Gaining Weight

[hydrohoki]

Hey all,

Since I got my pigs a year and a half ago, they've both lost quite a bit of weight. At first they dropped a bit, but before they were in a small petstore cage with no floortime. Now they have a 2x3 with kitchen loft and 2 hours or so of owning my living room a night. Duncan is a runner! The vet said it was exercise.

It's now a year later and the vet thinks Starbuck is a bit thin. I weigh regularly and this weight loss has been very VERY slow. They've been to the vet several times and everything seems ok (no uri, teeth problems, etc). Both pigs are about 4 years old. Starbuck does have an enlarged kidney, but the blood tests showed it was working fine. (Yes, this is a cavy savvy vet.)

Any ideas on how to get them to bulk up a bit? They have unlimited pellets and veggies everyday (and hay of course). They both beg constantly and eat quite a bit so I'm not sure if I can get them to eat more unless it's from the fridge.

Thanks!

[paula.m.moore]

I think this might be a long shot - but could it have anything to do with your hay? I know you do the bluegrass since your allergies, etc. can't handle the Timothy. But maybe the nutritional content is slightly different or something?

That's the only thing I can think of unless like you said it's just that they get a lot of exercise, especially for guineas.