Pot Bellied Pig Hamlett

Question
Hamlett just turned 8 months old and i have noticed over the last month or so he has started acting different, more moody and stubborn. I chalked it up to him being in his pigteens and moody. when washing him down today i noticed more that he had red discharge from his eyes, i was his face after each meal and since he is a short chubby faced little nosed pig, i didnt think much over it, upon further inspection i see that he isnt seeing at all, he isnt itching or mean in any way and isnt crying when touched, even when pulling back the fat rolls above his eyes he just lets me do it. I am feeling like a horrible pet owner, and cannot forgive myself if he is blind because of me. I feed him veggies, and pig chow, he is big, but i didnt think he was overly obese, please help.

Answer
Some pigs have extra fat around their faces, which can make it hard to see. They don't have to be obese for this to happen, just heavy enough to make the facial fat puff out. Others are susceptible to develop entropion, which is a condition where the eyelashes rub against the eyeball.

Your pig is young, so there's a good chance he might recover. If he's one of those pigs with very short nose and chubby cheeks, he may need to stay on the slender side for best health.

Start by cleaning his eyes out carefully with a soft, damp cloth. Get all junk. Make sure his eyelashes are out, not turned inward.

There is a surgical procedure to correct entropion that involves removing extra puffs of fat and tucking the eyelid so it stays properly in place. This may be an option if weight loss doesn't help.

Because his vision is compromised, you'll need to take some extra steps to make him comfortable. Talk to him when you approach, tell him what you are going to do before doing it (ie, "I'm going to touch your ears" then touch them).

There's a Yahoo group called PigInfoandChat dedicated to pot-bellied pigs. A few people in the group have handicapped pigs, and can give you lots of advice and suggestions on how to deal with this.