Post by Orlaith on Nov 23, 2011 16:09:27 GMT
As you may know, one of my piggies had been diagnosed with ovarian cysts (you can see the thread here), so I thought I'd make a thread with pictures to help other people recognise the symptoms. I'm hoping as we come up with a treatment option that works for Kima that I can update the thread so that if you find yourself in the same situation you can inform yourself and discuss your options with your vet.
Also, I know that ovarian cysts are not a skin and coat problem, but that is where the most obvious symptoms show up so this is where people are most likely to come looking for information.
Some of the pics aren't great quality, but Kima did not want to be photographed on Sunday when we took them.
The first thing we noticed was that Kima had crusty nipples. At that stage she had no other symptoms so us and our vet put it down to being a very slowly-growing fungal infection. Of course, now we know better!
Currently all we're doing about this is putting on a good layer of vaseline once a week. This is to help loosen up the skin so that it doesn't hurt Kima or pull at her when she moves.
The second thing we noticed is that Kima got matching bald patches on either side of her body. Apparently in most mammals, symettrical bald patches are a sign of hormone imbalance so this is an important one to look out for. The pics here are from Kimas hips (left and right) but she also had matching bald patches on both shoulders.
You can see that her skin is really smooth and clear. There is no redness or irritation or flakiness at all. If it looks like your pig is scratching or the area looks sore then it's probably a parasitic or fungal infection. (The little black lines on her skin are due to her pigmentation as she has some brindley patches).
The third thing we noticed is that Kima rumbles all the time, and I mean ALL the time. It's normal that in pairs or groups there'll be a bit of rumbling as the boss pig reminds the others to keep their place in the group, or as girls come into heat, but Kima takes the cake on this one. She rumbles more than Xander did when he first got to live with his girlfriend and that was a lot! She can't help it though, it's caused by her hormones being all out of whack from the cysts.
The fourth thing we noticed is that Kima has gone a bit pear-shaped. It's not too pronounced and she didn't want to pose for a photo, but she's a bit narrower around the middle and gotten plumper around her haunches, the same way a piggy does in early pregnancy. Hopefully she'll let me take a pic to show you at some point.
So, that's it for now. We're still waiting on our vet to settle on a treatment for Kima but she's still in really good form and not in any pain so things are good for now.
Also, I know that ovarian cysts are not a skin and coat problem, but that is where the most obvious symptoms show up so this is where people are most likely to come looking for information.
Some of the pics aren't great quality, but Kima did not want to be photographed on Sunday when we took them.
The first thing we noticed was that Kima had crusty nipples. At that stage she had no other symptoms so us and our vet put it down to being a very slowly-growing fungal infection. Of course, now we know better!
Currently all we're doing about this is putting on a good layer of vaseline once a week. This is to help loosen up the skin so that it doesn't hurt Kima or pull at her when she moves.
The second thing we noticed is that Kima got matching bald patches on either side of her body. Apparently in most mammals, symettrical bald patches are a sign of hormone imbalance so this is an important one to look out for. The pics here are from Kimas hips (left and right) but she also had matching bald patches on both shoulders.
You can see that her skin is really smooth and clear. There is no redness or irritation or flakiness at all. If it looks like your pig is scratching or the area looks sore then it's probably a parasitic or fungal infection. (The little black lines on her skin are due to her pigmentation as she has some brindley patches).
The third thing we noticed is that Kima rumbles all the time, and I mean ALL the time. It's normal that in pairs or groups there'll be a bit of rumbling as the boss pig reminds the others to keep their place in the group, or as girls come into heat, but Kima takes the cake on this one. She rumbles more than Xander did when he first got to live with his girlfriend and that was a lot! She can't help it though, it's caused by her hormones being all out of whack from the cysts.
The fourth thing we noticed is that Kima has gone a bit pear-shaped. It's not too pronounced and she didn't want to pose for a photo, but she's a bit narrower around the middle and gotten plumper around her haunches, the same way a piggy does in early pregnancy. Hopefully she'll let me take a pic to show you at some point.
So, that's it for now. We're still waiting on our vet to settle on a treatment for Kima but she's still in really good form and not in any pain so things are good for now.
