Very slightly puffed hair

[lauryn1289]

Hi everyone, I have two boys Ollie (around 3.5) and Eggs who’s just over a year I’d think. Ollie is about 1.1-1.2 grams and Eggs is 900 grams, he’s a pretty small piggy in general.

Yesterday I was a little concerned about Eggs because he seemed quieter than usual and in his hidey more, but he’s eating hay, been accepting multiple syringes of critical care and just ate a lot of orange pepper and scavenged his bed for the pieces. Earlier this year two of my boys Bobby (after a bladder stone surgery) and Kip (nearly 7 and just got bloated and had free fruid in his stomach all of a sudden, he was PTS bc they estimated it was liver and/or heart failure) passed away so I know puffy hair is a sign they’re not feeling so great.

Just wondering if anyone knows if puffed hair and slightly more hide-iness could be a response to cold weather? I live in Ireland and right now the weather is -3°-4+ celsius so it’s pretty cold and even with heating on my house doesn’t stay warm overnight unfortunately. I also figure since Eggs is a small little boy maybe the cold bothers him more too. My partner ordered them some little heating pads which should be here monday, but for today I’m gonna clean up their beds and give them lots of blankets and some (lukewarm and layered) hot water bottles for the time being.

Not a great photo but you can kind of see how slightly puffy his coat looks here, it’s more noticeable head on.

 

[lauryn1289]

1.1-1.2kg **, I also checked his eyes, his teeth, his poops look good and I see no evidence of discoloured urine patches or any wounds/cuts/scrapes and no noises when breathing or anything unusual in that regard. Ollie sneezes a little bit when he shoves his head into dusty hay but that’s a normal occurrence

 

[Piggies&buns]

It could be that they are feeling cold ( being puffed up is also a sign of pain)

If you feel he could be cold (generally if you are feeling cold then they would be to) then they covering the cage with blankets to stop any cold air getting into them.

 

[lauryn1289]

It could be that they are feeling cold ( being puffed up is also a sign of pain)

If you feel he could be cold (generally if you are feeling cold then they would be to) then they covering the cage with blankets to stop any cold air getting into them.

That’s a really good idea thank you! I have MS and POTS so honestly my body temperature is all over the place and I’m hot even in sub-zero weather so I’m not the greatest gauge of how cold my room is for them during the night, I just couldn’t find much info on if puffy hair could be a response to being cold as well as pain/discomfort

 

[lauryn1289]

Just to update, I cleaned up his bed and added a hot water bottle, lots of blankets and a blanket over his house and he just still doesn’t seem himself. He’s usually a lot more spritely and popcorns when his bed is cleaned and I haven’t seen him do that.

I left down white blankets and I see no evidence of discoloured urine, his eyes and teeth are okay, no heavy or crackly breathing, he’s pooping and they look normal and he’s drinking, he’s eating hay, crit care and accepting treats, his tummy is nice and soft, no visible wounds or cuts or injuries. I’m at a loss for what else to consider might be bothering him

 

[BabyBears]

1.1-1.2kg **, I also checked his eyes, his teeth, his poops look good and I see no evidence of discoloured urine patches or any wounds/cuts/scrapes and no noises when breathing or anything unusual in that regard. Ollie sneezes a little bit when he shoves his head into dusty hay but that’s a normal occurrence

If you have had

 

[BabyBears]

When you have had a poorly piggie recently, it sets up your spidey senses for the health of your other pigs - it’s a horrible feeling and leads you to catastrophise.

Pebble was recently diagnosed with suspected viral cystitis. She is getting better but then I worry more about her in that she has lost weight. But when I think rationally about this it is because she hates the cold and doesn’t want to come out to graze, she isn’t puffy, but her friends are - it was 10c in their room today.

 

[lauryn1289]

When you have had a poorly piggie recently, it sets up your spidey senses for the health of your other pigs - it’s a horrible feeling and leads you to catastrophise.

Pebble was recently diagnosed with suspected viral cystitis. She is getting better but then I worry more about her in that she has lost weight. But when I think rationally about this it is because she hates the cold and doesn’t want to come out to graze, she isn’t puffy, but her friends are - it was 10c in their room today.

You’re so right! It took us a few weeks to realise my gorgeous boy Bobby had a bladder stone because we didn’t see any blood for a while, he was on multiple rounds of antibiotics while the vet misperformed his ultrasound AND his x-rays and missed a large stone until we got him to an exotics a few hours away because he just wasn’t improving who had to anaesthetise him for an x-ray and found it, he had surgery a week later and survived the surgery but didn’t make it out of the recovery phase. Then having Kip die the following month (even though he was old, very skinny and bony, basically would only eat pellets anymore and seemed to get sick a lot) was such a kick in the teeth. It’s made me hyper aware of my boys and panic about every little thing with my boys and my cat. It’s all made me so paranoid about everything. I still feel so guilty about both of their health issues, and my first piggy Rico who died from bloat and a spleen mass, and always worry I could’ve done more to save them so I think it makes me hyper aware too.

I’m so glad your girl is improving, it really is so tough to worry so much about our babies and know when we’re possibly overthinking! Being realistic I see no signs of physical illness and even no weight loss in Eggs so it probably just is the cold is unpleasant for him. Ollie’s a much chubbier and more dominant and carefree boy than Eggs so maybe comparing their behaviour isn’t helping and not even relevant. I guess some animals tolerate temperature extremes a lot better like humans!

Btw sorry for the mini rant at the start

 

[BabyBears]

You’re so right! It took us a few weeks to realise my gorgeous boy Bobby had a bladder stone because we didn’t see any blood for a while, he was on multiple rounds of antibiotics while the vet misperformed his ultrasound AND his x-rays and missed a large stone until we got him to an exotics a few hours away because he just wasn’t improving who had to anaesthetise him for an x-ray and found it, he had surgery a week later and survived the surgery but didn’t make it out of the recovery phase. Then having Kip die the following month (even though he was old, very skinny and bony, basically would only eat pellets anymore and seemed to get sick a lot) was such a kick in the teeth. It’s made me hyper aware of my boys and panic about every little thing with my boys and my cat. It’s all made me so paranoid about everything. I still feel so guilty about both of their health issues, and my first piggy Rico who died from bloat and a spleen mass, and always worry I could’ve done more to save them so I think it makes me hyper aware too.

I’m so glad your girl is improving, it really is so tough to worry so much about our babies and know when we’re possibly overthinking! Being realistic I see no signs of physical illness and even no weight loss in Eggs so it probably just is the cold is unpleasant for him. Ollie’s a much chubbier and more dominant and carefree boy than Eggs so maybe comparing their behaviour isn’t helping and not even relevant. I guess some animals tolerate temperature extremes a lot better like humans!

Btw sorry for the mini rant at the start

Oh you poor thing!

Don’t you worry about ranting pig-sister!
Yes, Pebble is fine and over it - thank you very much for asking about her - it does appear exactly as the vet said: viral cystitis.
I’m so sorry for poor Bobby - don’t even get me going about crappy vets performing ultrasounds . And poor Bobby, post op is always a massive risk - been there. I’m also really sorry to hear about Kip too but I’m sure he had a great life with you! I reckon my Primrose is about 140 in human years and is boney as they come but she eats and poos more than the others put together - she is a legend

When you have had a pig who has passed, it puts your ‘spidey senses’ up for something else to go wrong with them or your other pet family.

Always remember that although they don’t understand about longevity or mortality, they DO know that when they were with you, they felt your love, compassion and care

You’re so right! It took us a few weeks to realise my gorgeous boy Bobby had a bladder stone because we didn’t see any blood for a while, he was on multiple rounds of antibiotics while the vet misperformed his ultrasound AND his x-rays and missed a large stone until we got him to an exotics a few hours away because he just wasn’t improving who had to anaesthetise him for an x-ray and found it, he had surgery a week later and survived the surgery but didn’t make it out of the recovery phase. Then having Kip die the following month (even though he was old, very skinny and bony, basically would only eat pellets anymore and seemed to get sick a lot) was such a kick in the teeth. It’s made me hyper aware of my boys and panic about every little thing with my boys and my cat. It’s all made me so paranoid about everything. I still feel so guilty about both of their health issues, and my first piggy Rico who died from bloat and a spleen mass, and always worry I could’ve done more to save them so I think it makes me hyper aware too.

I’m so glad your girl is improving, it really is so tough to worry so much about our babies and know when we’re possibly overthinking! Being realistic I see no signs of physical illness and even no weight loss in Eggs so it probably just is the cold is unpleasant for him. Ollie’s a much chubbier and more dominant and carefree boy than Eggs so maybe comparing their behaviour isn’t helping and not even relevant. I guess some animals tolerate temperature extremes a lot better like humans!

Btw sorry for the mini rant at the start