The pet pigs in this area probably give us some of the best data out there for working with the older pet pigs. They have been in the same home since their youth for the most part and have lived lives as house pets intertwined with their humans as close companions and friends.
Knowing these pigs has been a privilege and a learning experience. To have watched them go from the youthful days through maturity into the senior age and now some beyond, makes them very special.
Since we now know that the average expected life span is more like twelve to fifteen years rather than twenty years it gives us a new framework to think about. What is considered a senior and what is considered old? Just as in humans, it depends on the pig and as in humans the physiology of the individual comes into play. We change the care of the pig as the pig dictates the need for change.
The older the pig gets the more it slows down and the slower its body functions become. Remember the times when your friend was young and you increased the food so that he would have adequate nutrition to grow the bone needed when he was mature? Then you moved on to the worry that he might be getting too much and you had to watch the weight?
Well, you have come full circle with the old pig and it is time to start watching again. Not for weight gain but for weight loss. Old pigs take more to keep going than a you pig does. When a pig reaches the teens it is time to watch closely and be ready to up the feed rations again.
Their digestion is slower along with their ability to process the food given, so it's important to watch closely on these old guys and start before it becomes a problem for them. It can be told from experience that it is harder and takes longer to put weight on an old pig than it is to take weight off a mature pig.
This could be an important factor should your old pig become ill. They must have some reserve energy supply to work with if expected to come through illness with ease.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Neutering The Potbellied Pig - (For Your Vet)
This is a highly technical article, meant for vets, on the procedure for neutering a pot-bellied pig.
The following was written by my vet to help vets that are not familiar with the Potbelly pig. While we realize that most of our pet vets do know how to do this, this was written in hopes that you might give it to someone who has a vet that is not familiar with our animals.
There are still far too many cases of our pigs not surviving this operation because the inguinal ring was not closed or the pigs were done "barnyard" style which does not work on our pots like it does on the farm pigs due to more of the testicles being so close to the body of the pig. If you receive a question on this from a new pig mom maybe you can pass it along to them for their vet to read.
Hopefully we might save a life. Phyllis
NEUTERING THE POTBELLIED PIG
Smaller pigs of 150 lbs or less are masked down with Isoflurane gas and oxygen per their size. Larger pigs that are harder to handle can be done with an injection of Rompan and Telazol mixture. Rompan: 1mg per pound, Telazol: 2 mg per pound of body weight. Mixture of both can be put in same syringe and given either in the neck muscle or in the muscle over the hip.
The patient is placed in dorsal recumbency and the scrotum and the ventral side of the prepuce is clipped with clippers. Betadine surgical wash is used to prep the area and is sprayed on the surgical field.
Incision is made along the median Raphe at the base of the scrotum and the incision is continued but not through the external tunic of the testicles. The testicles are pushed cranially through the skin incision. The external tunic is pulled free of the distal scrotum.
Blunt dissection is preferred as cutting the tissue could lead to bleeding that in turn could cause a hematoma in the scrotum post op. The spermatic cord is clamped and then tied off proximally with 2-0 vicryl. The suture is transfixed and then the spermatic cord is cut distal to the clamp. This proximal end of the spermatic cord is placed back into the inguinal canal and then clamp is removed. The stump is checked for bleeding.
The exterior inguinal ring is closed with 2 or 3 horizontal mattress sutures of 2-0 vicryl.
If the external inguinal ring is not closed there is a high probability that a hernia may develop as pig recovers from anesthetic.
The second testicle is removed and exterior inguinal ring is closed in the same manner as above. The skin is closed with a sub cuticular continuous suture using 2-0 vicryl. Pig is then given an injection of Procaine Penicillin appropriate for his size even though sterile gloves and instruments are used. This antibiotic is given prophylatically.
Dr. Paul Myer DVM
Hawthorne Animal Hospital
The following was written by my vet to help vets that are not familiar with the Potbelly pig. While we realize that most of our pet vets do know how to do this, this was written in hopes that you might give it to someone who has a vet that is not familiar with our animals.
There are still far too many cases of our pigs not surviving this operation because the inguinal ring was not closed or the pigs were done "barnyard" style which does not work on our pots like it does on the farm pigs due to more of the testicles being so close to the body of the pig. If you receive a question on this from a new pig mom maybe you can pass it along to them for their vet to read.
Hopefully we might save a life. Phyllis
NEUTERING THE POTBELLIED PIG
Smaller pigs of 150 lbs or less are masked down with Isoflurane gas and oxygen per their size. Larger pigs that are harder to handle can be done with an injection of Rompan and Telazol mixture. Rompan: 1mg per pound, Telazol: 2 mg per pound of body weight. Mixture of both can be put in same syringe and given either in the neck muscle or in the muscle over the hip.
The patient is placed in dorsal recumbency and the scrotum and the ventral side of the prepuce is clipped with clippers. Betadine surgical wash is used to prep the area and is sprayed on the surgical field.
Incision is made along the median Raphe at the base of the scrotum and the incision is continued but not through the external tunic of the testicles. The testicles are pushed cranially through the skin incision. The external tunic is pulled free of the distal scrotum.
Blunt dissection is preferred as cutting the tissue could lead to bleeding that in turn could cause a hematoma in the scrotum post op. The spermatic cord is clamped and then tied off proximally with 2-0 vicryl. The suture is transfixed and then the spermatic cord is cut distal to the clamp. This proximal end of the spermatic cord is placed back into the inguinal canal and then clamp is removed. The stump is checked for bleeding.
The exterior inguinal ring is closed with 2 or 3 horizontal mattress sutures of 2-0 vicryl.
If the external inguinal ring is not closed there is a high probability that a hernia may develop as pig recovers from anesthetic.
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| Inguinal Ring |
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| Inguinal Ring |
The second testicle is removed and exterior inguinal ring is closed in the same manner as above. The skin is closed with a sub cuticular continuous suture using 2-0 vicryl. Pig is then given an injection of Procaine Penicillin appropriate for his size even though sterile gloves and instruments are used. This antibiotic is given prophylatically.
Dr. Paul Myer DVM
Hawthorne Animal Hospital