Deafness and Constipation

[dextersmycutegp]

Okay, I'm flipping out on Smores again since she is my baby and I love her to death, so bear with me.
How do I know if she's deaf? I did the *clap test* when she was having floortime. She was running around, and I clapped really loudly. Holly and midnight stopped and listened, but Smores kept running around happily. She's also been not noticing the veggies at veggie time until I stick one in front of her nose and she smells it....

Also, every once in a while, she'll be pooping and making little squeaks. Only when she's pooping, never when she's peeing. This used to happen when she was eating alfalfa pellets but then I switched to timothy pellets and it stopped, until now. I'll tell you what I'm feeding her:
2/3s of a cup of green lettuce
1/4 cup red pepper
one baby carrot or less (every other day)
1 tomato slice (every couple of days)
1 small cantalope, watermelon, or orange piece (once or twice a week)
and umlimited 2nd cut timothy hay and Kaytee Timothy complete pellets (I know these are bad, I'm going to order Kleenmama's when she gets them in)

I would appriciate any ideas anyone has.
Thanks!

 

[Percy's Mom]

How old is Smores again? You said she is switched over to timothy pellets, so I'm assuming over 6 months. If so, she really should only have about 1/8-1/4 cup of pellets a day. The rest of the diet isn't bad, although you might want to add some cilantro and other varieties of veggies to make things interesting for her.

 

[dextersmycutegp]

she only gets about 1/8 cup pellets a day, sorry I didn't make that clear...
She just turned 4 years old. I'll try that, maybe I can finally convince her that she won't die if he eats cilantro. How much should I give her?

 

[Percy's Mom]

If she's getting a small amount of pellets, a decent amount of wet veggies, and she still appears to be constipated and squeaking when she poops, you might want to get her checked out. I don't want to be an alarmist, but it could be something other than diet.

As far as the cilantro goes, I never really measure it. I give the girls a decent size handful, and Percy about half of that. It takes me about 3 or 4 days to go through a bunch depending on the size.

 

[dextersmycutegp]

I can take her to the vet when I take Dexter to be neutered (in a week)....what do you think the problem could be?

 

[Coopdog]

The best way to check for deafness is to rattle something she really likes, like a treat box or lettuce bag. If there's no reaction, then you know she can't hear it. But you have to make sure she's not picking up clues from the other pigs.

I had no idea Louise was deaf until her roomy, Sadie, died. Up until then, Louise would run to the side of the cage at all the appropriate times to beg for goodies. After Sadie passed on, I would go to give her treats and veggies, and she had no idea until I put it right in front of her or until she could smell it. I also discovered that she had become blind as well, since I could hold the treat container right in front of her face and even shake it or wave it around, and she was clueless.

It hasn't affected her quality of life at all though. She gets around just fine. The only thing is, I'm more careful not to startle her. I always try to let her know it's me before I touch her by letting her sniff my hand or tapping on her hidey house. But she's so docile, even when I do startle her, she just goes "Huh? Oh, it's you. OK". She's such a sweet, trusting old gal.

 

[fourbwabbys]

This is how I found out Eddie was deaf. He always sleeps very curled up, sneak up VERY slowly behind him and yell. Eddie never budges while everyone freezes. Also, make her face away from you, give her a veggie to keep her that way (It took me a while to get Eddie not to turn around to see what I was doing before I was ready) and make your cell phone ring behind her. If she doesn't budge, she's deaf. About the squeaking while pooping thing, Eddie does that sometimes, too. He did it when we first got him and just did it once the other day. He doesn't do it constantly, I'm guessing it's from offereing new veggies, that's the only time I notice it happening.

 

[kavykrazy]

My daughter's friend has a pig we believe may be deaf. When we hold him up, look at him and say "pig", he has no reaction. All the other pigs (mine and my daughter's friends), wiggle or move their ears.

 

[dextersmycutegp]

Okay, more freaking out:
Smores's hair has been looking kinda ruffled, like she hasn't been cleaning it as well or has been sleeping on it funny. Should I be worried about this? She's been eating fine, and sleeping as much as usual, but she is 4 years old...lol