PBP and hiccups

Question

  Hi!! I'm new to the forum, I hope I'm asking the right question, in the right venue. I am the proud mommy of a 1.5 year old baby girl (about 60lbs-supposedely a mini/micro won't get bigger than 15 lb piggy-my vet on the other hand says she has never seen a pbp smaller than 40 lbs that was healthly) in any event, my little girl has the hiccups, it appears as if she is flinching, but I can see it coming from deep within, she will get the hiccups a couple times a week and she seems miserable...can't get comfortable, etc. She has regular checkups, I had a pbp expire at 9 months old d/t a undetected heart defect in combination with his obesity-it exacerbated it and although I drove him 5 hrs to a pbp specialist, he was unfortunately too sick to survive the illness, so I'm EXTRA careful with the two I have now and take them to the vet at the slightest sign of an impending illness...so I didn't want to call the vet for hiccups. Is it dangerous or is there anything I can do to help alleviate?? Thanks so much in advance for your help, I just feel so bad for her!!Brittany

Answer
Pigs get hiccups on occasion, but it shouldn't happen all the time. Sometimes it's caused by eating too fast or gulping dry pellets without chewing. Try soaking her food with warm water so it's soft and crumbly.

If that doesn't work, keep a hiccup journal to help your vet zero in on the cause. Write down the time of day, what piggy was doing (or eating) before the hiccups started, and anything else that might have triggered it. Write down how long the episode lasts.

I don't know of any hiccup cures that actually work, in people or in pigs. But you might try giving her something to drink, like diluted fruit juice, and a good belly rub.