Urgent! Pig with possible tetanus

Nov 26, 2021
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One of my pigs cannot eat very well and is displaying symptoms of anorexia. She cannot open her jaw well and every time she is prompted to eat she has to give up due to seemingly not being able to breathe. She sometimes starts coughing after attempting also

She has a gait to her walk and seems to be struggling. She prefers not to walk and we have been treating her to plantains, corn and watery feed as it is the only food she will eat.

There are unfortunately loose rusty nails in the sty, we have continuously removed them but they tend to get buried then un-burried. I thought she might of stepped on one of these and due to the mud in the enclosure the wound would be is a low oxygen condition.

She is fairly skinny, as seen in images attached. She is from a litter of around 8 but always had stunted growth alongside a couple others. I’d say she is less than half the size of some of the largest members of the litter. No other pigs are sharing symptoms and all are relatively healthy.

All our male pigs are castrated. The pen itself is rocky with dirt, some mud and some watery mudbaths, we have tried to fill up the mud many times but it just keep becoming waterlogged. The pen doesn’t have many plants but was very green and there are plenty of roots keeping the ground together. It is overall very solid but there are some soft patches.
She is only sharing the pen with one other pig and there is no fighting between the two at all.

Their house is cleaned daily but there is no bedding as they have never seemed to need it and we do not have much. They are fed two times a day, at 6am and at around 2pm. This consists of leftovers and scraps (nothing known to be harmful to pigs, very strict about this) and also corn and watery feed when needed.

These symptoms started no more than ten days ago although this is a rough estimate. We are currently ordering a tetanus shot alongside penicillin and it will be arriving today. We plan to inject the pig today so fast responses are appreciated

Link to video with her walking:
 

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Forgot to mention so here we are!
I live in a tropical climate with a lowest humidity of 55% and highest of 94%. Temperature ranges from 23-32.7 C. It rains very often and the pigs move inside of their house when it does

Our animals have had issues of parasites such as botflies, ticks and worms. But I checked her and she did not have any of these issues. She has also been dewormed in the past.
Her faeces are very hard and grey, but they look normal - a bit pellet like if that makes sense. I could not break them with direct spraying of a pressure hose but could with a rock.

I have checked her feet but I cannot see any wounds nor discoloured areas or swelling. But if it was a puncture wound from a nail it could be well hidden.
 
If she has tetanus the only treatment is tetanus antitoxin and penicillin. Start the antitoxin ASAP if you haven't already. It may stop the progression, but the stiffness will not resolve itself overnight. Good nursing helps. I am assuming the vaccine you ordered is antitoxin and not toxoid. Toxoid will prevent tetanus but it is useless as a treatment.
 
I just looked at the video. I am no expert, but it doesn't look like tetanus to me, for whatever that is worth. If she had tetanus, I would expect her ears and tail to be stiff and rigid, her head carried higher, and more stiffness in her gait. I have never seen tetanus in a pig, but I have seen it in goats. At any rate the treatment for tetanus can't hurt her even if she doesn't have it. The penicillin should help no matter what she has. By the way, pigs are very resistant to tetanus. That doesn't mean they can't get it, but it does mean that it is rare.
 
Oh i did not know pigs were resistant! Useful information

We are administering tetanus antitoxin, alongside anti inflammatories and penicillin. Currently ordering vitamin B as others suggested it

Her ears are stiffer than the others but not entirely hard as they can still move. She does love flapping her tail around which I thought was odd as tetanus makes the tail stiff
 

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