Gassy Senior Pig

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Aug 31, 2019 10:44 pm


No matter what the cause, so glad he is doing better!

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:20 pm


I spoke too soon. He had a bout this afternoon...distended stomach, not eating, obviously uncomfortable. I don't understand. Nothing in his diet has changed; still on fleece; still on the daily probiotic. Any other ideas? He's pooping and they are large and moist but have a little hook on the end.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Sep 02, 2019 8:17 pm


Also, could use any opinions on using peppermint tea to help treat abdominal pain and bloating for this guy. I've seen references everywhere to using simethicone, but my concern is that he already has a large gas bubble (sometimes two) when this happens. Do I really want to combine smaller bubbles into an even larger one and risk making the pain even worse?

Thoughts?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Sep 02, 2019 9:54 pm


No idea on whether or not the peppermint tea might help. Do you have any kind of vibrator? BugsMom actually massaged the sides of the abdomen to help the large gas bubble to pass. You might have read about it:
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... f=15&t=117

Vesperia

Post   » Mon Sep 02, 2019 9:59 pm


When my pig has diarrhea or soft poop, which is very often, I give him mint leaves, fresh or dried. From my observations it definitely helps him and he likes them a lot too. I also second tummy massages, I did them for him a few years ago when he was very very sick.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Sep 02, 2019 11:31 pm


Thanks, Vesperia. I may have to try that. I'm generally not too big on herbal remedies, but everything I've read so far seems to indicate that mint/peppermint can help stomach spasms during IBS flare-ups, so I think it's worth a try. How many mint leaves do you feed at a time?

I already do stomach massage with him when he has a flare-up, and it definitely does help.

Just really wish I knew what is causing this. He had been episode-free for several weeks, and the only thing I can think of is that I fed him a little bit of Kaytee hay this morning with his usual Rabbit Hole hay, just for variety. Otherwise, same veggies; same pellets; same everything else.

Vesperia

Post   » Tue Sep 03, 2019 4:50 am


I don't give him a set amount, one or two leaves at a time or even a little stalk until I see a difference in his poop quality. Sometimes I mix some leaves with his hay, but he's like a cat, knows how to pick what he likes.

Did you try eliminating all vegetables from his diet and reintroducing them one at a time to see if it makes a difference?

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:23 am


I did try an elimination diet awhile back, but couldn't find a trigger food. He eats pretty much the same thing every day, with nothing new introduced lately other than a little bit of another brand of hay.

The only other thing I can think of (and this may be a stretch), is that I have been waiting a while between feeding him his veggies and feeding him his pellets, but on Sunday morning I fed them fairly close together.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:44 pm


Buddy of mine who has had rabbits for many years, suggested that I try activated charcoal to reduce gassiness and bloating. Has anyone here heard of this? A search hasn't produced results other than for the obvious use, which is to absorb toxins.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:08 pm


It seems to help humans. Perhaps give it a try?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3521259

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Fri Sep 06, 2019 6:20 am


Thanks, Lynx. I found similar references, but couldn't find anything on its use in small animals (for gassiness/IBS). I suppose it's worth a try. This same person told me that she avoids using any sort of mint for gastric upset, as it can exacerbate the problem in some cases. I'm not sure why. I occasionally use peppermint tea for my own IBS and it always seemed to help calm the stomach spasms.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:32 am


I spent the better part of the day yesterday nursing Harold through another bad gas/bloating episode. After more trial and error over the past couple of months, I thought it seemed as though lettuce might be a trigger food for him, so I had reduced his veggie intake to just tomato, carrot, zucchini, celery, corn husk and red/yellow/orange peppers. He was doing great for nearly three weeks with just a couple of minor bouts last week. Yesterday, though, he was bloated, uncomfortable and not eating. This despite being on a daily maintenance dose of Metoclopramide. I pushed massage, Metacam, Metoclopramide, CC and fluids, and he did produce a few normal-looking poops and nibbled some hay later in the day. He is not impacted.

Normally he bounces back from this fairly quickly, but he still seems a little uncomfortable this morning. I was wondering if anyone here has ever heard of an anti-spasmodic being used in rodents for gut issues like this. I'm on Levsin myself for IBS, and it has been fairly good at reducing the pain, spasms and bloating associated with a flare-up, but I couldn't really find any information on it being tested or used with animals. I can't find any anti-spasmodic listed in Carpenter's Formulary, actually, unless I'm overlooking it. Any thoughts?

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