My piggie’s behavior changed after surgery even though a year has passed

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Elaarya

Post   » Tue Jul 16, 2019 5:46 pm


This is long and not very much related to what I initially wanted to say but I felt like writing it so here I am!

My boy’s 5 years old and I’ve had him since he was one month old, a tiny baby fitting in my palm.

It’s been such a journey with him and I certainly haven’t been a very good owner, my worst mistake was bringing him up as a lone wolf. I was 17 when I got him and my parents weren’t ok with the idea of more than one piggie.

He has a distinct personality. He’s very brave, he rarely gets stressed (every vet seems amazed when they see him eating while getting his nails done!) and he’s very adventurous. The first day I got him, he found his way out of the cage by climbing up his house and jumping down and then went on to explore our whole house.

He didn’t like being caged, no matter how big I made his cage, so I let him roam free in the room. I was studying for college back then and he would jump up and down my books all day long.

A year later, we moved to another city for college. I gave him a room to himself. He watched me go wild during 4 years of university :)) I never traveled cause I could never tolerate being away from him for more than half a day!

During the last year of university, he got a breast tumor. I was horrified. He was still careless af though, devouring his lettuce while going through sonography :)) The vet said there’s a 50/50 chance for him to make it out of the surgery alive.

He fought breast tumor valiantly and made it out alive. When he woke up from his ketamine-induced dreams, he started chewing on his lettuce right away, still being in a lucid confused state :))

Yet, he kinda changed...

He started becoming less playful and more prone to get scared. A year has passed now, a while back we moved to another city again to start the next chapter.

he still sings when he hears the fridge, he still loves lettuce more than the whole world, but he’s become very grumpy. He seems annoyed at me all the time. When I go to him, he comes to me but if he sees I have no food with me, he just makes his annoyed noise and turns his back on me. During the lap times - which he used to show his love by yawning, purring and laying like a french model - he now just seems to be waiting for them to be over. He doesn’t even get relaxed anymore when I pet him. In overall, it seems to me he just wants to be left alone.

Ah well... I don’t mind as long as he’s ok. But the thing is, I feel like he’s not ok... mental-wise.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:45 pm


Some of the issues you mentioned could be the result of pain. Watch carefully for any signs of pain as they could indicate something is going on. Providing pain medication if needed could make him less scared. He is also getting older so things like arthritis could bother him.

Read over:
www.guinealynx.info/pain.html
http://jpgpr.guinealynx.info/jpgpr400.html

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:49 am


Ditto; it could be pain-related. I assume the lump was benign? Has he ever been back to the vet for a follow-up visit?

I think I'd want to have him re-checked for any other lumps, with x-rays to look for signs of dental issues, arthritis, or other internal problems. Have you tried a vitamin C supplement to see if that makes a difference? Older pigs don't always metabolize nutrients efficiently, and a vitamin C deficiency could cause painful swelling of the joints. Does he seem to move around normally? Other than the change in his personality, are there any other changes that you have noticed in him? -- significant weight loss or gain; eating or drinking more or less than he used to; difficulty walking; signs of drooling or taking longer to eat than he used to; changes in urination or defecation; anything else out of the ordinary.

What is his diet?

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