You're checking the foot periodically for good blood circulation?
I bet he will be able to get around fine once it is healed.
Ianto and the broken femur
Yep, I'm checking as often as I can and so is my wife (who is home more during the day). His little toes were good and pink this morning. He's still getting around well in his subset of the big enclosure, even with the wrap. He's eating, drinking, and even takes his pain meds without too much complaint. He did work a couple of inches of the outside end of the wrap free last night, not enough to actually get to places where it would loosen anything important, so I put another piece of tape around it (loosely, just enough to hold it down) so it wouldn't trail and get caught on stuff and unwrap farther.
I may be speaking too soon, but I think we're out of the scary part, and now we just need to keep an eye on him and make sure he heals well.
I may be speaking too soon, but I think we're out of the scary part, and now we just need to keep an eye on him and make sure he heals well.
And, weighing him, he's gained 10 grams. Sheesh. All this not running around at top speed is clearly getting to him.
Ianto update!
He's been an extremely good sport about the leg wrap and hasn't attempted to get it off that we can tell. He's still getting around fine in his mini-apartment and seems to be eating and drinking (and going to the bathroom) without any problems. He's actually gained a bit of weight, maybe half an ounce. We took him for a re-wrap on Wednesday and introduced him to our normal vet. He and his brother really turned on the charm faucet for the vet's assistant.
But, alas, all is not well in the world of Ianto. He's suddenly developed a bit of eye crust just on one eye-- not much, not accompanied by any noticeable wheezing, sneezing, sniffling, etc. He seems as alert and active as ever, but we're absolutely not taking our chances with the little guy. He has another rewrap scheduled for Wednesday, but we're going to call the vet tomorrow morning and see if she thinks he should come in sooner.
He's been an extremely good sport about the leg wrap and hasn't attempted to get it off that we can tell. He's still getting around fine in his mini-apartment and seems to be eating and drinking (and going to the bathroom) without any problems. He's actually gained a bit of weight, maybe half an ounce. We took him for a re-wrap on Wednesday and introduced him to our normal vet. He and his brother really turned on the charm faucet for the vet's assistant.
But, alas, all is not well in the world of Ianto. He's suddenly developed a bit of eye crust just on one eye-- not much, not accompanied by any noticeable wheezing, sneezing, sniffling, etc. He seems as alert and active as ever, but we're absolutely not taking our chances with the little guy. He has another rewrap scheduled for Wednesday, but we're going to call the vet tomorrow morning and see if she thinks he should come in sooner.
Okay, the long-awaited update....
We took little Ianto in to the vet on Wednesday, as it turned out. She took a look at his eye and stained it to look for scratches, and didn't see anything unusual. He's breathing okay (so no infection there) and seems pretty perky. His bandage was getting pretty gross, so she rewrapped it and checked to make sure he's doing okay under there. He's lost a little fur from the tape, so she padded it with some splint padding stuff and made sure it's not too tight or full of gunk. Overall, he appears to be healing up okay and is still eating, drinking, running around pooping like crazy, eating hay and so on. We have another appointment next Wednesday when they'll take an X-ray and see how well he's healing up in there.
I think he's getting a little tired of being poked all the time, and our doctor thought the bandage was getting itchy. He's become a little less happy about being picked up and poked all the time, so I'm trying to give him more attention at times very separate from times when we give him medication and check his toes and poke him and stuff, so he doesn't associate us with constant torture and prodding. I also really hope we can take down the divider again so he can run around with the other two pigs soon.
Anyway, the doctor said he looks like he's doing fine, even with the little bit of eye stuff. That's not too bad, and she said to keep an eye on it and if anything odd happens to give her a call right away, and otherwise she'll take another look at our next visit.
We took little Ianto in to the vet on Wednesday, as it turned out. She took a look at his eye and stained it to look for scratches, and didn't see anything unusual. He's breathing okay (so no infection there) and seems pretty perky. His bandage was getting pretty gross, so she rewrapped it and checked to make sure he's doing okay under there. He's lost a little fur from the tape, so she padded it with some splint padding stuff and made sure it's not too tight or full of gunk. Overall, he appears to be healing up okay and is still eating, drinking, running around pooping like crazy, eating hay and so on. We have another appointment next Wednesday when they'll take an X-ray and see how well he's healing up in there.
I think he's getting a little tired of being poked all the time, and our doctor thought the bandage was getting itchy. He's become a little less happy about being picked up and poked all the time, so I'm trying to give him more attention at times very separate from times when we give him medication and check his toes and poke him and stuff, so he doesn't associate us with constant torture and prodding. I also really hope we can take down the divider again so he can run around with the other two pigs soon.
Anyway, the doctor said he looks like he's doing fine, even with the little bit of eye stuff. That's not too bad, and she said to keep an eye on it and if anything odd happens to give her a call right away, and otherwise she'll take another look at our next visit.
Okay, so yesterday was our last appointment, and the next is next Wednesday (with the doctor who wrapped his leg in the first place-- they all know each other around these parts...).
It's not visibly knitting on the x-ray, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The vet said it seems to be healing, but calcium hasn't moved into the new bone (this is sort of hard to explain, but she's not worried and they'll x-ray in another couple of weeks).
Having his bandage replaced last week seems to have cleared up his bitey habits, so it looks like it was itching and uncomfortable. He's been much more calm and amenable to being handled since then and is back to his normal self.
So, it's a long process, but he's doing okay. I tried putting him back in with his brother and our older pig for a while, since he's been isolated for quite a while now. They got along pretty well, although Captain Jack tries to mount Ianto occasionally... I think it would be better for him socially (and he'd be less inclined to sit around in his pee and get his bandage wet), but I want to take it slow since Captain Jack is the alpha pig and will push him around a bunch...
It's not visibly knitting on the x-ray, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The vet said it seems to be healing, but calcium hasn't moved into the new bone (this is sort of hard to explain, but she's not worried and they'll x-ray in another couple of weeks).
Having his bandage replaced last week seems to have cleared up his bitey habits, so it looks like it was itching and uncomfortable. He's been much more calm and amenable to being handled since then and is back to his normal self.
So, it's a long process, but he's doing okay. I tried putting him back in with his brother and our older pig for a while, since he's been isolated for quite a while now. They got along pretty well, although Captain Jack tries to mount Ianto occasionally... I think it would be better for him socially (and he'd be less inclined to sit around in his pee and get his bandage wet), but I want to take it slow since Captain Jack is the alpha pig and will push him around a bunch...
Okay, sorry that last post was kind of rambly. Last week was a long week for a bunch of reasons...
He went back to the doctor again today (they're looking at him weekly to make sure the bandage is good and he's healing up). He seems to be doing well. They'll take another x-ray next week to see, too. They gave me eyedrops for his eyes in case they get crusty again. The vet thinks that's because he can't really use his back legs for cleaning and stuff as well-- his ears are waxy, too. But he's eating and keeping his weight up and pooping and so on and doing pig stuff. I've been reintroducing him back into herd life and I think once his leg is clearly healing (ideally that'll show up on the x-rays next week) I'll move him back in with the other guys full-time...
He's still a tiny sweet little piggy guy. We're taking good care of him...
He went back to the doctor again today (they're looking at him weekly to make sure the bandage is good and he's healing up). He seems to be doing well. They'll take another x-ray next week to see, too. They gave me eyedrops for his eyes in case they get crusty again. The vet thinks that's because he can't really use his back legs for cleaning and stuff as well-- his ears are waxy, too. But he's eating and keeping his weight up and pooping and so on and doing pig stuff. I've been reintroducing him back into herd life and I think once his leg is clearly healing (ideally that'll show up on the x-rays next week) I'll move him back in with the other guys full-time...
He's still a tiny sweet little piggy guy. We're taking good care of him...
SHOP AMAZON