Sick Potbelly Pig

Question
Our miniature potbelly pig, who is 2 years old, got sick 2 days ago. He ate his salad for lunch and I let him outside to go potty and I noticed he was puking. He just layed in the grass and would not come inside. He has not got sick again since then but has been eating very little and I just noticed today that his left eye is swollen and he has been itching it a lot. I also noticed earlier he seemed to be constipated. I am very worried about him, as he has only been sick once before and it was a 24 hour thing. Any insight you can give me would be very helpful. Thanks!

Answer
I am not a veterinarian, and no one can make a medical diagnosis over the internet.

My guess is these two incidents are not related. Eating too much grass at once, or eating contaminated grass, can make piggies temporarily sick. If he is still not feeling well after a week or so, or he refuses to eat he will need to see a vet.

When pigs are out playing in the grass they can get seeds or bits stuck in their eyes. Try to clean his eye off with your finger or a soft damp cloth. If you can, it's ok to use eye wash eye drops on his eyes, but he may not like that unless the drops are lukewarm.

A pigs back and sides are fairly impervious to stinging and biting insects, but they can still be stung or bitten on the soft body parts around the eyes and under the belly. You can try to apply a cold cloth, but he may not like that. Normally it's safe to use any skin product made for people on a pig, but because this involves the eye or is close to it use caution and choose only products that can be used in or near human eyes to relieve the itch.

If the swelling doesn't go down in a couple of days, or if it  starts to smell bad or ooze pus, piggy will need to see a vet. There's a list of vets that see pot-bellied pigs at www.farec.org