then I made sure he got into his hide with his buddy and i added extra hay for warmth.

Unfortunately i simply cannot afford an out of hours consultation as they're too expensive. I'm going to call pets at home first thing tomorrow morning to ask if their sunday open hours include their in house vets. It's the best i can do. I'm going to continue to look for a 24h service that might be able to offer advice but honestly i need someone to physically examine him not tell me what "might" be wrong, you know?

So I'm hoping ive done what i can for now, this is literally my 2nd day into having pigs again so I'm pretty overwhelmed. They seemed perfectly healthy so didnt expect this at all.

Thanks again and I'll keep it updated. I'm going to be checking on him throughout the night.
 
Update- at about 1:30am i found him out of his house. Dont know why he keeps moving and sitting outside it. I got him to eat some mashed up pellets so that was a relief. He seemed pretty hungry for it too. I also fed him some water.

I'm wondering if his buddy has rejected him? Can that happen? They're both male and un-neutered if that makes a difference? Ive only ever kept males and never had that issue but the 2 i had previously were bonded for about 2/3 years when i got them and when one died the remaining was bonded with a 6 month old boy in playdate sessions and they were fine till the older one died. I'm gonna look into it myself but just incase anyone knew about it.

Because he kept sitting outside the house (i mean literally at the door like he wasnt allowed in) i put him in their pet carrier with fleece and hay to burrow into, added a bit of carrot and attached water which he drank more of which is good. Its now almost been an hour ive been with him so ive got to sleep myself. I'm a bit more hopeful now he's eaten pellets and water.
 
BenjiBear said:
Update- at about 1:30am i found him out of his house. Dont know why he keeps moving and sitting outside it. I got him to eat some mashed up pellets so that was a relief. He seemed pretty hungry for it too. I also fed him some water.

I'm wondering if his buddy has rejected him? Can that happen? They're both male and un-neutered if that makes a difference? Ive only ever kept males and never had that issue but the 2 i had previously were bonded for about 2/3 years when i got them and when one died the remaining was bonded with a 6 month old boy in playdate sessions and they were fine till the older one died. I'm gonna look into it myself but just incase anyone knew about it.

Because he kept sitting outside the house (i mean literally at the door like he wasnt allowed in) i put him in their pet carrier with fleece and hay to burrow into, added a bit of carrot and attached water which he drank more of which is good. Its now almost been an hour ive been with him so ive got to sleep myself. I'm a bit more hopeful now he's eaten pellets and water.
Click to expand...

You always need to check medical issues before thinking it’s a bond problem. A bond problem most often results in full on, potentially injury causing, fights. Not eating, being lethargic is a medical concern.

A successful bond comes down to character compatibility, regardless of their sex. Not being neutered does not affect anything. If you did not get them from a rescue centre and instead got from through private rehoming, then it’s always possible there are bond problems which had not been disclosed to you.
In terms of their bond, changing to a new environment does cause them to reestablish their hierarchy so you can see an increase in dominance while they sort things out. In well bonded pairs it doesn’t amount to anything more than dominance and after a while they settle back down. In pairs where there are underlying problems, moving a new home can break bonds which will most likely result in fights and separations. It’s important with boars to go always have multiple of every item (hides, hay piles, bottles) so they don’t have to share anything and also ensure hides have two exits so no piggy can get trapped in by the other (ie by one sitting in front of the only door). Also ensure their cage is 6ft x 2ft so they have plenty of space.
(Playdate sessions are not recommended for boars as separating after the initial introduction disrupts the process and means they need to start again from the beginning every time, so never get to fully form a bond which causes stress)
 
Piggies&buns said:
You always need to check medical issues before thinking it’s a bond problem. A bond problem most often results in full on, potentially injury causing, fights. Not eating, being lethargic is a medical concern.

A successful bond comes down to character compatibility, regardless of their sex. Not being neutered does not affect anything. If you did not get them from a rescue centre and instead got from through private rehoming, then it’s always possible there are bond problems which had not been disclosed to you.
In terms of their bond, changing to a new environment does cause them to reestablish their hierarchy so you can see an increase in dominance while they sort things out. In well bonded pairs it doesn’t amount to anything more than dominance and after a while they settle back down. In pairs where there are underlying problems, moving a new home can break bonds which will most likely result in fights and separations. It’s important with boars to go always have multiple of every item (hides, hay piles, bottles) so they don’t have to share anything and also ensure hides have two exits so no piggy can get trapped in by the other (ie by one sitting in front of the only door). Also ensure their cage is 6ft x 2ft so they have plenty of space.
(Playdate sessions are not recommended for boars as separating after the initial introduction disrupts the process and means they need to start again from the beginning every time, so never get to fully form a bond which causes stress)
Click to expand...
Thats a lot of great info, thank you :)

Updating again - unfortunately this morning Ozzy has passed. I still have no idea what might of been wrong as he was pooping and they looked normal, he was still peeing and like i said he took food and water from me even if it was just a little bit. He was super skinny too. I feel really sad that i had just gotten him and i wanted to give him such a good life in a new forever home and i really hope that i did what i could. This was definitely a really gutting start to getting pigs again.

Thank you for everyonea advice and wishes <3
 
I’m so sorry that you’ve lost this little chap so soon after adopting him. Sadly piggies are masters at disguising symptoms of illness as they are prey animals, so it’s likely his previous owners may have missed relevant signs. Hope you are doing ok.
 
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