Hay isn't eating very much

Are you sure you aren't seeing him eat the hay? Or have you really seen that the hay amount isn't going down?

The hay amount isn't going down...

ok .... who said anything about woodchips.. I don't use woodchips.

Not sure, that confused me for a split second. User may have his or her tabs switched by accident.

Anyhow, what is the quality of your hay?
Have you noticed certain veggies being favored over others? Are those veggies soft?
Appears to have difficulty chewing?

I'm wondering if your piggy has some teeth problems.

some of my veggies are hard some are soft. He eats his pellets, and I saw him eating some of his hay the other day.. doesnt seem to be unable to chew. I was thinking it could be the medicine since i have been giving him some medicine for the past 5 days.

Adrianne89 said:

some of my veggies are hard some are soft. He eats his pellets, and I saw him eating some of his hay the other day.. doesnt seem to be unable to chew. I was thinking it could be the medicine since i have been giving him some medicine for the past 5 days.

Click to expand...

Why and What medicine are you giving him?

baytril
is what I have been giving him

Adrianne89 said:

baytril
is what I have been giving him

Click to expand...

Why is this prescribed to him?

Because the Vet said that he had a bacterial infection on his ear. He is getting better, she swabbed him to see if it was mites but it wasn't mites. He has a crusty ear thing and the hair on his ear was falling off.

if your pigi is not eating hay .. try to feed it with your hand .. or if it is eating pellets and vegies that is well and good ..

Has he always disliked the hay? My one piggy Gizzy will not eat hay at all when she is on anti-biotica but as soon as her course is done she goes right back to snacking on it. That could be a reason for your piggy not wanting to eat the hay. May other piggy Sniper has "moods" sometimes I will toss out all the hay and he had not seem to take a single piece in 3, 4, 5 days then I add a fresh batch and he eats it in one day, I give another fresh batch that continues to go old for a couple of days....he seems to only like hay on "cleaning days"

Try giving him Benebac. It will normalize his flora in after taking antibiotics and might increase his appetite. Also you may want to seek out softer hay. Some pet store hays are too rough for fussy piggies' tastes.

@masha99 is correct about giving a probiotic with the meds. The antibiotic also kills the good bacteria in his gut so he's probably losing his appetite. Their digestive tract can shut down quickly so it's really important to get him eating. I'm not sure how you offer the hay but if you mound it, he might like it better than pulling it out of rack. Mine love mounds of hay. You can get Benebac at most pet stores. It comes in a powder form and a gel. You can sprinkle the powder on veggies. I prefer the gel form and give a pea sized dose about an hour after the Baytril. I put it in a syringe and give it that way.

Where do you put the hay and has he not been eating since they antibiotics, or from before too? One of my pigs, Perry, won't eat much hay out of a hay rack, I have to put it on the cage floor before he will really show any interest in it. I've never had a pig on antibiotics, so I don't know what their eating habits would be with them, if they would change.

ok, I will go get some of that stuff ( probiotic) to get him

He had been eating alot of hay when he was in his petstore cage. See I took him to the vet last tuesday and I also went and got all the things I needed for a new cage that weekend before and had made him the c&c cage right before I took him to the vet. Ever since I put him in the new cage which was around the same time I started his medicine he has been not eating much hay, I mound the hay and put some in his rack. I have been placing some around the cage a little bit too. He has been sleeping alot and not running around much too. He is a very very good veggie eater, I feed him about a cup of veggies a day consisting of romaine and red lettuce, tomatoes, carrot, green and yellow pepper, orange peels, and cilantro, and as a treat green beans a couple of days a week. he isn't losing weight I weigh him every day and he is maintaining his weight as of last tuesday which is around 400 g. Thank you everyone for your help. I will try feeding him some at cuddle time today and his last dose of antibiotic was yesterday so maybe his appetite will return soon.

is there a type of probiotic I can get him from Walmart, I can't go all the way to petsmart today and thats the only place that sells benebac

this?Spring Valley Multi-Enzyme Probiotic Formula - Walmart.com
or this?
Puppy Booster Probiotic Powder, 16 oz: Dogs : Walmart.com
I am not sure I can get the second one in store I am checking now.

does anyone know?