Julius's Medical Thread

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Sat Mar 01, 2008 8:03 pm


I haven't seen him scratching alot - he is the only one with scabs. He is also not eating well, which i hope will end with this.

He has not been pooping alot today either, most likely due to not eating. I don't think he looks bloated.

He has also been sick, which makes him more susceptible to the mites if i understand correctly.

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iastate09
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Post   » Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:11 am


I dont' know if anyone is on here this late - Julius has not pooed for me since noon/oneish. I cahnged fleece around then, and there are pee spots, but no poo. He acts about the same as he has the last few days, and does not look (to me anyway) to be bloated. He ate some hay, is drinking some, and is, as of right now, eating his veggies.

He didn't eat hardly at all today until now, could that be why?

Any ideas?

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Vipergurl88

Post   » Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:20 am


If he doesn't eat, he won't poop. Now that he's eating some you should have some poops coming the next day, but I would start handfeeding if you aren't already. At least until he's eating normally again.

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:16 pm


Noon, and maybe none, maybe one poop. There was one in his side, but his brothers could have kicked it across the divider. He ate all his veggies last night, and is still drinking, but still not eating much hay. I handfed him some yesterday afternoon, but then i wasn't sure if I should, in case he had bloat.

He still doesnt look bigger than normal, can you tell by looking at them when they have bloat?

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:55 pm


I called my weekend emergency clinic, because I am an overactive worrier. They said that the lack of poos could be either from lack of eating, or from a slight case of bloat. He said to keep an eye on him, and call them back if there were any changes.

His opinon was that as long as he continues drinking and eating some that I would probably be ok to wait till first thing in the morning and call my regular vet. He said if it was a severe case, there would be no interest in food or water, and I would see more agitation/pain symptoms.

I'm hoping his ivermectin treatment kicks in soon, his coat looks bad, and I can only imagine how painful his scabs are! :(

My question is, should I be handfeeding? I don't know if he has bloat or not, but I'm afraid if he does handfeeding will make it worse.

I wish he would poo!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:12 pm


As a general rule, feeding is better to keep things moving through the system. There are cases where there is a blockage but you won't know unless you have your pet examined by a vet. Bloat will generally present as a taut stomache and much discomfort for the pig.

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:40 am


I'm calling my vet first thing in the morning. Julius still is about the same - he still eats some hay, some CC mash out of a bowl and is drinking. He doesn't seem to be in extreme pain, and pooped one little poo earlier this evening.

His stomach doesn't seem to have gotten tighter, or bigger today and he has remained stable throughout the day. We got a big winter storm tonight, so this should be a fun drive to my vet tomorrow!

Wish us luck! (again)

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:43 am


Good luck, and we will be thinking of you. Julius is so lucky to have you care for him. :)

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:05 am


I called my vet, and they said as soon as I can get him there, they can look at him.
Besides bloat, what could be causing this? What should we be looking for?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:09 am


You might want to read over the diarrhea page and see if you'd like to do some fecal tests to see if there is an overgrowth of something contributing to this.

www.guinealynx.info/.html

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iastate09
Supporter in '15

Post   » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:27 pm


I ended up taking Julius to my old clinic (new doctor) today. The roads were too bad to get to Marshalltown, so Dr. Jacobsen's was out of the question.

They kept him all day for observation, and handfed 10cc's of CC every 3 hours. They told me he ate hay and pellets all day, but still produced only 2 poos. They sent him home with me for the night so he would be in his normal enviroment. They told me to continue with the critical care to see if we could get any resluts by morning, and if he doesn't start pooing I should bring him back for x-rays.

The vet seemed very knowledgeable and told me she thought it was a combination of switching around ab's and adding heart meds/lasix all in the same day, and that the lasix had probably drawn water out of his system (since he was a little off food/water in the first place) and his digesta had most likely gotten very dry and sticky.
She said the two poos he had today were very dry and hard, and she hopes by handfeeding a very wet mash we can get things moving again.

She seemed fairly sure there was no major blockage, since he has passed 3 pellets since this whole thing started.

This seems to make sense to me, and I'm hoping he improves by morning, but no luck yet. He acts fine during floor time, and still nibbles on hay and pellets and drinks water.

His stomach feels fuller than last night, but he has been getting CC which he wasn't before. He does not seem to be in pain, and shows no reaction when you palpate his abdomen/stomach.

I'm kind of at a loss here. I'm running out of patience and money both, and just want my boy back! :(

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:29 pm


Did they not give him a subcue while he was there?

For sure, if you keep on handfeeding him you'll have a lovely load of poop to look forward to.

You need to get 50cc at least of critical care into him in a 24-hour period.

Then you will have poop :-)

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