hair loss on the underside is typical of a thyroid issue.
the thyroid gland has control of metabolism. a thyroid issue is able to hurt every metabolic process. on this Reason thyroid issues have different faces. May be you are seeing3 or 4symptomes, you will never see all possibe symptomes.
i am working as a nurse in Hospital. we are seeing a lot of metabolic issues on our ward. on this reason i am writing so mutch. i am sorry, my english is not very well.
Chronic soft stools/diarrhea
Here is not the best photo of Flora's belly, with some spots of hair missing:
She's kinda dirty because that is where I've slathered on some anti-fungal cream. I'm thinking this might be self-barbering, I've seen her bite at the area and the skin itself looks very pink and healthy. I did recently have a pig with ringworm, but that has been cleared up for 6-8 weeks, and her skin looked very red and irritated at the infection site, which I am not seeing here. If I touch her on that side she will jump and get irritated, but it's hard to know if that's because she has pain in that particular area or is just annoyed at all the things I've been doing to her lately.
No reply from the vet yet on the email I sent, I will probably try to get her in for an exam tomorrow morning.
She's kinda dirty because that is where I've slathered on some anti-fungal cream. I'm thinking this might be self-barbering, I've seen her bite at the area and the skin itself looks very pink and healthy. I did recently have a pig with ringworm, but that has been cleared up for 6-8 weeks, and her skin looked very red and irritated at the infection site, which I am not seeing here. If I touch her on that side she will jump and get irritated, but it's hard to know if that's because she has pain in that particular area or is just annoyed at all the things I've been doing to her lately.
No reply from the vet yet on the email I sent, I will probably try to get her in for an exam tomorrow morning.
Wanted to post an update in this thread about Flora, as her condition has changed. Over the last few months Flora has gone through several rounds of antibiotics to deal with her rattly breathing sounds. First Baytril, then a Baytil+SMZ mix, and then azithromycin earlier this month. Her breathing sounds 85-90% improved, and while I'll sometimes still near a snorting/snoring kind of noise from her, it sounds like its coming more from her head than her chest.
Her chronic soft stools have improved, I think mostly due to her diet being supplemented with these Oxbow Digestive Support tablets. At this rate I don't think she's every going to have the same perfectly formed stools that her two cage mates do, but I've long since stopped giving her the biosponge paste and haven't noticed any diarrhea.
Her skin condition seems to have improved just before she went on the azithromycin on Jan 5, and has continued to improve. I still don't really know what this was and my vet never wanted to pursue a specific treatment for it while we were dealing with breathing issues, in case there were side effects or it would weaken the antibiotics.
My biggest concern for her now is weight and appetite. During each round of antibiotics, she acted perky, had a great appetite, and put on weight. Each time we'd finish a course, within a week or so her weight would drop. A few times she acted more lethargic, and I'd find her hunched in a corner feeling quite cold. After finishing her round of azithromycin, she weighed 683g. A week later, she was down to 603g. I've been emailing back and forth with my vet and I think we're going to put her back on an extended/indefinite Baytril regimen since she seems to do so much better while on the antibiotics.
Flora turns 6 in February. :) She feels like a bag of bones but she's still full of personality and loves attention. I'm going to try to stuff her full of as much food as I can to keep her from disappearing, otherwise it feels like we're almost to the end of the line.
Here's a picture of her from earlier today, sleeping in the sun in her "barn". This was a hay dispenser, but she's so tiny now that she adopted it as her private hidey home since the other pigs (twice her size now!) can't get into, so it is now the Flora Barn
Her chronic soft stools have improved, I think mostly due to her diet being supplemented with these Oxbow Digestive Support tablets. At this rate I don't think she's every going to have the same perfectly formed stools that her two cage mates do, but I've long since stopped giving her the biosponge paste and haven't noticed any diarrhea.
Her skin condition seems to have improved just before she went on the azithromycin on Jan 5, and has continued to improve. I still don't really know what this was and my vet never wanted to pursue a specific treatment for it while we were dealing with breathing issues, in case there were side effects or it would weaken the antibiotics.
My biggest concern for her now is weight and appetite. During each round of antibiotics, she acted perky, had a great appetite, and put on weight. Each time we'd finish a course, within a week or so her weight would drop. A few times she acted more lethargic, and I'd find her hunched in a corner feeling quite cold. After finishing her round of azithromycin, she weighed 683g. A week later, she was down to 603g. I've been emailing back and forth with my vet and I think we're going to put her back on an extended/indefinite Baytril regimen since she seems to do so much better while on the antibiotics.
Flora turns 6 in February. :) She feels like a bag of bones but she's still full of personality and loves attention. I'm going to try to stuff her full of as much food as I can to keep her from disappearing, otherwise it feels like we're almost to the end of the line.
Here's a picture of her from earlier today, sleeping in the sun in her "barn". This was a hay dispenser, but she's so tiny now that she adopted it as her private hidey home since the other pigs (twice her size now!) can't get into, so it is now the Flora Barn
-
Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Thanks for the update. She looks like a sweetheart. I'm glad things are looking up.
I have heard of antibiotic "pulse therapy", where a single dose is given, say, once a week to knock out whatever is still hanging around. It is unusual her appetite is good on antibiotics and drops off them. I am more used to people posting that their guinea pig has lost appetite while on antibiotics. I hope the long term Baytril works for her.
I have heard of antibiotic "pulse therapy", where a single dose is given, say, once a week to knock out whatever is still hanging around. It is unusual her appetite is good on antibiotics and drops off them. I am more used to people posting that their guinea pig has lost appetite while on antibiotics. I hope the long term Baytril works for her.
Been a pretty bad couple of days in the pig herd. On vacation out of state with my mom watching the pigs, Flora was not doing well so I spent the whole time anxious and worried. Get home and Flora is still alive, doing better than I left, but I notice her rear left leg is about 4x the size of the right. Youngest pig, Oolong, also is acting a bit weird but I didn't really think much of it at the time. The next morning, Oolong is not eating, lethargic. Bring both pigs to the vet. The vet feels it's likely a tumor, so my options appear to be leg amputation (not really an option, honestly) or keeping her comfortable until I will inevitably need to put her to sleep. The tumor seems to have grown really fast so I'd guess I've got a week or two at most. Oolong has gut stasis, maybe, but the x-rays show something unknown and concerning, and I've never seen a pig with gut stasis go downhill so quickly.
Day goes on and Oolong doesn't show much interest in food, in my second round of force feeding she's just completely limp, barely breathing. Call the vet, they suggest going to the emergency animal clinic 40min away. I honestly didn't think she'd would survive the night, but feel I have to give it a shot. Get there and her temperature is too low for them to even read. They get her on heat and oxygen. An ultrasound is performed, her heart doesn't look great, neither does her liver. They go out to look up the costs of an overnight hospitalization for me, and during that time her heart stops. They tell me that she made the decision for me.
Oolong's bff Mavis spent all of Monday away from Oolong, when they are usually inseparable. She must have known. I'll lose Flora soon too. Down from three pigs to one in a matter of weeks. I still can't really believe it. :(
Day goes on and Oolong doesn't show much interest in food, in my second round of force feeding she's just completely limp, barely breathing. Call the vet, they suggest going to the emergency animal clinic 40min away. I honestly didn't think she'd would survive the night, but feel I have to give it a shot. Get there and her temperature is too low for them to even read. They get her on heat and oxygen. An ultrasound is performed, her heart doesn't look great, neither does her liver. They go out to look up the costs of an overnight hospitalization for me, and during that time her heart stops. They tell me that she made the decision for me.
Oolong's bff Mavis spent all of Monday away from Oolong, when they are usually inseparable. She must have known. I'll lose Flora soon too. Down from three pigs to one in a matter of weeks. I still can't really believe it. :(
Couldnt see a mention of it in the thread but are you hand feeding Flora Critical care?
When our girl Nala had breathing issues and fluid in her chest cavity she was on Lasix and Chloramphenicol for 6 weeks and that seemed to clear it up. We were making sure she got 1.5 teaspoons of Critical care very day as well. She didn't have poop issues though.
When our girl Nala had breathing issues and fluid in her chest cavity she was on Lasix and Chloramphenicol for 6 weeks and that seemed to clear it up. We were making sure she got 1.5 teaspoons of Critical care very day as well. She didn't have poop issues though.
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