Conditions I have adopted two piggies with head tilt - one more severe than the other. Care?

*UPDATE*

I called the vet and it's going to be $73 each. (ouch). They can't get them in until Monday but I'll keep careful watch on them. The vet has lots of experience with piggies so it's looking good so far.

@VictoriaG they usually pee in the corner of the fleece and sleep on top of their cuddle cup, but I'll keep an eye out for that as well.

massive *ouch*!! Do you have any backup from the pet store you bought them from? If they have come to you in this state they should be responsible for their treatment!!

oh that's abit expensive, but it has to be done. my wallet cries on your behalf!

hope the vet will be able to do an accurate diagonosis and hopefully it won't be too serious! good luck

My girls are a $90.00 fee just to be generally checked out - per pig! I'm sure my wallet would throw itself out the apartment window with my bank account if it could haha.

Honestly though, it's worth the money for a great vet who knows their stuff. Vet care is bloody expensive but preventative (which doesn't help you in this case) care is your best friend! I highly suggest yearly checkups to make sure everything's all good after this

I'm glad they have a great and responsible new owner like you!

Head tilt is a condition usually caused by an inner ear infection. If left untreated, if can become permanant.

They are two beautiful girls I hope the vet can help them xx please keep us updated xx

They gave me a "14-day" thing, but I think that's more for if you actually buy a pig and don't want it anymore you can "return" it and get your money back on it, but since I didn't have an adoption fee, I see no sense in taking them back since they're just going to be put back in the same conditions and maybe given to someone who doesn't care as much. I'm not going to take them back to be treated by someone who obviously didn't completely treat them in the first place, you know? The PetSmart staff that I talked to really cared for the piggies and knew how to handle them and knew what they were talking about.

On a side note, I gave them a piece of cucumber and they devoured it in no time! My other pig from petsmart had to be trained to eat any kind of veggies!

They are very sweet looking. I'm glad you are taking them to the vet! I hope they improve if at all possible.

Wow, @VictoriaG - that is so sad. Thank you for sharing that, it has to be hard to talk about still. *hug*

I will be interested in what the vet says, so I will be keeping an eye on the thread... GOOD LUCK!

@Tribble79 I'll post an update as soon as I can after the visit sometime Monday afternoon/evening (I'm in the Eastern US).

I wanted to take my older pig too but $73 is a lot for a seemingly healthy (although quite chubby) piggy. And I don't want them to have any contact until I can make sure that the duo are not contagious or anything.

Head tilt is a result of an inner ear infection (which is usually caused by other issues, ie a respiratory infection, a bacterial infection, etc). If you catch things soon enough, there's a chance the pig will make a full recovery. Sometimes, though, no matter how quickly you address the issue, there's still a chance the damage will still remain even after the infection itself is gone. My head tilt piggy was also an adoption. He had an upper respiratory infection when he was a young piglet (probably due to being stressed out and stuck on a cold truck in a tight space for too long -_-) which quickly spread to his inner ear. While we caught his infection early and treated him properly twice a day, his head tilt remained. If the pigs you got were ready to be adopted out, chances are the damage is already permanent; that's not to say you shouldn't get them checked out for other potential medical problems.

All that being said.. I'm not sure my pigs' case is as severe as your two, but.. mine still manages to have a happy, healthy life. He still has popcorn fits and he still parties hard (doing zoomies - even though occasionally he'll misjudge space and clip the coroplast wall with his shoulder ). It's awkward picking him up because he'll sort of go into an alligator death roll trying to find the right position to find his balance (which usually ends up being on his side). I find picking up my pig is made easier if I do it with a cuddle cup (piggy bed). Best of luck with your new girls! Sending piggy kisses from my head tilt pig your way.

azkaland said:

@Tribble79 I'll post an update as soon as I can after the visit sometime Monday afternoon/evening (I'm in the Eastern US).

I wanted to take my older pig too but $73 is a lot for a seemingly healthy (although quite chubby) piggy. And I don't want them to have any contact until I can make sure that the duo are not contagious or anything.

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$73 each, that's crazy. That's why animals get sick and don't get better cuz the owners can't afford vet bills. I brought my 2 boys yesterday to check them out and they charged me $53 for both. I really wish u luck, ur piggies are adorable.

aurikan said:

All that being said.. I'm not sure my pigs' case is as severe as your two, but.. mine still manages to have a happy, healthy life. He still has popcorn fits and he still parties hard (doing zoomies - even though occasionally he'll misjudge space and clip the coroplast wall with his shoulder ). It's awkward picking him up because he'll sort of go into an alligator death roll trying to find the right position to find his balance (which usually ends up being on his side). I find picking up my pig is made easier if I do it with a cuddle cup (piggy bed).

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When I pick the brown one up, she can't be held upright like a baby or she will roll around and end up flat on her back like a turtle lol. She loves her cuddle sack, and it's quite funny seeing her trying to get situated in it. Usually she gives up and plops right on top of it.

azkaland said:

*UPDATE*

I called the vet and it's going to be $73 each. (ouch).

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$73 really isn't that much. Around here it's $50 just for the office visit BEFORE charging for any kind of treatment. If surgery is ever needed, that's a couple hundred bucks at least.

CavyMama said:

$73 really isn't that much. Around here it's $50 just for the office visit BEFORE charging for any kind of treatment. If surgery is ever needed, that's a couple hundred bucks at least.

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We recently had to take our cat to the vet (sister clinic, not same doctor but same parent company, not sure if that's the right word for it) because he had severe bladder and kidney stones. After 3 nights in the hospital and surgery, it was nearly $3,000. The doctor was very helpful and even called the staff on her day off to relay info to us herself, and the kitty seems to be all better. I'm hoping that all is well with the pigs, because my parents offered to pay me back for the visit when they had just paid that much for the cat.

Just a quick update, the duo is going to the vet in a few hours! Yesterday I tried giving them lettuce and they loved it! I don't think they would have ever had any before if they were raised in the PetSmart. I know my other piggy doesn't like lettuce (or at least hasn't warmed up to it), she only eats carrots and a little bit of cucumber every now and then. (and she will only eat the skin off the cucumber!)

azkaland said:

Just a quick update, the duo is going to the vet in a few hours! Yesterday I tried giving them lettuce and they loved it! I don't think they would have ever had any before if they were raised in the PetSmart. I know my other piggy doesn't like lettuce (or at least hasn't warmed up to it), she only eats carrots and a little bit of cucumber every now and then. (and she will only eat the skin off the cucumber!)

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Keep us updated! I believe that my Callie was most likely bought from a store a couple of weeks prior to my adopting her from the owner. She HATED veggies and fruit - it's been 6 months and we've just warmed up (mostly through my other two adoring fruit and veg and leading by example!)

Let us know how it goes Kudos for keeping them through this medical expense and not just bringing them back!