Why is my piggie not eating much?

[Jen_blue]

hello,

One of my piggies doesnt seem to be eating much - last night I hand fed him to check whether there was a problem with his mouth and he seemed fine. But this morning and last night there was quite a lot of veggies still left in the dish. He has ripped down all the hay in the rack overnight (why do they do that?!?!) but a a lot of it seems to be on the floor ;(

I'm not sure what the problem could be - any ideas.

Thanks

Jenny

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Hi Jenny,

How old is he? Does he normally devour his veg and spend a lot of his time eating, will he eat his favourite foods if offered them? How is his general behaviour e.g. quiet and lethargic, or normal bar the reduced food intake?

The first step is to start weighing him daily while you suspect a problem; if a pig is not eating as much as usual, enough to sustain him, he will lose weight.

 

[Jen_blue]

hi,

I have two although they dont live together - theyre 7 months. He normally eats everything before the next meal time ie this morning. I gave him 1/4 of a tomato last night but he's left another in his dish. He seems to be behaving very normally, even getting excited when I gave them food last night.

I'll go and weigh him now.

Jen

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Would you say it is a reduced appetite, or his ability to eat that is being affected?
A reduced ability would be suggested by favouring soft foods, chewing slowly, pawing at the mouth. A reduced appetite would be suggested by little interest in food but eating bits and pieces (including hard food). The two problems can exist together or seem indistinguishable, but there is a difference between the two symptoms.

7 months is young for dental problems, but a sore mouth could be to blame if the ability to eat is affected.

 

[Wiebke]

It sounds to me like your boy has some problem with eating; I completley agree with Laura's ideas. We usually suspect problems with a piggies back teeth, but he is a bit young for that.

Foods like tomato or apple can cause severe soreness in the mouth or throat, so much so that a piggie stops eating.

Weigh him daily and have him seen by a vet as soon as you can!

 

[Jen_blue]

I have given him some tomato this last couple of days including today and he has left them .... He does seem to be eating... its just that the amounts that are still left seem quite a lot where as normally by now they have near enough licked the fleece clean of any sign of veg. He has also left most of the carrots I have given him.