Recovering from stasis

[Aidanb]

We have a boar called Bay who is just under 3 years old. About two weeks ago we noticed he was struggling with overgrown front teeth. We took him straight to the vet and he trimmed the incisors, other teeth ok, no sign of ulcers etc. weight had dropped from his normal 1500g to 1370. He seemed to be eating if a little slowly. He could also grip firmly with incisors and grab a piece of food. A few days later, on 23rd evening noticed he was really not eating much, just chewing tiny pieces. Weighed him and down to 1330g. By morning he was down again to 1290 and increasingly inert and uninterested. Took to vet, teeth rechecked and all seemed ok in mouth. She felt him and said his guts felt empty - also he had an unidentified lump. Opted not to biopsy at this point. Gave him a loxicom injection. We syringe fed regularly and his weight was back up to 1340 by evening. He had three days of oral loxicom plus appetite stimulant. He has been getting his appetite back but is probably eating at half his normal speed. He’s having some hay and nuggets and we are giving a lot of extra fresh grass, celery, kale, lettuce etc. Syringe feeding has been tapered off. Weight seems steady around 1350. Any advice on what’s next - he’s some way from being his old self.

Not sure about lump. Early 2022, his brother had a very significant lump on lower side of abdomen (visible from above). We took them both to vet, brother had a biopsy, shortly after they both (!?) became v ill (drowsy, not eating). Treated with painkillers, syringe etc - Bay recovered but his brother died a couple of weeks later. Think biopsy produced clear fluid - can’t remember details as in the end he died before an operation could be considered anyway. Will contact vet to see if anything in records.

 

[Piggies&buns]

So the vet has trimmed the incisors but the molars are definitely ok?
Is he still on any painkillers?

You need to continue to syringe feed as much as is necessary to keep his weight stable until his hay intake begins to return to normal.
Continue to weigh him once a day (each morning) but don’t weigh him twice a day as that picks up too much fluctuation and it becomes inaccurate (he is going to weigh more by the evening)
Digestive Disorders: Not Eating - Diarrhea - Bloat - GI Stasis (No Gut Movement)

 

[Aidanb]

Molars should be ok, he was seen by two different vets and second one specifically checked this and for any other mouth issues. He had oral loxicom on 25th, 26th and 27th. We have more in the bottle but vet had only prescribed for 3 days so we stopped - we were wondering whether we should restart and continue until all gone.

Hard to judge hay intake - it’s variable anyway and he has a companion sow so we don’t know how much she is getting.

We have been weighing once or twice a day before feeding and his weight has been between 1332 and 1361 since evening of 24th, with no particular pattern in the variation.

We’ve been feeding fresh grass as well as hay, as he’s keener on eating that than the hay (blades not stems as that’s what’s in garden at this time of year) - not sure how good a substitute that is. Also trying to give him more fibrous veg - celery, kale, lettuce not carrot, tomato etc

He’s foraging round the hutch etc but he seems still some way off his normal energy and appetite (plus he’s still 150g below his old weight).

 

[Aidanb]

Update - he’s done two days without medication or syringe, weight is steady and yesterday evening he seemed more lively than he has since he got ill. Still eating slowly so we are keeping an eye and feeding extra top ups of grass and veg. Fingers crossed.