I'm worried about Rosie.

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 7:01 am


His weight has gone from 765g to 796g in 24 hours. There was even a little tiny spirally pile of poop in there when I went to go feed him a minute ago. And his towel is wet, so he has been urinating. He even had the energy to rumble at Mrs. New Mama Sow when she came to check him out at the grid barrier. I think he might be doing better. I am exhausted, waiting on Alex to get up so we can do his penis cleaning and I can finally go to bed for a few hours. Going to see the vet at 11.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 7:53 am


Only 2"?
Could also be a yeast infection (the yellowish detritus). Can you tell if he's been peeing?

This odor, can it be excess special poops being eliminated (Sandra)? I understand if a diet is too rich, the pig may produce more special poops which are indeed stinky.

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PauloF

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:24 am


Only 2"?

Lynx, that should be expressed in piggy inches, not "regular" human inches. I guess most women would be scared to death facing something similar, considering the actual proportions.

I feel humiliated...

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 1:57 pm


they probably all think they have 2 inch penises

It's all in the mind, anyway.

Hey, I just found out a friend of mine and her family (husband and daughter) will be in Sao Paulo for a couple weeks mid to late December (sister getting married). She's excited about going. From Bolivia but speaks Portuguese.

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smiley
Just Do It

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 3:25 pm


So size does matter. ; )

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PauloF

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 4:08 pm


Maybe this is why Lynx considers her DH as a GOD...

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smiley
Just Do It

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 4:12 pm


LOL. Good one Paulo.

kleenmama
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:23 pm


I think the stuff on the penis is normal, Ollie's is goopy too. I have no idea on average length. Not sure I want to know.

How are they doing tonight? What did the vet say about the URI's?

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:17 pm


(forewarning - horrible typing coming up, my c.t. is very bad tonight and i have wrist braces on, sorry)

THe vet hasn't actually seen either pig. THey were really busy today and only had time for me to come in to get some subcue supplies.

I got a bag off LR with B added, several 12 cc syringes and 12 regular needles (they coud not spare any butterfly). the needles fit right onto the syringe, no tubing. THey told me basically what KM told me last night about the subcues and sent me home. Cost me $30.

TOnight Rosie seems a lot better, he is purring at us when we get him out to hold him and he is taking 10-12 cc;s of Critcal Care/Pellet mash whenever we feed him. he is reaching for the syringe a little bit now. he can still not eat on his own - he was VERY interested in a carrot but when he tried to snag it with his front teeth and run off i couild plainly feel the absoulte lack of strength in his mouth. He even bit my finger cause i smelled like Carrot and he feels so weak in the jaw. There was no tugging strength at all, no ability to grab and hold., Pinta, do you think a chin-sling would help Rosie?

I did a subcue using the regular needle tonight and freaked out. It made a very tight hard bubble right behind his head and i only got 7 cc;'s into him before i withdrew becasuse it was so tight i was worried about skin damage. I guess I didn't go in very deep. He absorbed the 7 cc bolus in about 30 minutes so I needed to do another. I reloaded the syringe, replaced the needle, found another spot (more between his shoulder blades) and gave him another 12 cc's there. No tightness, no hard bubble this time. No blood, either. I think I'm getting better at this. It's nervewracking.

He is so skinny that i can't really make a tent out of his skin. I more kind of have to pull up on his skin and hair and slide the needle in parallel to his body. It's a guess every time. He has absolutely no fat on him, he is just skin and bones, poor thing. you can clearly see his hind hips and the bumps on his spine when you move away his long hair. I feel like i'm sticking into a latex suit that a skeleton piggie has on.

Thanks to everybody who has helped and many thanks to KM who doesn't mind me callig her freaking out every time i have to stick my pig. You guys rule.

pinta

Post   » Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:24 am


If he has weak jaw muscles the Chin-Sling could help. However, his molars need to be examined and planed(if necc) before it can be used. It is meant to maintain dentalwork that's been done. It can correct but only to a certain degree. If the molars are too overgrown it won't correct them.

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Paravati
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Oct 25, 2003 9:04 am


Well, we have a vet appt. Monday at 4:30 to determine what exactly is wrong. I suspect Malocclusion but would like to have X-Rays done and whatever else to confirm it. If that IS what it is, and the vet thinks he is strong enough to survive a surgery, what is your experience regarding how long after the surgery, and with use of a Chin-Sling, it would take for the pig to be able to eat on his own?

This is a very old pig. It's not a cost issue, but I don't want to put him through an event like a surgery only to still have to maintain him with subcues and handfeeding if it will still be several months before he's better. He might not live that long even as a healthy pig. I guess it's a quality of life issue sort of now.

If you think a Chin-Sling would help after the corrective surgery, I'd like to get one. I need information on how to do so. Even if we can't use it on Rosie, Tigger is starting to have some teeth problems due to the nerve damage in his face. His right facial muscles are stuck in one spot and it pulls his whole jaw to the bottom-right. I am worried that even though he is healthy now, that he will develop teeth problems later. He had them when he had pneumonia, but after he got better they seem to have corrected themselves- He is eating just fine and gains weight slowly every week.

Rosie is doing much better this morning. He apparently LOVES Critical Care mixed with Carrot Baby food, and took 16 cc's all on his own this morning, reaching for the syringe every time he wanted more. It's not "force-feeding" anymore but more like "bottle feeding" or "Rosie-maintenance". He is pooping now, eating some of them, leaving others, and urinating just fine. He is attempting to eat some veggies even though some of them he spits out, while others he chews and chews on forever. But the little tiny slices of carrot I put in there last night are all gone this morning.

This is such a different pig than the one I posted about originally. He no longer sits in the corner with his face to the corner and his fur all fluffed up. He is jumping in and out of his haybox occasionally and acting interested in what's going on around him. I can't thank you guys enough.

I have a question about tooth problems. When a pig gets very sick and doesn't eat, even maybe only for a few days, their molars can overgrow from lack of use. But if you handfeed such a pig, and they make "chewy" motions and grind their teeth down while you're feeding them the softer food, is it possible for a tooth problem to improve slightly on it's own in that way? I am just really surprised at Rosie - Yesterday he had no jaw strength with his teeth and today he was tugging on the syringe a little bit. I am thinking he is not in as much pain anymore, which to me means that either 1) he's getting used to the pain or 2) the problem is improving a bit and not causing as much pain.

Any thoughts?

kleenmama
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Oct 25, 2003 11:47 am


First off , I think he is gaining strength from eating ,which he hadn't been doing for a couple days. I also think the subcue with the b-vitamins are really helping improve his activity level and comfort.

The teeth can over grow in several days of not eating, and I think that if the pig finally starts eating really well, they wear themselves down. The issue is whether or not the teeth are overgrown enough to need intervention. A thorough competent vet should be able to see that. I don't think he is getting used to the pain, I think it is either less, or he was not in alor of pain to begin with. Does he still have the muscle tremors?

Forgive me for being short on the phone last night, my daughter had surgery yesterday to have 4 wisdom teeth removed and I'm playing nurse. I felt awful after we got off the phone, lik I had rushed you!

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