Impacted Piggie

[CathiiPiggie]

I think Broccoli is impacted as he has a clean fleece in half a day and several stools i can see stuck :(
He is a 4 year old boar.
So i have a few questions...
Should I see a vet?
How often will I have to clean him?
What will happen if he is not cleaned often enough?
Will he smell?
Is there treatment available?
Will he ever get better?
Will he need more regular baths?
Why did it happen?

Thanks in advance.

[lissie]

http://www.guinealynx.info/impaction.html

[jacqueline]

i adopted a 5 plus year old boar who i was told had "chronic" impaction. as boars age, the muscles in their anal sacs can get weak, and it makes it harder for them to push their poo out. the routine with my boy was twice a day (usually an hour or so after his meal) i would pick him up, sit him in my lap with his back towards me, and slowly squeeze just around his anus. i could feel the hard lump of poo (sorry of this is graphic) and simple gently eased it out - kind of like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube (ok - now i even grossed myself out!) it didn't smell too bad, and he didn't mind at all, since i'm sure he felt so much better after.

every week, and in the beginning the rescue did it several times a week, i would take a q-tip and some mineral oil and clean out his anal sac (there are videos of this on-line). that did smell a little!

i did find over time that with more exercise and a really good diet of hay and veggies, i haven't had to dis-impact him for weeks now. i do check him often, and still clean out his sac weekly.


of all the things that can wrong with a pig, this one isn't so bad to live with. the poor old guys just need a little help in their golden years!

[CathiiPiggie]

Thanks for the useful replies :)

He seems to be less blocked than yesterday, but still having a bit of difficulty. He loved running around today, and I will get him out later too.
He doesn't need cleaning yet, and I really hope he won't for some time, poor guy.