PetFamilyBK
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Posts
- 80
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Messages
- 80
Hey everyone, it’s been a little over a week since our senior pig of 5 1/2yrs (Nibbler) has completed his cycle of medication for a potential URI. The treatment appeared to be a success as he recovered rather quickly (no longer puffy in appearance, behavior improved, etc.). During the week of treatment he was averaging about 1059-1064g every morning with a little critical care supplementation of about 5ml morning/8ml nightly. We have a Ring camera set up at the cage to monitor his eating habits and chose not to offer more of the critical care because his appetite was back on track - we used it mostly to wash away the medicine although Nibbler seemed to really enjoy it.
Fast forward to this week, it seems like Nibbler’s weight has slipped a little and it’s concerning me again:
6/21: 1062g
6/22: 1056g
6/25: 1031g
6/26: 1021g
He is always given fresh hay (Oxbow Hay Blend) 4-5x a day and pellets (Oxbow Garden Select) daily as well. He certainly has no problems eating his treats or vegetables (bell peppers, baby carrots, and some kale as of late).
Based on what I see eating-habitwise he seems to be becoming more selective of the hay. He appears to be spending more time digging through a nice big pile for the pieces he wants. Could it be that I’m over-indulging him with too much fresh hay, or could this be because of his increased pickiness due to old-age? Could it be because of a bad batch/batches of hay? I’ve seen pieces of plastic in the bag and it also seems to be more on the dustier side as of late. Anyways, I feel like I’m going through bags of 90oz hay for 2 pigs in 3-4 days time now.
Hell, I’ve even bought different types of hay to try out (Botanical, Meadow Grass, etc.) but he seems to have no interest in those at all. Just last night I gave him a small section of Oat hay and I was surprised to see him pick at it for the first time.
He seems to really enjoy his pellets, especially after hours – which got me thinking after reading one of the posts on here, that maybe I should scale back on the pellet portion or remove them after some time to give him the need to forage more for hay. Is this a good idea?
Although there is a drop in weight, his poops are relatively normal in size, shape, and color. They can be slightly smaller in the morning but get bigger generally as the day goes on. I figure to mention that he still has not been re-introduced to his “no longer new” cage mate, Owl/Owlie as they both share a 2x4 grid fleece enclosure split down the middle. Could he be feeling crammed? Bored?
I’m open to any suggestions, thoughts, and even others’ past experiences!
Thanks!
Fast forward to this week, it seems like Nibbler’s weight has slipped a little and it’s concerning me again:
6/21: 1062g
6/22: 1056g
6/25: 1031g
6/26: 1021g
He is always given fresh hay (Oxbow Hay Blend) 4-5x a day and pellets (Oxbow Garden Select) daily as well. He certainly has no problems eating his treats or vegetables (bell peppers, baby carrots, and some kale as of late).
Based on what I see eating-habitwise he seems to be becoming more selective of the hay. He appears to be spending more time digging through a nice big pile for the pieces he wants. Could it be that I’m over-indulging him with too much fresh hay, or could this be because of his increased pickiness due to old-age? Could it be because of a bad batch/batches of hay? I’ve seen pieces of plastic in the bag and it also seems to be more on the dustier side as of late. Anyways, I feel like I’m going through bags of 90oz hay for 2 pigs in 3-4 days time now.
Hell, I’ve even bought different types of hay to try out (Botanical, Meadow Grass, etc.) but he seems to have no interest in those at all. Just last night I gave him a small section of Oat hay and I was surprised to see him pick at it for the first time.
He seems to really enjoy his pellets, especially after hours – which got me thinking after reading one of the posts on here, that maybe I should scale back on the pellet portion or remove them after some time to give him the need to forage more for hay. Is this a good idea?
Although there is a drop in weight, his poops are relatively normal in size, shape, and color. They can be slightly smaller in the morning but get bigger generally as the day goes on. I figure to mention that he still has not been re-introduced to his “no longer new” cage mate, Owl/Owlie as they both share a 2x4 grid fleece enclosure split down the middle. Could he be feeling crammed? Bored?
I’m open to any suggestions, thoughts, and even others’ past experiences!
Thanks!
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