[gracy]

Well the runt of the litter has got himself in a pickle......
Our Piggies are free range and yesterday the littlest piggie went and found himself an ants nest. I don't know how long he had been digging it but when i went to feed them his face was swarming with red ants. hosed them off and didn't look too bad. this morning at feeding there were a large number of little red lumps on both ears. the ear on the right had an almost perfect line of them. armed with a bucket of celery i tried to entice him over (he is nervy and more importantly the only one who likes celery so i didn't need to worry about competition) now some time between fetching the bucket of treats and waiting for him to come over I'm not sure exactly what has happened. There was certainly no biting while i was sat in the run but the tip of his ear is hanging off. The flesh is completely dead  up to the line of bites and has started to peal away. I did manage to spray some iodeen on it but he didn't like it and i haven't been able to get near him since.
With tomorrow being a bank holiday the earliest i can get a vet to him will be Tuesday.
Has anyone else experienced severe ear damage and if so is there much more i can do other than hope i can get some more iodeen on tommorow.

The left ear hasn't changed so far ..... fingers crossed the bites on that one will subside without complication.... 

[gracy]

A little diagram of dammage for clarifacation - warning i am no picasso

[fsmnutter]

If he is eating and drinking, the area isn't bleeding heavily, and he is well in himself I would agree with applying antiseptic such as iodine like you have done, which will prevent infection and allow healing.
If he was unwell, or in any way struggling to breathe, regardless of bank holidays I would advise getting a vet to visit asap (all vets should have a system in place for 24/7 emergency cover) as the histamine released by insect bites is essentially like a big allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment to prevent his airways closing up.
Hope he has learned his lesson and feels better soon!

[gracy]

Thanks fsmnutter
Left ear looking normal now. Will see what the vet suggests we do about the dead tip on the right. I think all the attention he has been getting from mama pig (me) may have gone to his head. he actually went and head butted one of the others away from something or other and succeed in stealing the prize!