My potbelly pig had surgery. Why no water? Will he dehydrate?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If the dental surgery was yesterday I would give it some more time for the interest in water to come back. I've seen this commonly post operatively where the patient does not want to eat or drink for 1-3 days after the procedure and is then fine after. If she is not taking in any water at all, you can syringe feed her some water throughout the day to ensure she is taking in enough water. Adding moisture to the kibble will give her water but likely not enough if you are only adding a small amount. I would add in 1/2-1 cup of water to the kibble and see how she does with this. If the decreased thirst continues beyond 2-3 days, I would call your veterinarian again and discuss this with him / her over the phone about what they would like you to do next. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Bacon should be examined by your veterinarian to diagnose illness or injury. Once a diagnosis is made, the appropriate treatment can be administered. Do not wait to see if he improves. Dehydration is a very real concern that can complicate any underlying condition.

Poor Charlie. Well his incision looks great. If he is eating food then that is a good sign. Drinking water is sometimes not adequate during the time of recovery from a surgery of this magnitude. Try adding water to his food or giving him canned food to increase his water intake. I wouldn't be too concerned just yet and give him another day or two of observation and recovery time. If you notice any foul smells, discharge, severe swelling or undoing of the sutures, then its best to have him seen by your vet. However, I would expect him to pick up his water intake and activity level in the next few days, as long as there are no complications from the surgery. You can also check his rectal temperature daily (normal is 100-102.5 degrees F) to make sure there are no signs of infection. I wish your fur baby Charlie well in his recovery.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucy. Anesthesia will slow down the gastrointestinal tract and make bowel movements less frequent. Plus she was probably not eating well before surgery due to being ill and most patients are fasted for a bit after surgery. This means there is likely less food in her system to come out. Unless she is straining to defecate, it is typically not worrisome that she is not defecating regularly yet. As far as the drinking, she most likely received IV fluids under anesthesia and while hospitalized. This would have provided her with a large amount of fluids. Now eating the canned food, this is supplying her with moisture as well. As long as she is eating and is acting normally, then I suspect her recovery is going well. If you have any concerns though, I would seek emergency care this weekend just to be sure. I hope this information helps!

If possible I would contact the veterinarian that did the surgery to discuss any concerns they might have. I recommend monitoring Archibald closely continuing to offer him small amounts of food and water and following the discharge instructions given by your veterinarian. If he begins acting painful, weak, or has any vomiting then he needs to be seen by a veterinarian.

He likely hasn't eaten enough to produce enough stool yet. If he isn't straining to defecate and he seems to be acting normally I would not be too concerned about that just yet. That being said, constipation can be caused by dehydration. If you are seriously worried about him being dehydrated you cannot force him to drink so my suggestion would be to take him to your vet so they can give him some fluids under the skin of neck so his body can absorb them (this is called subcutaneous fluids). I think you are doing fine by feeding the canned food and adding the water. You can try adding a bit more and maybe just a very tiny pinch of salt to see if that will cause him to drink a bit more. I also suggest you feed him a probiotic. That will help with digestion and overall health. My favorite is Fortiflora. You can buy it over the counter or online. If you can't find it or get it then you can use any probiotic but make sure it is made for cats (not humans and no dairy). Hope this answers your questions. If you have more please feel free to post again.

There are many things that can cause vomiting in pigs. I suggest you just hold him off food until you can get her seen by your vet. That way his stomach can rest. Have water available for him to drink but don't force him to take in water.