Injectable Baytril dosage needed asap

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:58 pm


And of course, just now I hear a pig screeching bloody murder (as in "OMG MOOSEY TRIED TO HUMP ME!!!"), so I went in to check on everyone and there's Frankie, staring at me with big, bright eyes. I reached in to pet her and say hello and she zooooomed off to the far corner of the cage where she proceeded to glare at me and chatter. Now I feel like I'm just being crazy.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:26 pm


Don't think you're being crazy. Keep your appointment with Dr. Dan.

If both Frankie and Benji were lab pigs, they're related. In some way shape or form, however far (or not far) back, they're most likely related.

What's ADR?

"She sits with her eyes a little squinted. She lets the other pigs push her out of the way more than usual when they're eating or drinking."

I read this and thought teeth. Don't know why, but dental flashed into my mind.

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Fri Mar 16, 2007 3:26 pm


Ain't Doing Right

I'm sure he'll want to check her teeth. Will post his findings when we get back this afternoon.

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:35 pm


Seems that Frankie is doing just fine. He felt a little gas in her intestines, but not enough to worry about. He said that her squinting and not moving much the other day could have been a result of being gassy if it was causing her any pain. At any rate, no ovarian cysts found and he feels that she's much younger than Benji was.

He's having me bring Mama Pig in to see him, though. I asked him about her barbering and he suggested that it could be a symptom of ovarian cysts, so we need to check that out. No other hormonal symptoms or hair loss, just barbering herself anywhere she can reach (which is why I think she's doing it herself and not another pig, as there's on spot on her butt that's never barbered).

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:40 pm


Well shoot. I should have thought of that. Our MamaPig does the same thing, and as she ages, is increasingly more prone to gassy bouts (and she definitely looks and acts ADR when she gets them). Giving her plenty of room to run around and exercise helps her. Without chasing her or anything, extra exercise for Frankie, if possible, may help her.

Let us know what Dr. Dan says about your Mama Pig. Our vet says ovarian cysts can be present without hormonal manifestation, so I'll be real interested to hear what Dr. Dan finds.

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:11 pm


Me too. I'm planning to one by one get each of my girls in to see him to check for cysts and just for a general checkup. Mama Pig is due to go in next Wednesday, assuming that I don't have to take Miss Aya-cat in to the Internal Medicine specialist that day. (See my thread in General Chat on Aya. I left I.M. a voicemail today telling them I'd take their first available follow-up for Aya-- they're really hard to get appointments with.)

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:22 pm


Had to bump back Mama Pig's appointment by a week, so I took her in today. Dr. Dan found nothing wrong with her. He says that someone's definitely barbering her, but he doesn't think it's her. He could only barely feel her ovaries, so he says she's not cystic. Teeth looked great and had no evidence of hair stuck in there, which he would expect to see on a pig that barbers.

He also says I should be seeing hair in the poop, but I haven't noticed any. (Not that it would help if I did, since there are six pigs in that cage.) I'll have to keep a closer eye on it, though. He's concerned because whoever is chewing off the hair is putting themselves at risk for an intestinal blockage. I asked him what I should do if I figure out who it is, and he said essentially my only options are to either separate out that pig or take my chances. Neither sounds great. Granted, this has been going on for over a year now and no one has had a problem, so I don't know. I wonder just how great the risk of a blockage is. He couldn't answer that question.

He said the only other thing that would incline a pig to barber is a poor diet lacking enough fiber, but I don't think that's an issue... they get unlimited hay and plenty of veggies. They do only get pellets off and on, but the hay and veggies provide most of the fiber anyway.

I'm guessing my best bet for figuring out who it is is to separate out the other pigs one at a time for a couple of weeks each and watch for Mama Pig's hair growing back. My first suspect is Moosey since Mama lived with everyone else for a good long while before Moosey was integrated. I can't remember exactly how long ago I first noticed the barbering, but Moosey was the latest introduction for sure before it began. I did introduce Jerry after Moosey, but I'm pretty sure she had already been barbered before then... hmm. If I'd realized it was a problem, I would have kept a record of it.

The other thing that surprises me about it *not* being Mama Pig is that none of my girls are particularly tolerant of other pigs messing with them. I can't imagine her just letting someone else chew on her hair without raising hell about it. I've also never seen anyone (including Mama herself) doing anything that resembled barbering. I guess someone's having late-night grooming sessions when no one is looking. (Exotic piggy spa!)

Any ideas or suggestions for figuring out who's doing this besides separating out each pig one at a time for a few weeks? God, that will take forever... and the separate pig will be lonely.

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:27 pm


Also, I forgot to add that Dr. Dan says the classic barbering pattern for a pig with ovarian cysts is two strips on the back, starting midway down on the outside of the spine. (The strips would start just in front of where their stomach gets fatty and pear-shaped and then continue backwards for a few inches.)

Mama Pig actually has that pear shape, but I guess it's because she was a mama once. So does Jerry (who is spayed, but was also a mama at one point).

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:57 pm


That pattern does not ring a bell re-ovarian cysts. What Snowflake had was probably not self barbering (unless she was pulling it out vs. eating it). Smooth, on side of abdomen, left and right.

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:59 pm


Yes, true hair loss is more commonly a symptom, but at my last appointment, I had asked him about barbering, and apparently that can occasionally be a symptom in pigs that otherwise have none.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:00 pm


I think we are seeing two patterns referenced here; one, the classic hormonal hairloss pattern Lynx mentions, and two, self-barbering, which is what Dr. Dan is talking about.

If the cysts irritate the animal, or are intermittently or cyclically painful, achy or otherwise aggravating, the pig may self-barber her sides where she can reach them?

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:38 pm


Exactly. He says that it's not the first thing he looks for in terms of symptoms of ovarian cysts, but that in a seemingly otherwise healthy pig, sometimes self-barbering can be an indication of cysts, and any pig that barbers should be checked. Within the first 10 seconds of me putting Mama Pig on the table today, he said that while she is obviously being barbered, he said her pattern was not at all what he expected with a cystic pig. He then palpated her abdomen to confirm that no cysts were felt.

He says it can also just be a bad habit, like chewing your nails. Once they start, it becomes a habit and they can become obsessive about it. And then, of course, the nutrition indication. A self-barbering pig may be in need of more fiber (not to say that it needs extra, but pigs that don't get adequate veggies, for example).

In terms of Mama Pig, he doesn't think there's any medical reason that another pig would barber her. He suspects that someone just picked up the habit and since she's the only truly long-haired pig in my herd, she gets the brunt of it.

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