Lily, the fluffy, fluffy Texel

[Lynx]

Thanks for the pics (I added them).

[tara8301]

I think Lily may be losing weight. The last time I posted about her was when I took her to the vet because she was wheezing, but after my initial freak-out and belief that it was for certain a URI and a vet check-up, I think it was just from the hay. It was towards the bottom of the bag and was pretty dusty.

Anyway, she weighs 900 grams now. When I got her in October 2006, she weighed 1011 grams according to the papers I got from the rescue. I know 100 grams is a lot to lose, but it has been over the past almost 3 years. I really didn't weigh her regularly until about 6 months ago (I know, I need slapped), but even in that time there's only been a loss of maybe 2 ounces. Aside from the little incident in April which thankfully didn't amount to anything, her vets have always given her a clean bill of health.

I just sort of had a funny feeling she was losing weight so I've been weighing her daily for 4 days. There's been some fluctuations of about an ounce, but nothing more. I can't seem to find it now, but I saw somewhere in the info that an ounce fluctuation is ok...? She is still eating her veggies and hay with gusto--in fact she just devoured some green pepper I gave her (she's even trying to steal Nibs' pepper at the moment) to placate her after I was trimming her hair. She was very upset about this and was grinding her teeth at me... but she usually does that when I trim her up. Her activity level is normal too, and if she's laying down, it's not difficult to rouse her. Just before trimming her hair, I'd been exercising and she was just a happy little pig sitting in my lap purring and licking my sweaty arms (gross, I know... but she was purring away!)

I read all the info about malocclusion and she doesn't overtly have any of those symptoms. No drooling or difficulty eating. She eats faster than Nibs does. The only time I've ever noticed her have a wet chin is when I give them really wet lettuce that I've just washed. She's not too fond of my fingers in her mouth, not that I blame her, but her front teeth looked fine. I also read up on URI's and heart problems again just to make sure she's not having any of those symptoms, and aside from her pea-eye, she doesn't really have any of those either.

She *is* almost 5 years old, and while I know that's not ancient by any means, she is older. I know older people generally slow down and lose weight... perhaps Lily could be doing that??

Should I go ahead and make a vet appt. or keep weighing her and keep a close eye on her?

[tara8301]

I don't want to ignore the problem if there is one, but I just realized that it could be my scale. I looks like this with the large bowl -- http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... d=10098024 -- but it's not digital. It's analog or whatever its called like this one -- http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... gMethod=rr . It has grams and ounces and goes up to 7 lbs. I guess it isn't the most reliable thing. I just weighed her again and she weighed almost a kg. Is a digital one better? Any good recommendations for a cheap, but reliable one?

[Lynx]

For the time being (until you find one you like more), I recommend looking around at some of your stock kitchen items and weighing a few of them that are somewhere between a pound and two pounds. Record their weights and you can double check your scale for general accuracy if you don't trust it.

[tara8301]

So I weighed her today and her weight was up from yesterday, though she had just been munching on hay. Since my scale isn't all that exact, I can't really determine how much it's up. Yesterday the needle was just under 900 g. and today it was just over that. But I'm sure however much it is within the daily acceptable fluctuations. Still no noticeable signs of anything wrong and she's still the loudmouth around here. Not that I mind the sound of her wheeks. :) I'll continue to monitor her and hopefully be able to get a new scale soon.

[Lynx]

Please grab a can of beans or something in your kitchen that you always have around and weigh it now. Use this item to check your scale for accuracy. You are looking for relative weight changes.

[tara8301]

Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that I'd weighed a can of pineapple. 1 lb. 4 oz. almost right on the dot, so maybe it's better than I thought. Still want to invest in a digital though 'cause I think it will be easier to read and deal with.

Lynx, what do you mean by relative weight changes?

[zazzified]

Meaning that even if the scale is off or inconsistent, you can use something that does not change in weight for comparison until you get a scale you trust. So you weighed the pineapple now, and then before you weigh your pig, weigh that can again. If it comes out the same, you know that the weight will be a proper comparison. If it comes out different, you know it'll be off for your pig too. That way even if you don't know the exact weight, you can properly monitor changes in weight.

[tara8301]

Ok, gotcha. I weighed the can again this morning and it weighed less than 1 lb. 4 oz. And then I weighed Lily and she also weighed less than yesterday. I'll just keep monitoring her closely and hopefully nothing will come of it, other than a healthy pig.

[Lynx]

Yes! Thanks for the explanation, zazzified!

[tara8301]

So I've been continuing to monitor Lily's weight and now it seems like she is gaining weight. I've still been weighing the pineapple can beforehand to compare previous weights to. It's been slow over the past few days, only a few grams, but it is consistently going up rather than up and down and all over the place.

[Lynx]

Sounds encouraging! Hope things continue to improve!