[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Sooty has multiple health problems

Ann Evans ann.evans at hintlink.com
Tue Mar 26 11:51:40 EDT 2013


Dear Julie, Sooty is very fortunate to have a mommy that cares for him 
around the clock. Any piggy that has been on antibiotics and suffered 
from diarrhoea for 2 years is going to have damage to the 
gastro-intestinal tract, gi-tract. That is why the oil is just passing 
through him. Most likely the lining of the gi-tract has lost most of the 
villa that absorb food and water. He has also lost most of the bacteria 
that is needed to digest food in the caecum. Based on your description I 
feel he is suffering from a systemic fungal infection along with damage 
to the gi-tract and he possibly has diabetes. I recommend that he be 
treated with itraconazole 10 mg/ml at a dose of 0.5 ml orally twice a 
day for 10 days. Then stop for 3 days and repeat giving him the 
intraconazole. Do this for a total of 3-10 day periods. Keep up feeding 
him the critical care with added probiotics. To help prevent bloat give 
childrens simethicone. The dose is 3.0 ml orally every 3-4 hours. Or you 
can use any baby gripe water at the same amount of 3.0 ml orally every 
3-4 hours. Also virgin coconut oil is good for gas and energy. Activated 
charcoal is also very good for gas and absorbing any toxins from bad 
bacteria. Just crush a tablet or open up a gel cap of charcoal mix with 
water and give to him using a feeding syringe. You can do this once a 
day for 4 days. I would not give him imodium for the diarrhoea. Start 
out at 0.5 ml orally every 3-4 hours. You can increase the amount of 
coconut oil to 1.0 ml if it is staying in his tummy. I am sorry to say 
that with the best of nursing care gastric torsion, twisted gut, can not 
be prevented in all cases. It actually occurs in seconds. An analogy 
would be filling up a glass of water until it overflows. It only takes 
one extra drop of water to make the water overflow. In gastric torsion 
it just takes one more gas bubble to upset the balance of the stomach 
and it goes into torsion. Any time a piggy is off food it will be 
producing more gas than usual. Keep checking his tummy to see if it is 
taught from gas. If you shakes him gently up and down like a hot water 
bottle and hear a sloshing sound this is an indication of frothy-watery 
bloat or kidney problems. The gas can only get out through the anus. So 
keep on rubbing his tummy. Keep him moving and feed him or get him to 
eat as much food and water as you can. The fact that he is drinking more 
water than normal may be a sign of diabetes. This can easily be tested 
for by collecting a fresh urine sample and having it tested with a 
urinalysis dipstick reagent test strip. Maybe you can buy them at the 
local chemist's. Many diabetics have these test strips. Or if you know 
someone who is diabetic you can check his blood glucose with their 
meter. Just over cut a toe nail to get a drop of blood for testing. The 
normal range is 60-125 mg/dl = 3.3-6.9 mmol/L. Wishing you and Sooty the 
best of health.
I volunteer as a consulting rodentologist to Drs. Danielson and Saleh 
D.V.M. of Ehrlich Animal Hospital and Dr. Bonsack D.V.M. of Westchase 
Animal Hospital Tampa, Florida.

Sincerely,

Ann and the Rescued Piggys of Piggyville, Tampa Florida USA





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