Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Pot Bellied Pigs > mini pig sick?

mini pig sick?

21 18:02:08

Question
I got my mini pig at 2.5 weeks old. She has been feeding milk replacement through a bottle. She was doing great and active and we all loved her. She is now 4.5 weeks old and a couple days ago she had what looked like a seizure and went unresponsive and limp. I spent all night syringing formula in her mouth and put maple syrup on her gums. She came to and was more responsive when i took her into the vet and he said she looked okay gave her a vitamin b complex shot and told me to feed her a little more. We've been doing that and she has been more active but her oinking is much more muted and she still doesn't seem quite right. Maybe I'm just overly worried but she's sleeping alot more than normal but still eating well. She's peeing and pooping but her poops are little balls. She pooped a white ball today. Just really worried she's not well.  I and my kids love her so much and just want her to be well. Let me know your thoughts.

Answer
Your baby was taken away from Momma pig very young, and is lucky to be surviving. Piglets fed from syringes and bottles often aspirate the formula, and that can cause pneumonia. She is old enough to drink from a shallow pan, so switch her over to that. The ideal food for her at this age is goat milk or sow replacement formula, with a few pig pellets dissolved in the liquid. At each meal, keep adding a few more pellets, until her meal is the consistency of cream of wheat cereal. This will ensure that she is getting all the nutrition she needs.

I can not even guess what caused the seizure, but if it continues to happen she may need to see a vet who specializes in pigs. The only thing to do now is keep a close eye on her. If it does happen again, try to write down all the circumstances leading up to it - where she went that day, what she ate, etc. It may provide a clue.

The white ball poop might mean she ate something she should not have eaten. It could have been literally anything - pigs will eat stray med, cigarette butts, even bits of glass!!