Not eating hay.....any ideas to tempt Squeak?

[Teejay]

Hi all, Squeak (6 month old boar) is recovering from a pretty severe URI, but he's going from strength to strength and is almost back to his cheeky, mischevious self! He completely lost his appetite when he was very sick, and I've devoted many hours over the past couple of days to hand-feeding him all of his favourite foods and syringe-feeding him Recovery.

He's now eating pretty much all of the veggies I give him, loads of fresh grass, stacks of Graze-On (dried grass) and quite a good amount of pellets, and he has a compressed hay cake that he seems to be nibbling at, but he's completely ignoring his long stem hay.

He's had his favourite Alfalfa King Timothy hay, he's had the Timothy hay with herbs (two different varieties), he's had posh expensive welsh meadow hay, he's had cheap meadow hay from the local pet shop, he's had Timothy haylege.....but he completely ignores it all.....

I'm trying to keep him with a constant supply of dried grass and fresh grass in the hope that this will provide sufficient fibre to keep his digestive system healthy.

Anyone have any ideas what I can tempt him with?

Tracey

 

[Glynis]

Hi love what about chopping some of it up with his pellet mix?
maybe into say 3-4" pieces so easier to pick up........
is he able to pick up all his other food?

I'm sure someone else will come up with an idea to help, sorry i can't help much

sending some wheeeeeeky loves for Squeak xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[claremw92]

hey,
glad hes doing better...
thoguht of taking the grass away...?
if he prefers grass to hay hes going to pick that over the other...
so i'd just try taking the grass away for one day and see if it makes a difference personally...
x

 

[Teejay]

Hi both, good ideas there, thanks! Sometimes, when you're in the thick of a situation, you can't see the wood for the trees, can you?

Hi Glynis, he's not having any trouble picking up any of his food, he pretty much seems to be back almost to full fitness, apart from he still looks quite thin and weedy, but he sure motors around the living room on the occasions he manages to escape from the cage and he puts up a good fight when it comes to taking his antibiotics!

When his appetite was at it's lowest, I almost felt like he couldn't be bothered to eat, like he'd given up.......he'd have one bite of something, and then turn his nose up at the second bite......like it was just too much effort. I found that the key to getting him to eat was offering him very small portions of a huge variety of yummy things. Like he'd only eat one basil leaf, and then maybe one tiny piece of cucumber and then one nibble of a carrot.....then he'd go off to the corner of the cage, hunch up and shut his eyes.

Hi Clare, I'm a bit reluctant to take away the grass, I must admit, just in case that doesn't tempt him to eat his hay and simply means he's eating less overall. But I guess I could try it maybe for a few hours and see if he goes back to his hay.

I'm sure his love for hay will come back soon, but I'm eager for him to be eating it ASAP, cos, IMO, that's the best way to get him bulked back up and healthy again.

Thanks again, Tracey

 

[claremw92]

i see what you mean...
what about advocado...
I'm a great advocate of advocado for poorly piggies... because its soft and high in fat... if there ever feeling a little bit poorly i always give mine advocado....
lol
x

 

[flintstones]

Hi There,

I know this is different but Fred after he got his teeth done would eat everything apart from hay for the first 4 days, had me so worried. Perhaps it's a poorly pig thing.

It's good he interested in everything else. Fingers crossed he realizes what he's missing out on soon. .

You've did a great job with him so far, keep it up!

Jo xx

 

[Teejay]

Hiya, well Squeaky went back to the vets tonight for a check-up....the vet confessed tonight just how sick he really was and she admitted she thought he wasn't going to recover.....she was amazed how well he'd rallied so far, yay!

He's actually put on about 50g since he was weighed at the vets on Sunday Fat piggie....lol!

He's actually been nibbling at his hay this evening, so that's a good sign.

I might give avocado a try! And if Squeaky doesn't want it, I'll have it on a salad tomorrow, yum! LOL!

Thanks for the replies, Tracey

 

[Teejay]

Hi Clare, not sure how correct this is, but I just googled avocados for guinea pigs (seemed like a good idea to me on first thought, but I thought I'd double-check before feeding it), and apparently they're a complete 'no-no'. Too high in fat and maybe even toxic.

Just thought I should warn you! Tracey x

 

[claremw92]

Hi Clare, not sure how correct this is, but I just googled avocados for guinea pigs (seemed like a good idea to me on first thought, but I thought I'd double-check before feeding it), and apparently they're a complete 'no-no'. Too high in fat and maybe even toxic.

Just thought I should warn you! Tracey x

really...?!?!?!
i knew they were a no no becuase of the high fat content ~(hense why i only feed them to mine when there a bit poorly)... but didnt realise they could potentially be toxic...!
thanks]x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Clare, not sure how correct this is, but I just googled avocados for guinea pigs (seemed like a good idea to me on first thought, but I thought I'd double-check before feeding it), and apparently they're a complete 'no-no'. Too high in fat and maybe even toxic.

Just thought I should warn you! Tracey x

I was just going to post on that point as well! Avocados are on the list of toxic foods. My (German) list says, too, that some varieties of avocado are highly poisonous to guinea pigs and that any not completely ripe fruit will lead to diarrhea, so it is recommended to stay off them completely.

I am glad that Squeaky has started to nibble on hay. Any weight gain is good and means that he is getting enough food.