Henry's Thread

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dgarriques
Got Pigs?

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:21 am


Henry I hope you feel better soon. Diana I loved that picture you posted with Henry and you.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:25 pm


Grandpa Henry has a stone about the size of a green pea.

The good news is that it's too big to get stuck.

The bad news is that it's too big to pass.

There is no sign of sludge, and he is otherwise healthy and perky.

I don't know what we're going to do.

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:29 pm


Poor Henry. Hugs to him. Tough decision you guys have. Unfortunately, since it's bothering him, you have to make a decision. Stupid stones!

EllieMom

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:29 pm


Oh, damn. Can you tell if the metacam helps at all with the discomfort?

Robyn3939
Lethal Lover

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:57 pm


I'm sorry you guys. Stones are terrible at any age for a piggie, but with Henry's "advanced" age it's tougher. I know you'll do what's right for Henry and keep him comfortable.

I'm glad he is still perky and happy. My girl Brianca was also and then one day her old body couldn't take her kidney and bladder stone anymore. My good thoughts are with you. Kisses to Henry.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:25 pm


I'd like some advice.

Henry doesn't tolerate the Metacam very well. Dr. Miller consulted that book by Carpenter and came out with two suggestions:

1. Diluted baby Tylenol
2. Rimadyl (Carprofen)

Does anyone have experience with either of these things?

The problem with the Metacam is that it really irritates Henry's GI system after a few days.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:41 pm


We had extremely good luck with diluted baby Tylenol. IIRC dose was 1 mg for a roughly 1 kilo pig once a day. We diluted 80 mg of the infant's suspension in 80 mL of Gerber fruit juice, and he took 1 cc of that willingly.

On occasion we gave him more. It only helped and never seemed to hurt him. This pig was on this regimen for over three years.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:54 pm


That's good to know, Talishan. Dr. Miller thought that of the two, the diluted baby Tylenol would be more work to prepare, but easier on his GI system.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:08 pm


If you get the little Gerber fruit juice bottles, measure out however many cc's you need to get to 80 (I think they have 123 mL or something like that in them, so remove 43 cc's or whatever it is). Then, dump 80 mg of baby Tylenol into that (our pig liked grape. The baby Tylenol has an 80 mg dose marked, or it's easily figurable, one; I can't remember exactly and it's not in front of me ... but it's a straightforward calculation) and shake violently.

This keeps for 48-60 hours in the fridge. Our pig liked pear. Grape + pear = yuck but he liked it. ;-)

As he aged, we occasionally just shot 1, 2, even 5 mg of the grape suspension straight into his mouth. He never seemed to have difficulty with it ... no evidence of GI problems, nervousness, bleeding, anything.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:23 pm


I know Pinta used Rimadyl for years. It used to be all we recommended. I would give it a try (it seems to work better for a few pigs).

I am sorry about the stone.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:33 pm


Rimadyl does have more of a proven track record in cavies. I suspect it will be harder on his GI tract, and possibly liver.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:11 pm


Oh no - not Henry with a stone!

Bad news on the Metacam too.

I can't believe you guys are having to go through this with another pig.

Did you consider Actigall? I had a friend who had a huge success with it - it did dissolve the stone.

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