[Gpdd] HEALTH Cocoa

[Penny Charlesworth]

Poor Cocoa, having to have some dental work. I hope that your vet used Isoflurane anaesthetic as this is the right one for piggies but not all vets seem to know this.

You asked for some advice, so, without writing a whole chapter, here goes..........

As our time difference is so great, by now you will have picked up Cocoa from the vet. Hopefully he has started eating right away but sometimes their little mouths are sore after a dental and he may need painkillers. You may have to syringe feed him for a while too. I don't know what is available in your country but in England we can use "Recovery" or Critical Care. I prefer the tried and tested CCT recipe of chinchilla grass pellets mixed to a slurry with instant mashed potato and some piggies enjoy some Readybrek ( an instant breakfast cereal ). There is a wide choice of veggie baby foods too, which easily go down a syringe. Apple and banana seems to be a favourite.

If Glynis is online, she will be able to tell you all about syringe feeding a toothy pig after all her experience with Duke and will be in your time zone.

It is possible that, now that his teeth are fixed, the problem MAY not recur. It only takes a few days for a piggy, who is feeling unwell and therefore not eating properly, to develop a tooth problem. They need to eat almost constantly to wear those teeth down. If you can get Rocky eating well it may be enough to prevent further trouble.

You might like to consider feeding him separately from Rocky until his weight has gone up to make sure that Cocoa is getting sufficient food. Daisy is delighted to welcome a new member to the LAPS but is concerned that he has acheived this weight because he has been eating all of Cocoa's dinner. 

With a lifetime's experience of piggy care, it is easy to notice even a tiny weight loss without even getting out the scales but I would suggest that you keep a careful eye on Cocoa's weight and watch it increase daily until he is back to normal. Hopefully he can be a LAPS piggy too.

It is a shame that the vet had to use an anaesthetic to do the dental work. I suppose it is too much to expect that there is anyone in your area who can do this work with a conscious piggy? It makes for such a quick ( almost instant ) recovery time and if a piggy needs to go back every few weeks for another treatment it is not a problem. My rodentologist has piggies that come regularly for a dental but this only takes a few minutes at most and does not cause the piggy any pain or discomfort and he can be eating whilst sitting on the treatment table.

If you think that I can help in any way, please feel free to email me ( sorry about the time difference ).

Best of luck with Cocoa,

Penny and the Piggyfriends.