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Blackberry's getting old, and will only eat celery, any sugestions?

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Tallulah

Tallulah

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Hi

My piggy Blackberry is getting older, she'll be five soon. I knwo this isn't mega old, but she's really showing her age. She's full of energy, has big bright eyes and a shiny coat. She is excellent spirits. However she is getting thinner.

She will only really eat celery. She is so deperate for food I have to be so careful she doesn't jump out of her hutch at tea time. She always has dry food, hay and a selection of veg, but she will other veg or a bit of fruit a little, and leave it. She rarely eats hay or dry food.

She doesn't have any problems eating, when she does eat she doesn't struggle, she isn't in pain, and as I say she's very happy. i do appreciate that losing weight is part of teh ageing process, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about how to feed her up, celery alone is surely not a staple diet?
 
Have you tried giving her parsley?
I have found that many elderly or sick pigs will eat it even if they turn away from everything else.
You could also give her 0.2ml of Metatone daily for 3-4 days as an appetite stimulant.
 
Thanks I'll give parsley a try, we don't have much in the garden, I'll go and buy some. I know she's always loved it, fingers crossed.
 
where do you get metatone from is it a vet thing I might try it with Elvis, what do you think?
 
Metatone Tonic is available without prescription in chemists & supermarkets (tesco did sell it) :)
 
Tescos and sainburys sell it not sure about asda and morrisions
 
I might try it. She so hungry though, her appetit as such is huge! Just only for celery....
 
Personally I would still get her teeth check- mainly the back ones.
In the meantime I would try soaked pellets and organic baby food to temp her.
 
Is she just getting thinner in appearance or is she actually losing weight on the scales? How much weight has she lost and over what period?

Some of my pigs have got noticeably thinner/scrawny on their rumps - but their weight has stayed the same(or even increased) ...owing to fluid build in in the lungs/abdomen (confirmed by X ray and ultrasound) They are now on fortekor and frusemide heart/diuretic meds.

As for the preference for celery - it is a diuretic and has high potassium levels......so would be a natural choice for a pig with heart problems if you believe they know instinctively what to eat to make themselves better

Luckily my pigs are all still eating - although a couple get hand-fed Recovery or mashed pellets every evening as a boost to keep their weight up..

So in addition to the great suggestions already re bran, metatone teeth etc....might also be worth looking for fluid/heart problems as well.

HTH
x
 
Hi

She's been eating a bit of cereal today, and some grass which she's loved. I see what you mean about the heart problem idea, but I think she's just taken a shine to it. She seems so well, and happy I don't really want to take her to the vets, it's a long drive, and I don't want to upset her if she's ok and doesn't need to go. If I thought she was poorly of course I would, but she really does seem so well apart from being thinner.

I'm keeping a close eye on her, but she doesn't seem to be in any way different to other old piggies I've had, except for the celery addiction....
 
My little Pippi started losing weight when she was getting older too, so I totally understand your concern. Celery is not a bad choice thankfully, it has a lot of fibre, vitamin C and water content so it's by no means the worst thing she could have picked as her favourite food. The important thing (i think) is to keep offering everything you have in small doses. Even a tiny nibble at something else is better than nothing. Also, guineas do a lot of eating in the night when you are sleeping. I realised this when I had them in my room and they would wake me with a feeding frenzy in the early hours of the morning. Pieces of abandoned carrot would magically vanish overnight...into a certain someone's mouth who had turned her nose up at it earlier that day!

One thing that is a guaranteed hit for my guineas like yours is fresh grass. I go out rain or shine to cut grass. On my bike with my trusty pair of scissors and a plastic bag...watched by curious passers-by of course. :-) I give fresh grass to my guineas whenever I can, it is the one thing they will always eat and gets them begging at the side of the cage. It perks them up no end.

One of my guineas has also taken a real shine to sweetcorn, I cut it off the cob and give about 40 kernels in one session. I think someone on this forum said corn has quite a high calorie count so it might be worth trying it, especially if she has lost weight. Corn is quite sweet though so I would moderate the intake, as with fruits.

I hope Blackberry will be fine and that it's just a phase and nothing more serious. Good luck and rest assured you're not the only one that's running around sourcing your beloved guinea her favourite treats!
 
Sometimes they do just seem to fade, especially when they reach 'seniorhood' at 4+. Are you actually weighing her routinely, Tallulah, so you can monitor how much weight she's losing in what length of time?
 
I have to admit I'm not weighing her, it's not something I've ever done with my piggies.

I handle her regularly and she hasn't felt different in a few weeks now. I although her eating is still celery focussed she is doing well, she will eat some cereal, and loves grass or dandelions.

She is an old lady I suppose, and I'm glad she's come through the winter. A few weeks and she'll be out on the grass for day trips!
 
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