Annie was impacted:(

[xxlunaxx]

Hi guys,

Yesterday afternoon i noticed Annie was sitting in the one spot for about an hour with her fur all puffed out. I knew something was up. She usually comes straight up to me but she seemed quite lethargic and depressed and she was chewing away when there was no actual food so i thought perhaps she was in pain.

Straight away i made their evening salad and placed it in the same spot as usual upstairs in their cage. The rest of them flew up the ramp while she still remained quite listless. Straight away i picked up the phone to Eamonn the vet and thankfully he fit me in as it was an emergency. We barely made it on time. Getting to the other side of Dublin in rush hour traffic is no fun!

Coco came along in the carrier to keep Annie company. So Eamonn examined her and said she had a temperature and was impacted and also had colic. He gently squeezed her to ease the poops out and at the same time lots of pee came out and she cried..the poor little thing. He said she was blocked up in both areas and it was very painful for her to eliminate. Im so confused... i dont know how this could have happened. im just so glad i noticed she was unwell and got her to the vet on time. He gave me baytril and liquid paraffin to give her by mouth for 5 days. She was in top form that morning...it is scary how she went down hill so fast.

She came home and ate some food and this morning she is eating hay and i saw her drinking water. its hard to know if she is pooping because there are 4 of them and i cant tell whos poops they are. Im just wondering has anyone else experienced this with a young sow and is this something poor Annie will be faced with from now on? I dont know what i would do if i lost this little one...she is such an angel I hated seeing her in such pain and looking so miserable and the other piggies were not very nice to her. I thought they might be a little kinder as she was unwell. no such luck!

Any advice would be much appreciated xx

[Orlaith]

Poor Annie, the little darling. How is she this morning? I hope this is a one off, she's only young yet!

[Dawn - Admin]

Awww poor Annie, no I have never had this in a sow it's usually boars that get impacted. Do you feed much broccoli or cauli because this can cause bloat? So glad you got her to the vet asap time is always the essence with piggies Hope she is back to her usual self very soon.

[cavymaniac]

Oh no, poor Annie. (((((hugs))))) I don't have any advice unfortunately as I've never had a female with this problem before. I really hope she'll be ok and wish her a very speedy recovery. I know how much she means to you and I have a huge soft spot for her. (((((hugs)))))

Please get well soon Annie sweetie! xxxxx

[krissy]

aww bless i hope she is feeling better soon x

[luvcats22]

awww, i hope she feels better soon, i havent ever read about this occuring in sows, only boars. and my lot certainly dont have any problems pooping!!!
((hugs to annie)) and to you luna. xxx

[waterscavies]

I've got a few boars that are impacted but that's about it... didn't hear much about sows getting it as well though it can happen.

Hope the lil girl recovers nicely from her bellyache soon and starts popcorning again

Sasha

[xxlunaxx]

Thanks everyone for all your kind words. iv been sitting down in the living room with her all day and she is still chewing away and grinding her teeth like she is in pain. i was about to lift the phone and ask the vet what i should do when all of a sudden i saw her at the food bowl eating and got all excited and started telling her what a good girl she was and she popcorned all the way down to the other side of the cage and started munching on hay. That was about half an hour ago and now she is sitting grinding her teeth again.

In terms of diet, im trying to think have i done something wrong but anything she eats the rest eat so i dont know what it could be. they dont eat broccoli or cauliflower Dawn.

For their tea the following is what they usually get between 4 piggies:

1 bell pepper
1/3 cucumber
Two sticks of cellery chopped up
Kale ( not too much of this and they havent had any for 3days)
2 cherry tomatoes
1 carrot

They also get coriander, parsley, spinach, round lettuce and sugar snap peas in rotation.

I gave the meds earlier but she spat out one. i dont know whether it was the baytril or paraffin as i got them mixed up. I will know in future not to do that. I had her towel wrapped for this but she managed to put her head in like a turtle towards the end

Her hair is also falling out in abundance while giving her the meds and she has lots of dandruff. Is it usual for boars that have impaction to have a temp too? It seems like Annie has some kind of infection that could be causing this. Oh i hope she will come through this okay xx

[Orlaith]

Poor little girl. Are her meds in tablet form? When we had to give Hilda her tablets she wouldn't swallow them so we ground them up and put the powder on cucumber and forced her to lick it off. She didn't like it but at least once it was in it was in.

[xxlunaxx]

Her meds are in liquid form so im giving them by syringe. She is very wriggly and i never got as many head butts from her as i did this morning. She is not very impressed with her mammy today and i wouldnt blame her. I found it easier giving meds to my hamsters than her because you can get a proper grip of them with one hand but Annie is such a big chubby girl and you haveseen first hand how stroppy she can get when being restricted! She is the queen of head butts

[Orlaith]

It's a pity you can't tell if she's pooping or not. Have you seen her reach down to eat her poo at all?

[xxlunaxx]

Iv seen afew odd looking poops around the place which im guessing are hers. They are shorter stumpier ones that have a shiny look to them like mucus id say so thats a good sign that she is pooping anyway and iv seen her pee aswell. sorry if thats too much info bout the poops

I emptied and re-filled their litter boxes with fresh hay just now and she was wheeking away in delight so that is such a relief and Coco has decided to be nice and share a litter box with her which is sweet Its almost time for round 2 of meds...argh

[celia]

Hi if it was me i would seperate her from the others even if its just overnight to see exactly what she is doing in the pee and poo department . I had to bring my sow in on sat night because i heard her squeek when she was pooing , i am so glad i did because she was in pain so i gave her metacalm she passed a few small poos but no pee . I hardly slept that night with worry ( stayed with her til 4am ) and got up before 9 to phone the vet but she was acting like she was back to normal eating and peeing so vet said to leave it till the next day ( saved me £90 call out charge ) later on that day i found the stone she had passed . There could be something going on if you said she was bloocked up both ends , i have never ever heard a sow getting impacted ! but while Ruby had that stone coming down from the bladder she was only passing tiny poo and had pain when she did . I dont mind poo talk it can tell us a lot about our pets health , mucus in poo can mean they are not eating enough and it leaves gaps in the bowel , teeth grinding could be teeth problems that in turn leads to them eating less so leaving gaps in the bowel and colic pains . I would keep an eye on her temp she could well have an infection when the bowel is impacted the toxins are not getting out her body but the antibiotics should help there . Did the vet give a probiotic ? if it was me i would give her some myself because she has been impacted you wouldn't want an upset tummy again it could start it all off again . I hope she get well soon x

[cavymaniac]

I've got everything crossed for her Luna (((((hugs))))) I want her to get better so much!

[xxlunaxx]

Thanks Celia for the info. The vet did not give her a probiotic. Is there anything i could get in the chemist for her myself? I will take her out this afternoon for an hour when giving meds and see if she does any poops or wants to pee and if not will consider other ways of checking her . i can always close off a section of the cage especially for her in the evening. I have reservations about separating Annabelle from the herd as she is already bottom piggy and they can be bossy with her at the best of times.

Thanks Amy for the good wishes... Annie does seem in good form this morning and is chomping away at hay so fingers crossed!xx

[xxlunaxx]

Just when i thought Annie was getting better she seems to have gone downhill again. She is eating a bit of food but not a whole lot. she only ate quarter of a celery stick and half a cherry tomato for her dinner and went off and sat on her own

Iv rang the vet and i am waiting for him to get back to me. Im so afraid at this point that im going to lose my precious girl! The vet is on the other side of Dublin and my boyfriend is working today so impossible to get over there

She is still chewing constantly and im wondering is there something wrong with her mouth that the vet could have missed. he did check her teeth and said everything was okay... i just dont know what to do at this point. i feel so helpless!!!

[celia]

I am sure some people have given yakult so maybe someone will confirm this and how much to give . I realy hope she is ok x If she is eating then its a good sign

[cavymaniac]

I know how worried you must be Luna (((((hugs))))). Poor Annie, how is she doing now?

[xxlunaxx]

Thanks Amy for keeping us in your thoughts...its not good this morning. She just doesnt seem to be responding to her meds and is gone off her food again today and is very lethargic and sad looking. I dont drive so am waiting for my partner to get back to me and see if he can get off work early. i am really upset I was holding her this morning and couldnt stop crying. I dont know what i will do if the vet says she needs to be put to sleep. I havent even had her a year yet....i just wish i could help her xx

[Dawn - Admin]

Oh I am so sorry to hear this let us know how you get on at the vets wont you?

[Orlaith]

Fingers crossed for her. Come on Annie, you can do it!

[cavymaniac]

Oh Luna (((((hugs))))) I'm so sorry.....I really have everything crossed for Annie. I wish I could wave a magic wand for you!

Purdy and I send loads of big kisses to her. Thinking of you both xxx

[celia]

any news yet ? i hope all is well x I feel cr@p tonight because i had to have Suzie my abby PTS she had a tumour on her face and she couldn't breath properly

[cavymaniac]

Oh, I'm so sorry celia (((((hugs))))). Poor girl. RIP little one xxx

I must admit I am worried about Luna and Annie.....I prayed for Annie last night. I really hope she's ok.

[xxlunaxx]

Hi girls,

Im so sorry for the delay. We didnt get back until near 8 last night we were busy looking after Annie so i didnt get an opportunity to come on the forum.

I noticed on Tuesday when Annie was chewing on my hair that she left behind a green residue like pond algae so i thought of what Celia said about dental problems and got Eamonn to re-check her teeth. So poor little Annie had to go under general anaesthetic to get an xray and have her teeth checked. It turns out there was stuff going on with her mouth and she had spurs growing which the vet said is like having a nail in your mouth. Ouch! My poor little baby, no wonder she was not wanting to eat.

Unfortunately Eamonn said that this problem can be recurring and prove to be very costly, painful for her and also unfair to put her through anaesthesia every time it happens so we may need to discuss euthanasia if it happens again

I feel quite sad now as i will be constantly keeping an eye out to see if it is going to happen again. She was very groggy lastnight and myself and Danny were taking it in turns til about midnight holding her in a towel. I already had a close bond with this little miss but now in the last week we have an extra close bond and i cant face losing her at this point.

I know a few people have piggies with dental problems and have good rodentologists who will look after their care without the use of anaesthesia but unfortunately i dont seem to have that option over here. Could Annies prognosis be better than i think and is there any possibility this may not return?

This morning Annie was in great form but she is all puffed up at the mo and grinding her teeth. Eamonn gave metacam and baytril to take for 5 days and she is not due either until this evening. i hate seeing her in such pain. would it do any harm to give her the metacam now?

It would be lovely to hear other peoples stories of piggies with problems similar to Annies and how ye have dealt with it ... if possibe

Celia i am so sorry to hear about Suzie (RIP) and ((((hugs)))) to you xx

Amy i really appreciate your prayers and thoughts too. That means a lot to myself and Annie and she says hi to her grand aunt Purdy ;D xx

And thanks Orlaith and Dawn for thinking of us too... i really hope she will be okay now and can lead a normal piggy life xx

[cavymaniac]

I'm so relieved she's still with us Luna, I was fearing the worst! Poor girl, she's having a rough time isn't she? (((((hugs)))))

I have to take Ruby to the rodentologist every fortnight to have her teeth trimmed as she's missing two, an incisor and a molar. The incisor isn't too much of a problem but the molar opposite to the one that's missing keeps overgrowing as it has nothing to grind against....I don't know if you could contact Vedra at the CCT to see if she knows of anyone in the Dublin area who could help you? Or is there any possibility that your vet would be willing to try dental work without anaesthetic?

It is possible that she'll be ok....my Harvey had a general anaesthetic when he had overgrown molars (before we found our rodentologist) and he was alright afterwards.

Anyway, I have everything crossed that she'll be ok and won't have to go through this again. xxx

[xxlunaxx]

Thanks Amy, gosh you are very lucky to have a rodentologist you can take Ruby to. Does Jack still get problems with his teeth or is he okay now? We just gave Annie her meds and the rest of the girls were coming up to her trying to lick her chin as they love the metacam!!! I gave it to Lola and Lucy last year and they used to grab the syringe out of my hand and run off with it I have my fingers crossed for Annie now. I hope she knows that we are trying to help her deep down as she is not liking all the man handling at medicine time and probably thinks im the meanest mommy around! xx

[cavymaniac]

I know, our rodentologist is a godsend, without her I don't know what would happen to Ruby. Harvey passed away in 2005 from a tumour at the age of 6 and a half but he didn't have any more major problems with his teeth. I almost lost him after the anaesthetic as apparently (I later found out) the one he was given was very bad for piggies and he was lucky to survive....but he was poorly for 6 months!

Anyway, here's hoping that Annie will be ok now. She's such a gorgeous girl!

[xxlunaxx]

Sorry Amy,

I dont know why i thought you said Jack. I remember hearing about your lovely Harvey..you must have been so sad to lose him He lived a good life though thanks to you and I would be the happiest person in the world if Annie lived that long! She is still not touching her veg but she is nibbling away on her hay so im happy about that and have my fingers crossed she will make a full recovery . Im going to try and remain positive for her xx

[cavymaniac]

It's ok Luna (((((hugs))))) I knew you meant Harvey and it's easy to makes mistakes when you're worried.

I was utterly distraught when I lost Harvey.....he was such a beautiful little guy and I adored him. But 6 and a half was a good age, I certainly do hope Annie and indeed all our piggies live that long!

I hope Annie starts eating properly again soon. I think it's normal for them to go off food a bit when they have sore mouths....Purdy didn't eat much after she had her molar trimmed back in January...she was ok after a few days though. I was advised to give her Daktarin Oral Gel and it definitely helped her.

I've still got everything crossed for Annie and hopefully she'll be back to normal soon. Thinking of you both xxx