Another update on our sweet baby Moe. Since our out-of-state, test-everything, vet trip, he had been doing really well for about a month. Great eating, great pooping, great energy, gained 100g back. Over the past weekend, he went into stasis quite abruptly. We keep a really good eye on our pigs, check their cages multiple times a day for eating/pooping/drinking. Within a few hours, he was in severe stasis and we decided to hospitalize him overnight at our local ER vet.
Joining the long tradition of vets who look at Moe and cannot figure out how his x-rays, bloodwork, fecals, etc., all come back great and healthy, this vet listened to my concern that he potentially doesn't eat his cecal pellets. I say this because we have witnessed him bend over, grab them in the normal way, and then quite literally spit them out. He has done this multiple times over many months, and he also leaves cecal pellets in his cage mixed in with the regular fecal pellets (I'm assuming because they tend to be more stinky...). Anyway, I have mentioned this to a few vets and everyone has always dismissed me because it's just "not possible." This vet actually thought that this could be the cause behind all of Moe's problems! Nothing has shown up on any test, his health appears GREAT, his energy and zest for life are great, but then he has so many digestive troubles about once a month. She told me that the cecal pellets are mainly how they get their vitamin B, and she said vitamin B 1 and 2 are most important for their digestive systems. Although she did tell me not to get my hopes up, I feel like MAYBE we finally have an answer. She is currently looking into how to supplement vitamin B in guinea pigs.
My question is: has anyone ever heard of this? Has anyone had to supplement vitamin B for their pigs for any reason? How did you do it? I also know that this makes no sense that a pig would not eat his cecal pellets. However, I'm willing to chase down any lead to figure out why our sweet baby has so many digestive issues.
