America‘s newest house hold pet seems to be the pot bellied pig. Originally from Vietnam and China, they have found a home here. They are clean, smart, and can be leash trained. In fact, they can even go to puppy school. They have a very keen sense of smell and coupled with their intelligence means they will figure out how to get into the refrigerator so it needs to be latched. One of their owner’s favorite characteristics is they don’t bark.
Types of hernias
· One of the big down sides of pot bellied pigs is that they are very prone to hernias. There are three types of hernias the can get. One of these is abdominal hernias. These generally are small, pose little danger, and will most likely heal themselves. Much more serious are the umbilical hernias. These can become strangulated and kill the animal. The third type of hernia is the inguinal hernia. These are cause by poor techniques during neutering.
Dangerous umbilical hernias
· The umbilical hernias, the most dangerous, are genetic in nature. Like any genetic trait, it should be predicable and breed out of the gene pool. However, the most common symptom of an umbilical hernia is an enlarged belly, which they have to begin with. Sometimes it will get diagnosed early if it starts to strangulate as it causes the pig discomfort and they lose their appetite. Radiographs and ultrasounds can be used to diagnose the hernias, but these are expensive to have done “just to check”. Umbilical hernias, therefore, are generally discovered during spay and neutering. At that point there is no longer a need to worry about passing on the gene.
Neutering and spaying
· One of the cruelest acts that can befall a pot bellied pig is barnyard neutering. It is not that bad for hogs but not at all appropriate for the little pot bellied pigs. This is for two reasons. One is that it is done at a younger age on pot bellied pigs and more important is that a hog’s testicles hang low, away from the body. A pot bellied pig’s testicles, by contrast, hang very close. In some ways, however, the actual act is not too dissimilar. The scrotum is cut in two long slices and the testicles squeezed out then sutured. A similar procedure is done to spay females.
Inguinal hernias
· This is the point where there is a danger in causing an inguinal hernia. If the sutures are not done correctly around the inguinal ring, an inguinal hernia could develop. Provided the owner notices in time it can be corrected with more surgery. It should not be very difficult to notice as the drugs for the surgery wear off in under 24 hours (it is done outpatient) and discomfort become apparent.
Summery
With in a few day your pot bellied pig should be up and around. You will no longer need to worry about letting your pot bellied pig mix with other pot belled pigs and the vet might have also corrected a problem with you animal that you did not know existed.
http://www.pigs4ever.com/PotBelliedPigInfo/glossary.htm
http://home.comcast.net/~wnor/inguinalregion.htm
http://www.pigpalssanctuary.com/health/inguinal_ring.htm
http://www.essortment.com/all/pigsminiaturep_rmai.htm
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/umbilical-hernia-in-dogs/page1.aspx
http://www.lbah.com/potbellypig/pbneuter.htm
http://merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171207.htm
