[Gpdd] [Health] Benadryl and Cocoa Puff

[warmbreath at comcast.net]

In reply to your private message I am very confused is this a different pig, 
the other is old, this one is young, Is that right?  If so is this still the 
pig with the Benadryl question, did you read yesterdays message that gave 
the amounts for Benadryl, still the vet should prescribe it for her weight 
and condition and specific diagnosis. We do not accept death sentences over 
the phone. Did you not say she has a some kind of congestion? And head tilt 
at 1 year old.  Different pig right? This is frequently curable, even 6 
years old is old for a poorly cared for pig but we get many much older by 
years. Your vet is in the Tampa area? The website looks like an exotics vet 
so I'm shocked by the phone death sentence, what was his diagnosis in prior 
times With the head tilt I have a very specific question, and do you have 
any rabbits? or has she ot they ever lived around them.  Very frequently 
rabbits, and more rarely gp's get a disease called e.cuniculi, it's common 
in Florida too! It's a very tiny parasite passed by mom at birth or picked 
up in infected urine. You said she got better on 30 days Baytril, if the doc 
adds Panacur, a specific anti parasitic,  and Rimadyl, or Metacam which is a 
NSAID pain reliever which also treats inflammation, some vets add a steroid 
also for inflammation. This treatment goes on for a month. There is a test, 
called a titre, and a positive titre in a guinea pig means she's been 
exposed at some time, if the test is repeated 2 weeks later it can indicated 
id the infection is getting better or worse. This is important as it can be 
passed to your whole heard. It usually hits the very young and the very old 
or any pigs who's immune system becomes compromised. The titre test is very 
often skipped as it takes 2 weeks for results so the vet just starts the 
treatment protocol as time is of the essence. Check to see if she might be 
blind, sometimes the parasite infects the optic nerve also. Head tilt 
doesn't just happen it comes from an ear infection or e.c. A head x-ray can 
tell often if there is an ear infection, but the lesions caused by e.c. are 
too tiny to see. If she dies you should have a necropsy done that focus on 
the brain, spinal column and kidneys as those are the favorite laces for the 
e.c. parasite. Refrigerate her body until you can get her to the vet, dont 
freeze. Your doc, if he isn't familiar with this can consult with Dr. Dana 
Krempels, PhD at the University of Miami. Here website is 
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html,  on that page read the 5th 
and 7th sections under rabbit health 101 about wry neck, and hind leg 
paralysis (this being the first symptom of e.c) so both sections deal with 
e.c. Note some antibiotics good for buns aren't ok for guinea pigs, guinea 
lynx below gives you the gp list, but for e.c. you really need one that 
crosses the blood brain barrier and I dont think Baytril does that well, my 
specialist uses chloramphenicol, this is not approved in humans as it can 
very rarely cause a fatal side effect, so you have to use gloves and make 
sure it doesn't touch you. You can also reach Dr Kremples at 
www.allexperts.com, she is in Florida. Some vets say e.c. is so rare in gp's 
they wont consider it, but it has happened to a couple on this list, and in 
one case we lost the pig while the vets argued, but they later agreed it was 
e.c.  One thing, can you tell me if she has ever had shots of ivermectin, 
some believe its a preventative in the very young, but your pig already has 
head tilt which is a prime symptom.  Sometimes the head tilt will improve 
with treatment sometimes not, but a pig can live with it usually unless its 
so bad they can stand or eat.

 Make sure your vet is recommended by the House Rabbit Society 
www.rabbit.org, and Google for your state chapter of the House Rabbit 
Society, good rabbit vets are almost always good piggie vets.Dr. Krempels 
has a list on her website above.  Way too many vets write gp's off as a 
disposable pocket pet, as little as a pain meds can perk her up. You can see 
that the message I referred you to gave an antibiotic, Baytril, get at least 
a 30 day supply again and used the Benadryl if its just a cold or sinus 
infection.  Piggies cant think of the future so even if a little tooth pain 
is bothering they will quit eating and waste away, so very preventable: All 
though you cover much here is a check list for boars and sows

1. weight gain or loss, if you dont know start tracking it daily
2. Describe the snot, sneezing and wheezing, what does the snot look like,
3. list his state of activities, does he now stay hunched up , does he grind 
his teeth or run away when he used to come forward? what has changed
4. Look at his front teeth, are they too long or dont meet anymore, have his 
molars looked at by a pro without anesthesia, he can be held still or put in 
a very confining shoe box for this, a good rodent vet knows how to do this, 
but finish this list first and report the results to us
5 Have his temp taken by the vet when you get there
6 is he loosing hair or have allot of gunk in his ears, or have black flecks 
coming off his body?  could be mites, treat with Ivermectin 2 shots 7 to 10 
days apart. Ivermectin gets any internal parasites so dont use Revolution, 
it doesn't get him, Vet does this, its not expensive
7. Get some nose plugs and Q-tips and clean out his bum, the slot between 
his testicles, older boars lose muscle tone and will get a big ball of feces 
and other junk in there called an impaction, use a vegetable oil to clean 
him out, the white paste is normal but it shouldn't be real thick, write 
back if this was the problem, we can tell you how to correct his nutrition 
and live with this condition. Extrude his penis all the  way and make sure 
its not blocked up or stuck to itself
8 Listen to his stomach, does it gurgle, does he like gentle massage there. 
Are his poops normal size and wet or have they dried up allot and are 
smaller
9 leave him on a table or floor boxed in on a hard surface till he pees. His 
pee should be white and a tiny bit grainy or thickened but not really thick 
and grainy and have and pink pr blood in it.
10 except for him bum, does everything smell and look alright
11 feel him all over, under his chin, everywhere for sore spots or lumps?
12 how has his eating changed, what is his diet? Has his water changed. List 
his whole diet, he could have diabetes and removing too many sweeter veggies 
can clear it up. If his weight is OK he should be eating lots of timothy or 
grass hay, and timothy pellets. Is his cage big enough, does he get exercise 
outside his cage regularly?
13 for older sows they will get a degenerative condition in their 
reproductive organs that leads to a hormone imbalance. They will lose hair 
on their flans, develop a huge thirst, and become somewhat pear shaped over 
time. This can be treated early by a spay, or with hormones, we have that in 
our archives

look over the care and feeding suggestions at www.guinealynx.info  and see 
if anything strikes a note with you.
What symptoms does she have that I haven't mentioned. At the very least if 
she has a terminal illness she should be given pain meds or helped to the 
rainbow bridge. Since you have other pigs you need to be sure she doesnt 
have a communicable disease, which a snotty nose probably is if it isnt an 
allergy. You said the girls were on Aspen so they are on thecarefresh now. 
An older pigs can be overrun by parasites that a younger immune system could 
fight off but wont now and you need help to make sure the whole herd isnt 
infected. Could she even be being picked on by a younger pig. There are a 
100 things that are fixable and some that aren't. You need to know which it 
is so she and the other pigs can be treated properly and she is made 
comfortable. Please let us help you find a real diagnosis, I just cant 
accept a phone diagnosis of death  by vet neglect. Sorry for the overload of 
questions, I care  Good luck Sandy and Sammy