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Medicines to keep on hand when you have a Pet Pig
Here is a first aid and medicine kit that you can put together
for your pig so you will be ready to instantly deal with any
problem that may arise.
Accidents happen, and with pigs sometimes they aren't so
accidental. Your pig will get bumps, scrapes and even cuts,
particularly if it lives, as it should, with another pig. It is
important to take care of these small injuries as soon as they
occur, if an infection is allowed to develop it can cause serious
harm - even a small injury can lead to a large infection.
* First, you will need a bag or box dedicated to the medical
supplies for your pig. Think of a place to keep it where it will
not get wet or contaminated, and keep it close to your pig's pen
for quick and convenient access. Tape to the inside of the
medicine kit lid some emergency numbers such as the veterinarian
and poison control for animals.
* You should then get a spray bottle,
* distilled water,
* Hydrogen peroxide,
* sterile compression pads,
* spectomycin,
* antihistamine,
* aspirin,
* SMZ,
* and Gatorade.
A spray bottle is handy to have around for when your pig will not
let you near the injury that is causing him pain. You can put
hydrogen peroxide in the spray bottle to disinfect cuts. You can
put spectomycin and some water in the bottle for an antibiotic
treatment (Ask the vet how to mix).
Your antihistamine should be something like Benadryl or Zyrtec.
Any animal that has difficulty breathing because of the shape of
its snout or muzzle can have allergies develop and cause big
trouble. To get your pig to take an antihistamine, you take a
pill, crush it up and put it between two slices of bread with
mayonnaise, or make a paste with water and smear it in the pig's
mouth. The common human dosage is probably fine for your pig if
it is relatively the same weight as you are. Most pigs will eat
with no problem a pleasant tasting chewable Benadryl for
children.
Aspirin is handy to have in your medicine kit when you pig is
injured, especially if your pig hurts a hoof or leg. This is a
painful condition. Be cautious to not give too much aspirin to
your pig as it can cause stomach problems, ulcers of the stomach
and liver damage. Most veterinarians these days prescribe an acid
reducer like Ranitidine or Prilosec to take along with any pain
medicine to avoid upsetting the stomach or the stomach lining,
but that is for painful conditions like arthritis or joint issues
that will make your pig need to take pain medicine for extended
periods of time.
SMZ is a very common and widely used antibiotic that you can find
on any farm. The pills are easy to crush into powder and easy to
feed to an animal. SMZ will cure a wide range of ailments.
Amoxicillin and Tetracycline are also common antibiotics and can
be used for pigs. At the first sign of infection you should dose
your piggy after calling the vet for proper dosage instructions.
Another antibiotic is called Doxycyclene and can be taken once
daily, which is good for the finicky pig that will not take its
pills voluntarily.
Any pill can probably be snuck into many foods that you pig likes
to eat, especially if it is a crushed tablet. If you pig likes
applesauce then crush the tablet into the applesauce and give the
applesauce to the pig like it is a treat. If you pig will not
take medicine at all you can crush the tablet, mix with water and
put into a needless syringe to be squirted directly into its
mouth. There are specially made syringes for this purpose.
There are a myriad of ways to sneak a pill into food stuff that
you piggy will like. You can make any number of sandwiches with
any sauce and mix the crushed tablet into the sauce. You can mix
the pill into some sugar cookie dough or cottage cheese or
stuffing! You can mix it into any type of drink like Gatorade or
Egg Nog! You can also put into peach halves or canned apple
slices. You can even put it into vegetarian hot dogs and feed it
to you piggy (ideal for capsules!). Most pigs love human food,
although it should be given to them only on special and rare
occasions, so the treat of human food will probably make your pig
take its medicine with no problem.
Never Ever give Pork products to a pig. You can inadvertently
spread disease by doing this. You should thoroughly cook any pork
you ingest and never give it to your pig.
Good luck and keep you pig healthy. If any problems occur that
you can not handle yourself or if your pig appears to not get
better quickly, or gets worse, you should contact your
veterinarian immediately.
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