Pot bellied piggy ITCHY

Question
QUESTION: I have had a micro pot bellied pig for 3 days now. I am truly in love with little Sooie.  My daughter bought him at a flea market and unfortunately, not a very good breeder I am afraid.  He told her he was 8 weeks old.  After seeing my vet on Monday, he is probably more along the lines of 5 weeks old.  He weighs 2.3lbs.  He also had some "skin issues" my vet said and gave him some fenbendazole for it. I love my vet but after researching pig care on the internet, I'm afraid she isn't very knowledgeable on pot bellied pigs.  They do see farm animals, but she did comment she hasn't looked at pot bellied pigs since school  Anyway, they said he was 5 weeks and to give him soy milk since he was having a little problem eating the pellets.  Also rice cereal to help him eat a little better.  He has absolutely no interest in fruits or vegetables, but will eat cheerios.  I also crumble his mini pig chow and mix that in with the soy milk and cereal.  Is he getting enough nutrition and how much should I be giving him.  They just said around every 4-5 hours.  

As far as the skin is concerned, my poor baby is itching sooo bad.  I shampooed him with the pyoben they gave me and put fragrance free lotion on him but he is just miserable.  I called the vet and they said if it didnt stop to bring him back and they will have to give him an injection.  After reading on mini pigs, most give ivomec (sp).  I am afraid to bring him back for fear he might get sick if she gives him more of the other.  His stool is fine and he is eating voraciously but he seems a bit more grumpy today.  I just want to do right by this little piggy and he is so uncomfortable. We live in a small rural area and that is the only vet that came close to seeing my piggy.  The closest one I believe is in Dallas which is two hours away from me.  Please let me know what you think I should do.  Should I go get the ivomec and treat myself?  Is the vet right by giving him the other?  He is scheduled to get neutered on Sept 7th but I am now having doubts about letting them do that.  I have read so many sad stories I don't want to take a chance.  PLEASE HELP!!  Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond.  What an awesome thing to do!

ANSWER: I am not a veterinarian, and can not make a medical diagnosis over the internet. Your veterinarian has seen your piglet personally and has had a chance to make an evaluation, so I really can not second guess your vet.

Fenbendazole is often used for internal parasites like worms. Piglets from bad situations often have worms, and so I can understand why your vet chose to de-worm with fenbendazole. After the worms are gone, piggy can better absorb the nutrients from his food, and that alone should help his skin improve.

It can take a few weeks to see improvement in skin, because it takes time for the new skin beneath to grow to the outside. Some skin conditions, like mange, may actually look worse for a short time before looking better. If your vet did a skin scraping but saw no mites, mange is probably not the problem. Your vet may also have other reasons for believing the skin condition is not due to mange.

Your vet did say that if there is no improvement, to bring piggy back for an injection. Did the vet specify what the injection would be? I am guessing that injection would be ivomec for mange. In the meantime, you can use any lotion made for people on your piggy. You might try one designed to soothe itchy or sunburned skin.

The general guideline when feeding piglets is 1/2 c per 15 lb of piglet, but no less than 1/2 c per day. However, your pig is on the young side and pretty small, so I doubt piggy could eat a full 1/2 c of pellets per day. Instead, let piggy eat as much as he likes at each meal and keep an eye on his weight over the next few weeks. Piglets should gain, on average, 1 lb per week.

At 5 weeks piggy is a little young to be interested much in treats. That will change in a week or two. Momma pigs wean their babies naturally at 8 or 9 weeks, so piglets naturally become interested in what Momma pig is eating when they reach 6 or 7 weeks old.

If you are concerned about the neutering, talk to your vet. Mini pigs should be put under for the surgery, and there is an internal loop that needs a stitch. If your vet is doing this, then all should be ok.

There are resources about mini pigs for your veterinarian. The book Veterinary Care of Pot-Bellied Pigs by Lorrie Blackburn/Boldrick discusses neutering along with general and medical care in clear, readable language. Forgotten Angels Rescue and Education Center (www.farec.org) works with a number of veterinarians across the country, who will do phone consultations with other vets. The Duchess Fund (www.petpig.com) maintains a medical database available to veterinarians.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: First, let me say thank you so much for responding so quickly!  Sooie is doing better.  I did take him to another vet that gave him an injection of ivomec and then gave me 3 more doses to give him one a week for three weeks.  I still am not sure that this is the vet for me either.  He wanted to neuter sooie without anesthesia.  That sounds a little bit rouggggh.  What are your thoughts?  I have been giving sooie goats milk and cereal with his pig pellets crushed in it.  He is eating great but does pick around the larger pieces of pig pellets.  How can I get him to eat his pig pellets without disguising them in baby cereal?

Thank you for suggesting that book.  I would really like to buy it and give it to my vet.  Would that be insulting?? LOL.  I just love this little guy so much and he needs to be neutered soon.  Thanks again for all of your help and responding so quickly!  I feel blessed to have discovered this site.

Have a blessed evening!

Answer
In my opinion, neutering without anesthesia is cruel. I would certainly try to find another vet! There's a list of vets that see pot-bellied pigs at www.farec.org

I don't know if your pig is avoiding the larger pieces of pellet because he can't easily chew them, or because he's not hungry enough to struggle with them. In a couple of weeks, he'll have his second set of teeth so it will be easier for him to chew the hard pellets. And, he'll be bigger and hungrier.

In the meantime, you can soak his pellets in a little milk or water. The pellets will dissolve faster in hot water or milk. I put pellets and water together in a bowl, and microwave it. How long to cook depends on your microwave and how much you're making. Be sure to stir the mix VERY thoroughly, because the food doesn't heat evenly, there will be hot and cool spots.