So Upset, End of the Road for Borat

[mufasa]

Mr. Bo is almost eating normally now. Not quite 100 percent, but close. The poor little guy feels so bony. I can't wait to get him back to a proper weight. I wish I could take some of Amy's chunkiness and give it to him. I've been bringing him veggies frequently throughout this ordeal to try to temp him to eat, and of course I have to give her some because she puts on the sad, starving piggy face and pathetic wheek, so she's been making out like a bandit.

[mufasa]

I'm back from my trip, and Borat stopped eating again while I was gone, so hubby force fed him Critical Care. Some days he actually wanted it, and others it was a definite forcing. He eats a little but not enough to sustain himself, although oddly enough the color of his urine is more normal now. But it's back to being stinky, which it was when this whole adventure started. We're going to take him in this week for an X-ray, which the vet had said was the next step if he didn't improve. I sure wish the little guy could talk. He's getting poopies stuck in his butt, too, and is not thrilled when I take care of that. At this point he must definitely think both hubby and I are sadists.

[schavarry]

Poor little guy!! I hope the vet can give you some answers!!!

[foggycreekcavy]

Yes, let us know what the vet finds out.

[mufasa]

The vet visit is this afternoon, so I'll be sure to post the results. Poor little Bo looks so miserable today. He's back to not eating at all, so we had to force feed him yesterday and will probably have to do it again today. I hate combining the stress of a vet visit with the feeding, but I have no choice.

His urine is a normal color again, and he was showing lots of interest in food earlier this week, but now he's back to no interest. Between his earlier mis-sexing/ambiguous genitals and now this, he truly is a mystery pig. I just want to know what's wrong so we can help him with something effective.

At the shelter, his give-up reason was "too much responsibility." Ha! I can just imagine what would have happened if he got sick with his previous owner. I'm glad he's with us, even though it breaks my heart to see him so sick.

[schavarry]

I'm glad Borat has you taking care of him! I'm not sure he'd be alive if he was still with his previous owner! Let us know what the vet says!! Good luck!

[mufasa]

We're at the vet right now and Bo is getting his molars trimmed, which they have to knock him out for. It's a different vet, and she said she doesn't know why the other doc didn't see it, but the molars are curved and nearly touching each other. She actually put the visual on a screen as she used the device, and you could see it plainly.

She said a trim is a band aid solution since there could be deeper problems, but it should at least get him eating for now. If it turns out to be more complicated, she recommended the clinic I was looking at in Tampa or the university.

Fingers crossed he makes it thru the anesthesia okay.

[madelineelaine]

oh my, poor bo ! I hope he can start eating again soon. Poor little man.

[mufasa]

He's home now and quite disgruntled at us, but with any luck he'll be eating in a day or two, when his mouth soreness goes away. He'll have to endure more force feedings in the meantime, but at least the underlying problem is gone.

I feel awful that he had to go through this for so long because the other vet didn't pick up on the problem. We were so lucky that we got someone different today who really seemed to know her stuff, as well as her limitations, recommending the college or Tampa if the teeth continue to be a problem. She'll be the one we'll be sure to ask for in the future.

I wish I would have taken a camera phone picture of the screen and examination device. It was fascinating to see Bo's mouth interior like that. Poor little guy had some carrot and hay stuck there because he couldn't get it past those teeth. No wonder he quit trying to eat today. They were literally so curved and long that they were almost touching. I could see it even with zero experience,

I'm hoping the problem was because he wasn't fed properly before we got him and therefore wasn't wearing his teeth down, but I know this might be an ongoing issue. The vet said that if we don't want to do anything drastic, it can often be controlled with trimmings when they start to be a problem again.

With any luck, it will all be improvements from here and he'll be eating on his own by the weekend.

[mufasa]

It's been a full day since the dental work, and we had to force feed Mufasa last night. He refused lettuce this morning but did seem to be eating some hay. He doesn't even come up on his kitchen shelf for morning salad like he used to because he's scared of both hubby and I now (not that I blame him).

I bought some watermelon chunks at the store today because I thought they have water (not sure how much he's drinking) and taste good, even if they're not all that nutritional. I just want him to try eating so he can see that he can do it now without pain or getting food stuck in his mouth. He LOVES the watermelon, so I hope he'll try lettuce later so we don't have to force feed hm again. Poor little boy, who's usually chunky, looks downright emaciated.

[Wildcavy]

@mufasa I am so sorry Bo and you are going through this! For what it's worth, Picckalo went through treatment for a UTI and dental work at the same time. It took him 3 days to get back to eating somewhat normally -- munching hay and having a few non-challenging vegs (i.e., no carrot). He didn't forgive me for about 2-3 weeks. He lost quite a bit of weight. But the good news is that he got through it, and while he has to get his teeth planed periodically, he is so much better than he was before. A lot more energy!

He likes his watermelon, too. Though I swear to you he and a couple of the other pigs look kind of stoned afterward, like they've eaten the best food ever and don't know what to do with themselves.

Sending you and Bo wheeks and hugs!!

[mufasa]

@Wildcavy Thanks so much for the kind words. I don't think Bo actually had a UTI, and the dark color was just dehydration; it's probably just been his teeth all this time, and the first vet was apparently a ditz.

How often do you get Picckalo's teeth done? That may end up being necessary for Bo if this turns out to be congenital. The vet likened it to floating a horse's teeth, which I'm very familiar with.

[Wildcavy]

Picckalo only has to get his done every couple of months or so. His issues aren't nearly as serious as some. He tends to get hooks / protrusions that are sharp on his lower molars and basically trap his tongue. He needs some sedation -- nothing like what you need for surgery -- and he comes out of that quickly.

The funny thing is that he did really well on the metacam because he has very arthritic stifles, and so he was pain-free while recovering because of the teeth. He actually trotted a little bit like a regular pig instead of doing his bunny lop. We've thought about asking about doing it for longer-term pain management, but I've heard lately that there may be issues with metacam and intestinal health in the long term. But he has problems raising his bum sometimes because of the arthritis, which may increase the chance of him getting a UTI because he sits in the pee. He also tends to drag a little more and get himself stuffed up with hay and so forth. He had no discoloration from the UTI. The vet diagnosed it on weight loss and him crying when he peed, and when he was under for the teeth planing, he took a urine sample and bingo, UTI.

Sorry -- I'm starting to hijack the thread -- but we've had good luck with his teeth and it's really made a difference. And I agree -- it was cool to see the inside of his mouth!

[mufasa]

Poor little guy! It can be such a challenge to weigh the right thing to do for the short term as well as the long term. I'm guessing for the teeth they give him the same kind of anesthesia they gave Bo (gas). He seemed to get alert again pretty quickly.

[ellisa]

@Wildcavy , have you seen the thread on GL about arthritis pigs? It may be of some use to you and Picckalo. Some people use Rimadyl instead of Metacam.
http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34228

Poor Borat. I hope things start to cheer up for him soon! Give him a piggy kiss from me!

[mufasa]

Sigh. Bo is STILL not eating. Initially I was heartened by his interest in food, but now he has no interest so all he's getting is the Critical Care, and he looks like he's wasting away. Poor little guy smells like pee again because he's lying in a soiled spot, even though I clean it daily. I wonder if something else is going on, although the teeth were so obviously long and curved that I really thought we'd gotten to the bottom of his problem. He HATE the force feeding, so it's like his life as become a circle of stress and starvation.

[Wildcavy]

I am so sorry Bo isn't eating on his own yet.

I don't really have a lot of ideas. Does he see another pig eat? It sounds odd, but my vet has a therapy pig who comes around and sits with some of the pigs recovering from surgery (under supervision, not right with them). Some of the pigs who don't like to eat will actually start eating when she is around. She eats, they eat. Sort of like grazing close to each other but in a separate pen.

[schavarry]

Poor Borat! I hope he's doing better by the time you read this post!!

[foggycreekcavy]

A lot of times dental problems aren't the original problem. They are a symptom of something else happening that makes the pig not want to eat, hence the overgrown teeth.

[mufasa]

@Wildcavy he's next door to Amy so he sees her eat and does still (usually) try to eat when she does. He lipped his lettuce this morning but no actual eating.

@foggycreekcavy It does seem like there had to be an underlying problem, although the onset was very sudden. I'm debating whether to try the same vet one more time or go to the university. The poor little guy seems so miserable, and he's learned to hate the force feeding so it's hard to get enough in.