Sick Crumbs' medical thread

Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

wigglemish said:

pigmommy89 said:

wigglemish said:

Thank you, PigMommy. Did he just lay there, all sort of splooged? That's what she is doing. Very occasionally lifting her head just a fraction, but really just laying there flat to the ground, with a million mile stare.

Yes, this, this is what she is like exactly. She's tried to run a couple of times when I have placed her back in the cage. When did he start to rouse at it were? I know you said two days but what was the tipping point where you felt him coming back to you?

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I'd say 48 hours. I picked him up on a Wednesday afternoon and when I got home Friday he was looking good.

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Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

pigmommy89 said:

wigglemish said:

pigmommy89 said:

I'd say 48 hours. I picked him up on a Wednesday afternoon and when I got home Friday he was looking good.

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Okay, maybe tomorrow then she will be doing better.

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Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

Are you breathing a little easier? Are you seeing progress from 24 hours ago until now, @wigglemish?

Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

Ladies and gentleman, Crumbs just ate her first solid food by herself:



She wanted to eat grass but couldn't chew it. So out of desperation I gave her a cube of watermelon from a fruit tub in my fridge, I know it's not good for them in normal circumstances, but I thought it'd be soft for her and she might benefit from the hydration. She -demolished- it. Not just a little nibble, she devoured it like a thing possessed, to the point she was biting my fingers once it was gone. I sobbed and sobbed.

Its a shame I cannot give her any more, but I daren't offer a second cube. Last thing we need is diarrhoea. But she ate something on her own. Then promptly turned back into a floppy pig.

Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

She's trying. Damn if she's not trying. She has the will and she's going to be fine.

Way to go Crumbs! Baby steps, little girl. Baby steps.

Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

Bearing in mind the poor girl is probably in her late 60s in human terms no wonder she needs more time to bounce back...

Re: Piggy on way out, advice needed please

Her age, coupled with being such a tiny girl, and on top of that how she was treated before you got her. In my opinion she's doing at the very least as well as can be expected.

She's now showing some desire to eat. She cannot co-ordinate enough to bite/chew yet. I tried inserting lettuce down the side of her mouth and she can't actually break it down. But when I hold it up to her she closes he mouth on it, and when I hold grass near her mouth she is making the chewing motion. We're so close.

She's drunk on her own too, I have lifted the bottle to her mouth and she has co-ordinated herself enough to lift her head and drink a lot. She bit down on the bottle quite hard. And she is lunging onto syringes. Forcing them into her own mouth a couple of times, I had to be careful not to let her jam herself in the throat. Back in the cage she is just laying there, but when I got her out to feed her I saw some fight. I even felt confident enough to push her to 20ml of CC this sitting. I might even feel brave enough to leave the room for ten minutes to sit in front of the fan. It's so hot in my house.

How hot IS your house, @wigglemish? If you're roasting, poor Crumbs may be worse off because she has fur.

I know in my house if I'M too hot, it's too hot for my pigs.

I'm so happy to hear every time you make a little progress. Every time my phone beeps I'm whipping it up to my face to see what Crumbs is doing next. Call me crazy if you want. I'm concerned.

It's about 25c, any lower than that and she starts shivering, I have tried a few times. I could try turning down the heat again. We stopped the heat pack last night, haven't used it since 1.am yesterday. I keep thinking that too, maybe now it's been over 24 hours since she had the anasthesia she might regulate better...

25C is too hot for my pigs. I keep my A/C set to keep it around 21-22C. I live in a hotter climate than you do, I believe. It regularly climbs over 30C here in the summer, and it feels even warmer with the humidity. But I notice if it get over 24C, then my pigs start lying out in the open, trying to catch any breeze they can. These are special circumstances though. I have no experience on your side of the pond and you and your pigs are acclimated to being over there.

We have a lot of farms where I live, and this time of year we see a lot of Jamaicans around that have been hired as temporary seasonal workers to help harvest the fruit. It can be 30C here and they're wearing jackets and wool hats, so I guess it's all relative to your home climate.

it's cold and miserable here almost all the time, I'm in England XD

I have switched the heat off and brought a fan in the room, set away from the cage, on the lowest setting to gently circulate the air. When I got her out to feed her she felt warm, so hopefully we are past the risk of hypothermia.

We can't open the windows at the moment, apparently there is some sort of chlorine gas cloud dissipating over my area It's all over the news

Oh jesus no, that's the last thing you want. Leave the windows closed.

Yeah, my house is in lock down. Now means I can't risk offering her grass from the garden either. I don't think the cloud has reached us but I am not willing to risk it

I just looked online, you are VERY close to where that mess is going on. Better safe than sorry, I wouldn't be offering anything from outdoors now for awhile. Damnit, it could have really benefitted her in the coming few days too.

Yeah, the local hospital is only down the road from me and apparently it's reached there. So so frustrating, it would have been the best thing for her.

I agree. Well, nothing to be done about it now, only plan a contingency accordingly. And look after yourselves. Chlorine gas is not to be messed with. Crumbs is in a delicate enough state now as it is.

On another note, it's absolutely wonderful to hear that she's showing a growing interest in food.

You don't have to work again soon, do you?

We have a fridge full of veg and our windows are taped, I'm sure we will be fine fingers crossed in another 4 5 minutes she will try some lettuce again

Crumbs has had a good night. She's had lots of cc, about 70ml over three feeds, and has really taken to drinking while I hold the bottle for her. She's also back to loving the bio lapis probiotic solution, she won't give back the syringe!

We're starting to see some positive movement too. She's responding to the sound of my voice when I chat to them, and the Veggies Warcry (saying Piggies in a very high pitched voice before feeding them. They wheek like crazy!)

But best of all when I have put their breakfast vegetables into the cage this morning she has shown some interest. She shuffled forwards in her pigloo and gave it a good sniff, then picked a piece of lettuce up. She chewed for maybe two seconds, then dropped it and went back to bed, but IMHO that is a really positive sign.

Sounds to me like the little lady is coming out of it, finally. It all sounds like she just keeps moving forward. I'm very, very happy for her, and for you.

Way to go Crumbs! You can do it, little girl!