5 week old mpg - seizures & acting lifeless

Question
Hi Helen,
Last night I noticed that my 5 week old mini pot belly pig seemed a bit cold to the touch, which was unusual for him. I warmed him up and put him to bed. This is the same little piggy that I wrote to you about him when he wasn't eating (3 w/o mini pbp not eating) - since that post, his condition seemed to really improve. He was eating, had lots of spunk, and was very alert. However, after I put him to bed last night I heard him grunting and felt the need to check on him...He was in his litter box (pine shavings) and was having difficulty walking. I held him for a bit and he seemed much better, then put him to bed again. I heard him grunting again (now close to 2 am) and got up to check on him. He was lying on his side - I thought he was dead but he was still breathing. I picked him up and he was completely limp (felt lifeless except that he was still breathing and his eyes were open. I made him some scrambled eggs with oatmeal but he refused to eat. I tried to get him to drink some water but he did nothing. Then he started having seizures (grunting, eyes open, body went stiff and then legs started moving). This continued for a little while, in between seizures he was limp (like a ragdoll) but with his eyes open (they never left me). I didn't know what to do - I was going to call a vet in the morning but what should I have done in the moment?? I checked on him all night (he kept having seizures and then would be calm). Unfortunately he did not make it through the night. Is there anything I should have done differently??? He was a runt and was VERYYYY small. :( I just want to know what to do in that situation should it ever happen again.
Thanks,
A very heartbroken mom.

Answer
I'm very sorry about your piglet. It's difficult, sometimes impossible, to save runts. There may be so many things wrong internally that simply can't be fixed. You did well to give him five weeks of love and care.

There isn't much anyone can do at home for a piglet in seizures. Keep them comfortable, don't let them get too warm or too cold. Make sure they are in a safe in environment and can not hurt themselves. For example, keep them on the floor so they can't fall off furniture.

The only way to be sure of the cause of death is a necropsy performed fairly soon after death. But runts often suffer from congenital problems, so it's a safe guess that this could be the problem.