I'm going to have to take Ginger Pig back to the vets

[dietcokeandwine]

Hoping my suspicions are correct and it's just a tooth problem...

Ginger pig is 3.5 and has always been the biggest of our little herd (weight generally steady at around 1.4kg-our tricolour boar has always been in the region of 1.3kg, the two sows around 1-1.1kg). So ginger has always been the 'big pig'.

Except he is losing weight He can fluctuate a bit but he's been looking steadily thinner over the past few weeks and at tonight's weigh in he's down to 1.2kg. That's a big loss isn't it? He seems quite happy in himself and he's still eating, and his poo output seems normal but there's something not quite right.

Ginger has form for tooth problems (had to have a jagged back tooth burred down under GA two summers ago) so I'm wondering if it could be a similar problem again? His front teeth look fine. But I've noticed that he eats leafy/softer stuff quite happily but is avoiding the 'harder' veg - i.e. I had him out tonight and he ate the leafy bit of a celery stalk but not the stalk itself, same scenario with a broccoli floret.

Will try and get a vet appointment tomorrow and keep fingers crossed. Ginger is DS1's pig and he adores him...I can't bear the thought of telling him there's a problem ...

I think your hunch is right, tooth related. The daft thing is the very food that would help, hard and crunchy to wear his teeth down are the ones his is avoiding.

Good news is, its an easy fix. Old Boy had a GA for tooth filing 2 or 3 times in his old age and came through it fine

Hope he's fine and it's something simple to sort out.

Aww when is GingerPig going to the vets?
Hopefully as you suspect it is teeth and easily sorted.
GA for piggies is kept light , as much as they need to have anything done so the risks are kept minimal, but yes, you can't help but worry.

The weight loss - they do flucuate. Our girls have lost their thick coats and feel sleeker. But when they lose more than 4oz (I'm not metric yet) it does need looked into.

Good Luck Gingerpig.

Thank you ladies I have an appointment for later this week, I'll keep you posted. Vets were very good-they didn't have any appointments free for the next few days but said if he stops eating or deteriorates they will squeeze him in as an emergency.

Thing is he's fine in himself I've been offering him regular snacks today just to make sure I'm actually seeing him eat, and he's wolfed everything down. Pottering round the hutch and chomping on hay during the day. And when his wifey tried to nick a broccoli floret from him he grabbed it back quick as you like

So I'm not going to panic just yet, but keep on with the regular additional snacks and see what the vet says.

Oof, these pigs, they do put us through the mill don't they?!

you could try metacam as well in the meantime. if you can reduce the pain he might be more willing to nibble.
it is also worth looking into the cambridge cavy people if you live near? they do courses on teeth filing without ga or can tell you people who can do it without ga if it is an ongoing problem

Thanks to everyone for their posts...it turns out that Ginger Pig has a UTI, so is on anti bs for the next 10 days. Teeth looked fine as far as vet could tell. So hopefully the anti bs will do the trick and I can start to try and fatten him up again

Aww poor GingerPig

Thanks 70

He's what I would call an occasional drinker by which I mean he has been known to drink from the water bottle maybe once a month or so. (he is at least marginally better than tricolour pig, who has yet to ever be seen doing anything so uncool as drinking from a water bottle in three years of owning him ) Cranberry juice is a good idea though, I could try syringing some in.

I haven't noticed him in any particular discomfort whilst peeing although it was plain at the vets today that he was uncomfortable during the examination. He did manage to produce a nice puddle of pee for the vet to test though ( and then trundled through it leaving damp footprints all over the vets examining table, much to the delight of 2yo DS3)

He is still bright and chirpy enough in himself (positively hurtled towards the hutch bars when i got a salad bag out of the fridge earlier) so I'm hoping that, once the anti bs (and some probiotic obviously) kick in, he'll start feeling better and hopefully the weight will start to creep back on.