l2s

LP is a male pig about 5years 4months old, and has lost weight, he normally
rooms with George who is roughly same age, but twice his size! they don't
seem to fight, but we separated them for a few days and LP is eating
everything, any thoughts, comments or suggestions welcome.
Thanks
Andrew & Sarah

stuffed

First thought is teeth. He's the right age for his teeth to start playing up
from time to time, and normally if there's no signs of any other illness/
infection chances are it is indeed teeth.

I've had a nightmare trying to get homes and vets to comprehend that - I've
found an incredibly good piggie (and degu!) dental vet, though he does still
use gas to do a pigs teeth but better a skilled vet using gas than an idiot
vet doing it without in my opinion.

Without going into a rant, one of my lot stopped eating. She was clearly
hungry, but would not eat for herself, and waggled her head when syringe
fed. I suspected a tooth problem, but local vet after local vet said her
teeth were perfect. One even did a full dental exam and burring! Long story
short, eventually I told the local vets exactly what I thought of them, and
through the local rodentologist found a vet with a good reputation
(unfortunately a 40 minute or so drive away). He immediately spotted an
infected ulcer in her mouth (that another vet had told me was bruising from
me syringe feeding!) and was knowledgeable to suspect it was caused by a
tooth spur. The next morning she went in for the op, and within an hour or
so of coming round was head in the food bowl, for the first time in at least
a month... It turns out she had a tiny, but destructive spur on one of her
molars.

I'm currently trying to get family to acknowledge they need to get one of
their boy's teeth done. He appears to have 2 growths (I won't say for sure
tumours, but that is the most likely at present). He stopped eating a few
weeks ago, at the same time as a lump appeared. That lump then went away
leaving a scab (sebacious cyst anyone? - Another missed diagnosis by a vet),
though another, internal lump appeared around the same time. Ever since,
even though he's picked up in himself, he's been unable to eat properly and
has had to be syringe fed. I'm in contact through email, and I knew he had a
tooth problem from what was described. He came down when they visited
recently, and I said he had a tooth problem. I could tell from how he was
reacting to food in general, and especially when syringe fed. Their usual
vet had said his teeth were fine. I persuaded them to go to "my" vet, who
found (not suspected, but found, ie saw) 2 or 3 small spurs. Annoyingly they
had to drive home the day he would have had his dental, so he was placed
back in the hands of frankly, halfwit vets. First vet said he had spurs
(same vet as said he didn't previously), but that he would eat on one side
to compensate so not to worry. Second vet refused to do the dental, as "He's
not in a good enough condition to make it through the operation". FFS, if
the pig was perfectly healthy he wouldn't have a prblem that required a
dental!!! Same vet also said again that although spurs were present, they
wouldn't be the reason he's not eating properly.

Now, he will eat from a syringe, but is in some discomfort when chewing. He
will pick at his food bowl, but only the easiest to chew and swallow foods.
He will eat various fresh, but oly that which is most flavoursome or easy to
chew. It seems that the various vets he's being treated by at present are
putting the lack of eating down to a tumour (still not 100% diagnosed as
such, and not attached to his stomach or otherwise impinging on anything
that would suppress his appetite, beside being potentially operable) rather
than having any clue about just how a pigs mouth works (or how a pig works
at all...) and understanding that actually the tiniest, barely perceptible
of spikes/ spurs can lead to major eating problems.

Why have I typed all of that? Well aside from wanting to vent, it's to make
clear that your boy may well have a very small, simple to rectify, but
significant in terms of eating tooth problem. And if no other reason can be
found for his loss of appetite, keep pushing till you find a vet who is
truly skilled in cavy dental work. As you're UK based (I assume, as you're
using ntl), contact the CCT (http://www.rodentology.org.uk ) as they may be able to
recommend a vet or even have a member local to you who could see him and
check/ do his teeth (they are trained to do dentals without anaesthetic,
which is a very good thing).

If he really isn't eating and starts to lose weight (as you suspect a
problem weigh him daily - More than 20g or so loss is a worry IMO) you might
have to start syringe feeding him until he can be diagnosed/ cured. It's not
a fun thing, but once you've got the hang of it it's quite straightforward.

Good luck

bohica

You need to seperate them for a few hours each day so that the one who is
losing weight has time to eat his fill, before being returned with his room
mate. Sounds like George is being a greedy piggy and eating all the pies!

l2s

Dear Bohica
thanks for your advice, we have a spare cage, so I've kept LP and George
apart for half the day, but back together for the night, LP is eating and
drinking well, and with him being in own cage for part of the day we can
monior how much he is eating. I did watch them last night and George does
steel food off LP even when he has his own in front of him, so hopefully LP
can put on some weight.
Thanks
Andrew & Sarah

bohica

OK - you need to give LP lots of food that will help him to put on the
weight. Avoid 'watery' foods, such as melon, etc. Make sure he has plenty
of fresh forage. Timothy Hay is good if you can get it at your local store
and it will help to keep his teeth in check. Give him things like carrot,
beetroot, and the woody stems of greens such as brocolli stalk. Make sure
he gets the preparatory stuff (assume you can get SupaGuinea) to keep up his
vit C. If he is eating well, then he is healthy but obviously hungry. If
he had a problem with his teeth, LP would not eat. You're good to keep the
pigs seperate for a few hours a day so LP can have a few hours of
uninterupted eating. If George is overweight, think about limiting what you
give him. He won't like it and will probably wheek with hunger, and you'll
feel guilty, but in the long term, he'll benefit by being a super trim
piggy.

l2s

sad news...don't wish to write to much, LP was put to sleep on Friday
afternoon, he contracted pneumonia, we tried, but he had something like this
about six weeks ago and came through, but not this time. The other pig
George seems to know, looks very low, not sure about getting a new mate in
the winter. Anyhow, LP was a rescue pig, and lived to 5 1/2 which is good
age. thanks for advice etc.
A & S

bohica

I am very sorry for your loss. I am sure you did your best for him.
Unfortunately, pigs can go down hill very rapidly, and unless you catch it
very quickly, its unlikely that a pig will pull thru' especially with
something like pneumonia, which is normally a secondary condition following
a respiratory infection.

5 1/2 years is a very good age for a pig, especially if he came to you as a
rescue. You may have no idea of the conditions he was in before he came to
you, so perhaps every year he was with you was a bonus to his previous life.

Your priority now is George. He will be lonely and will realise that LP has
gone. You're best bet for the moment is to not change things to quickly for
him but to ensure he gets plenty of attention for the next few days and
weeks as he adjusts to life without LP.

I don't know where you live, but if you're in the northern hemisphere then
its winter and where I live they can be cold and harsh. Even though my pigs
live under cover, I would not want to get another pig this time of year
because moving them around between cold outdoors and indoors would be unkind
to them and can create further risks for infection as they go from cold to
warm to cold again. Spring would be a good time because they have the whole
of the spring and summer to settle in.