Thread for Pinky

daj

Post   » Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:36 pm


Pinky is a male skinny pig, about a year and a half old. One of his eyes has been watering, going into the second week now, as far as I know. I've looked under his lids, but don't see any debris. I also don't see any obvious abrasion, puffiness, clouding, crust or redness. It's been squinting a bit, like not 100% open. He doesn't wipe at it at all. Everything else seems normal. Does this sound like a possible scratch, or maybe something else? He's very pale/fair (a baldwin?), but his eyes are brown, and he's the smallest of my 5 pigs. I took him as a rescue, and I believe he's been in good health with no vet visits to date.

bpatters
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Post   » Thu Apr 15, 2021 11:41 pm


Eye injuries are painful, and the fact that he's squinting indicates he's in pain. A week is too long to wait to see a vet about an eye problem. He needs to be seen.

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Lynx
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Post   » Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:16 pm


I would see a vet asap too.
https://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Sat Apr 17, 2021 3:08 am


I agree with the others about seeing a vet, especially if this is a new issue. The vet can stain the eye to look for scratches that may be too small to see.

If the vet does not find anything, this could be genetic. Did you check for an eyelash or whisker that may be turned inward toward the eye?

daj

Post   » Mon Aug 16, 2021 1:23 pm


The eye issue was not an injury. The vet said it... actually I don't now remember much of what she said. One thing I recall is that it could be something like when a dog's eyes are chronically weepy. She prescribed an ointment. It seemed to do the trick, and the issue seems to be resolved for now. I haven't notice any discharge for a long time.

But, today I noticed a lump down by the crotch of his leg. It's basically on his abdomen, right near the leg. Can pigs get hernias? It's soft and moveable, below the skin and not fixed in place. The size, I would say is larger than a BB, but smaller than a pea.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:01 pm


Probably a lipoma (a benign fatty tumor) if it's soft and moveable. If so, it won't need to be removed unless it gets large enough to cause him pain or impact his movement.

However, he does need a vet to definitively diagnose it, but it doesn't require an emergency visit.

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Lynx
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Post   » Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:20 pm


Also, I unfortunately can't tell you precisely where they are (your vet would know) but lymph nodes can be swollen too (can be a sign of infection).
Bpatters suggestion of a lipoma is more likely.

https://www.petmd.com/exotic/conditions ... phadenitis
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/all-othe ... uinea-pigs

daj

Post   » Sun Sep 12, 2021 1:35 am


I've assumed it is a lipoma, based on it's appearance. There has been no change, but now he is scratching at his ear or both ears and occasionally shaking his head to flap his ears. I don't see any waxy build up or crust. I see a possible cause is mites. Are there others?

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Lynx
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Post   » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:39 am


Yes, could be ear mites and/or an infection. Given the safety of treating for mites, it would be a good first move. Watch for any changes in the ear, especially exhudate.

daj

Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 5:16 pm


After I posted above he stopped shaking his head. Today I notice some gunk in his ears. One vet is booked until next Thursday, and the other is closed until Monday. I am wondering about infection. Ear mites are visible, right? Can the vet usually diagnose one way or the other?

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Lynx
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Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 10:11 pm


No, ear mites are not necessarily visible. Mites can be microscopic. Not always easy to find positive proof.

daj

Post   » Fri Oct 29, 2021 6:11 pm


I started this thread because of a suspected eye injury that the exotics vet had no sign of injury was determined to maybe be a chronic weepy condition that we were using drops for. That was back in April. Now, two weeks back his eye developed a cloudy streak across it. I took him back to the vet who said it's now an obvious abrasion. I don't know how, it it was an abrasion all along, it wasn't detectable in April. She prescribed and antibiotic drop and an ocular repair gel (drops) for one week. After a week it was still a visible abrasion, so she said do another week. It's almost 2 weeks now. It seems almost gone, but is still slightly detectable. He's also getting ear drops for what I thought might be mites. She said it didn't look like mites, as mites would cause black gunk in his ear and it's not black. I'm not sure whether the ear drops are working.

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