Special Needs Post Surgery Piggy needs to gain weight! Help Please.

[Pandora4co]

Hi! My nearly 6yr old boar Piglet just had surgery to remove a tumor on Monday, and he is way underweight. My other 3 boars weigh between 1275-1385 grams, and Piglet today only weighted in at 835 grams! He's always been the smallest but his normal weight is around 1150 grams. He's eating and drinking just fine, so what can I give him to help him put the weight back on? I've started to give him an extra serving of vegies a day.

I also read that canned pumkin was good for a sick pig, so just now I opened a can and put a dollop on a plate and Piglet ate it right up! Is it OK to give him a dollop of canned pumkin a day to help him gain weight back? Any other suggestions as to what to give him to put weight on?

 

[CavyMama]

I'm a little surprised they went ahead with the surgery. Usually if pigs are that much underweight they won't do the surgery because of how they might handle the anesthetic.

 

[Pandora4co]

There wasn't much choice it had to come out. The vet explained the risks going in, but Piglet did great. The tumor was much larger than the vet originally thought. I think a bit of weight was lost during surgery due to the tumor being removed.

 

[CavyMama]

When Shammy had cancer, he lost quite a bit of weight. I mean he was skin and bones practically. Although the tumor needed to be removed, the vet said that Shammy was not a candidate for surgery until he gained x amt of weight. He did end up gaining the weight and had the surgery but two tumors grew back in the place of the one that was removed. He passed a few weeks later, a month short of his 6th birthday.

 

[Pandora4co]

When Shammy had cancer, he lost quite a bit of weight. I mean he was skin and bones practically. Although the tumor needed to be removed, the vet said that Shammy was not a candidate for surgery until he gained x amt of weight. He did end up gaining the weight and had the surgery but two tumors grew back in the place of the one that was removed. He passed a few weeks later, a month short of his 6th birthday.

I'm so sorry :sad:

 

[cavy_jdas]

Yes, canned pumpkin is great. My piggie had low weight after surgery and the canned pumpkin worked wonderfully. If he's eating it readily, let him at it! He can easily have several heaping tablespoons a day. You might also mix up some critical care in a dish to see if he will eat that, too.

Has your vet talked to you about syringe feeding to get more calories into him? His weight is so low, I'd probably want to supplement what he is eating on his own with the pumpkin and critical care.

 

[Pandora4co]

Yes, canned pumpkin is great. My piggie had low weight after surgery and the canned pumpkin worked wonderfully. If he's eating it readily, let him at it! He can easily have several heaping tablespoons a day. You might also mix up some critical care in a dish to see if he will eat that, too.

Has your vet talked to you about syringe feeding to get more calories into him? His weight is so low, I'd probably want to supplement what he is eating on his own with the pumpkin and critical care.

Is this the critical care you are talking about?

Amazon.com: Oxbow Critical Care Pet Supplement, 1-Pound: Pet Supplies

I probably wouldn't get it delivered for a week though. I've never seen it in pet stores.

 

[cavy_jdas]

Yes, that's the Critical Care. You can't get it in pet stores. Exotic vets would have it on hand for purchase. I have also ordered and gotten it quite quickly through country side pet supply in MO. I purchased off eBay, but they also look like one of the Amazon sellers. When I ordered from them, it came faster than they said. I think I had it in two days. Or if you are in the Chicago area and wanting it today or tomorrow, PM me and I can help you locate someplace local to pick some up.

Are you weighing your guy daily? Have you been back to the vet about the weight loss?

 

[MochaAndMoo]

I would definitely start syringe feeding him to a normal weight again, critical care has a lot of calories and good fats in it do that's probably the best thing to feed if you are aiming for a higher weight (You can buy it online if your exotics vet hasn't supplied you with any: Amazon.com: Oxbow Critical Care Apple/Banana Pet Supplement, 1-Pound: Pet Supplies). If you don't have any on hand, you can feed some mashed up some pellets mixed with water or some canned pumpkin.

 

[Pandora4co]

He's eating great on his own, I'm not sure if I want to force feed him. Yesterday and today I gave him two servings of vegies instead of one, and each day 3 times gave him canned pumkin, which he absoulutely loves. He tries to lick the plate clean!. I weighed him again today and he was at 840 grams which is 5 grams more than yesterday. I'm just concerned that all this soft pumkin stuff would cause diareha. Is that something I need to worry about? I might try to get critical care but again, this particular piggy is my "grumpy old man". He's very tempermental. I'd want to force feed him only if there is no other option. As long as his weight keeps increasing even if it's slowly that's good right?