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Getting Piggie To Eat Independently Again

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missdoofus

missdoofus

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello :bye:,
I need to ask for advice again as we are still not further with Cookie actually gaining weight. It has been just over a month that he was neutered and he is a little bit better, he will eat some vegetables again, has had to somewhat re-learn to drink water from the bottle in his cage. He has been drinking a lot more though, since he figured out he doesn't need to wait for the syringe to drink water. We have seen him eat pellets at regular intervals and since we put him back with his cagemate (with whom he is miraculously getting on again!) he has also started eating hay again as well.

His behaviour has improved, he still has periods where he sits hunched up, but he is wheeking again for food and seems just a little more cheerful and active.
During the week we are unable to feed him during the day, as the director of my company is no longer impressed with me having him at work :ban:.

So the routine is like this:
6am get up and feed - he eats a good lot of food, he doesn't like critical care, so we give him mashed up pellets, which he eats without forcing. Then we get ready and feed him again at 7.30am - I do try and give him the critical care at this point. Then obviously he only has the food in his cage during the day, this includes veggies. I get home around 5.30pm - handfeed as much as I can. Then I continue the handfeeding every hour until 11pm. We have also been giving them additional vegetables. I try and mix in the critical care with his mashed up pellets.

At the weekend we feed him every couple of hours, morning and night time. He does not seem to be loosing weight on a daily basis but he is still at 550/570g it varies slightly. He was at 750g before the operation.

We have tried handfeeding him baby food, mixed with critical care etc. but he hates all of it and as he started eating independently again, he now puts up a serious fight for feeding as he seems to think he no longer needs the special treatment. :roll::roll: Well, we disagree!

So, how are we going to get him to eat more of his food independently and actually get enough to reduce the amount we handfeed him? It seems like we are in this cycle and there is no way out. (All the vet visits haven't come out with him actually having anything wrong that would need treatment :no: so there is no real reason for him to be like this...)

Any suggestions appreciated!
 
I would weigh him daily to see whether he actually needs hand feeding. I would also consider to just observe how much he is eating without your support on a day when you are at home and can keep an eye on him. He may actually eat normally once he has to! it would be worth a test drive, just so you have more peace of mind about leaving him at home.

If an operation hasn't gone smoothly, it can take a few more weeks before he is putting on some weight again. His body will do so only it when it is ready, no matter how much he is actually eating.
 
Thanks @Wiebke !

Thats exactly what we are wondering as well, if he had to, will he eat...? My only concern is that he weighs so little already if he drops much more there will be nothing left of him oO

During the week he has no one during the day to feed him, we have a spare webcam I might actually hook it up and fast forward at the end of the day to see what he has eaten.
 
When I was hand feeding scruffy it got to the point he was happy to eat mushed up pellets by himself but not dry ones so I would mix them up with warm water and out in his cage for overnight and in the morning I would come down to them demolished! This went on for about 10 days or so then one day he just started himself back on dried pellets, veg and hay! I always offered him everything but he refused to take it until he felt well enough x
 
I am happy to just put them in but I have to be aware though that the other pig might be the one eating them...

Might try and get their veggies ready now and then put the mushed up pellets into the food bowl and then put it in.. And hope he doesn't end up marching through it :pp
 
Can you put a divider in their cagewhen you aren't there? They can still have the interaction but he can have a go at eating some nugget mush by himself then
 
I could put the divider back in but they have been fighting for weeks and this is the first time since November they are getting on again, so I don't want to break the relationship they have just built up again..

No I haven't tried the bran, what do I need to make it/ how do I make it?
 
As long as they can interact through the divider that should be fine. Providing he has a clean bill of health and just needs to put on the weight wheat bran could be good for him. You can get a big bag for something like £1.70 from holland and barrat, and probably from any health food shop. I used to add a bit of water to make it mushy, but they stuff their faces with it dry too. Go easy on it, just try half a teaspoon in a little bowl each day and see how it goes.
 
Ah well that's easier than I thought!

Well like I said no one can actually find anything wrong with him, so I assume he is just taking his time to get better.. Well so I hope anyways..
 
Add a sprinkle of porridge oats too if you have some, these will help add weight to him. Keep his normal food in there too, hay, nuggets and veggies, and hopefully he will start eating properly again!
 
Well I need to go to the shop tomorrow anyways, so I shall do some additional shopping! Will let you know what my little fussy eater thinks ;)
 
Yeah I think Chocolate rather liked the wet pellets when I put them in lol! However I knew Scruffy was getting a lot of them as he did indeed run through them quite a bit! His face and underside got rather dirty! I just took the risk of Chocolate snaffling some as I dudnt have a divider x
 
It is worth trying mashed up pellets; I mix mine with Critical Care and add a pinch of readigrass (provided you have some) for extra delicious flavouring for any offy piggies that still have some appetite left. You need to change it twice daily, though.
 
Welk i Tried not feeding him and he is down to 500g :( so it's obviously not made a difference to him, be just seems to have no enthusiasm to eat..

I just put the wet pellet mash in and the other pig is eating it, but cookie is just turning his nose up at it. I also started mixing the critical xare in with the pellets as otherwise they don't eat it. My local shops didn't jabe wheat bran and Holland and barriers is miles away and closed by the time I finish work. So need to try and get the wheat bran from somewhere else
 
missdoofus said:
Welk i Tried not feeding him and he is down to 500g :( so it's obviously not made a difference to him, be just seems to have no enthusiasm to eat..

I just put the wet pellet mash in and the other pig is eating it, but cookie is just turning his nose up at it. I also started mixing the critical xare in with the pellets as otherwise they don't eat it. My local shops didn't jabe wheat bran and Holland and barriers is miles away and closed by the time I finish work. So need to try and get the wheat bran from somewhere else
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I am ever so sorry, but it very much looks like you have to continue to hand feed him as much as possible.

If he is not eating at all, there is an internal and likely pain-rlated problem that is preventing him to eat. Has your vet considered an infection or gut adhesion? It is very gutting, but please contact the vet again as this is not normal and something IS going on that is not at all right! At the least, he will need pain relief while your vet is researching into more unusual post op complications. :(

Please also make sure that he is getting plenty of water, as that much of a weight loss in such a short time also means that he has not drunk at all. If necessary, use dioralyte from the pharmacy.
 
Agreed with wiebke - chances are hes still unwell or in pain. Don't worry yourself overly about the wheat bran if its hard to find, just concentrate on hand feeding him and getting some weight back on him until he can see the vet again
 
Will make another appointment and keep feeding.. We had an X-ray which hasn't come up with anything. What else can they do to check him out?
 
He also already spent ten days on baytril and a further 10 on Septrin (spelling?)
 
Ktbubble007 said:
When I was hand feeding scruffy it got to the point he was happy to eat mushed up pellets by himself but not dry ones so I would mix them up with warm water and out in his cage for overnight and in the morning I would come down to them demolished! /QUOTE]

^^^^ This - but take him out and let him eat to his heart's content twice day free from "interference"
Also try putting in a bowl of water - some pigs really don;t do water bottles when poorly and a bowl to encourage better fluid intake can do wonders for their weight.

For veggies - as well as leafy greens - ensure he gets two days each with baby corn or carrots.

As far as supplementing his softened nuggets is concerned - boil porridge oats and when cool mix the oats with some liquidised nuggets. I would stay off the wheat bran

As to his current medical condition:
I agree with Wiebke that there is possibly some underlying pain isue (adhesions is a real possibility) and pain relief (not necessarily metacam but maybe tramadol or buprecare) may hep him get back on the "eating train"
HTH
x
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We're feeding him at the minute and he is having plenty, second feed since getting in. Getting lots of water with added probiotics and vit c as well.
 
I got to the point that I was at my wits end when Scruffy went down to his lowest weight of 465g! I was in contact with TEAS and considering a piggy train to get him down there. At this point he was refusing all food and I had to force feed him - my hubby and I gave him 2 days and then it was going to be piggy train. Over those two days (with painkillers from vet and anti bs) the improvement was massive! I gave him water by syringe and by day 2 he was actually picking up the water syringe and chucking it at me to let me know he was thirsty. I'm sure if we hadn't gone to emergency vets on the Saturday he would either be at TEAS just now or not here at all the turnaround was so quick! From day 3 of our decision to get a piggy train he started to eat mushed up pellets with puréed veg (just a little drop) and powdered pro biotics and I put Chocolate in the run by himself so Scruffy got peace to eat on the sofa on a towel with a cushion underneath! He would sit for hours at a time munching away at the wet pellets and every now and then would chuck the water syringe at me!

Since then he has improved 100% and now weighs a thoroughly chunky 910g! It has been a long slog of night feeds and a month long roller coaster worrying about the wee man but today he is back popcoring & wheeking about the place and constantly begging for food lol!

I'm hoping your wee piggie will get better soon - you are doing the best you can for him. I Hope you are able to look back on this time when he is much better and remember the bonding time you had with him. It's definitely made Scruffy trust/love me more - he always comes up to me whereas Chocolate is still super wary!

Sorry I have waffled enough! Sending get well soon vibes x
 
Thanks @Ktbubble007 ! It's nice to hear stories of piggies that get well again. I booked another appointment for Saturday as I am also studying and am already taking days off work for that and really can't take any more. I will see what they think.

It's still the same, we feed him, unless we feed him he doesn't eat.
 
I was lucky it happened over Christmas holidays as I had a fortnight off - I also work from home as I'm a childminder so I just let the parents know that Scruffy would be out eating for most of the day which worked well. It's hard to find the right balance. Hope your appt goes well on Saturday and who knows he might be more interested in his food by then x
 
Ha! That's good, I'm a nursery manager and the directors are not really pet fans.. So I when I brought him to work, they were seriously thinking I'd lost it!

Lowest weight as yet today.. It seems to be going down hill appointment early tomorrow morning. We stuffed his face with food and hope he makes it.
 
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