Is critical care suitable for regular feeding?

[lauryn1289]

I’m so sorry for yet another post I’m just wondering if critical care is good for “supplementary” regular feeding as opposed to just when ill I guess would be the best way to put it. This also may be a stupid question

My 6 1/2 year old boy is a skinny little man because of his age, very picky with his hay he snubs most except the Real Nature carrot and pepper meadow hay but obsessed with his Versele Laga cavia complete timothy based nuggets. He’s currently having some mushy lumpy poops since yesterday evening, he gets this every now and then it’s usually been when he’s overeaten his nuggets but right now I assume it’s a fruit or veggie that upset his tummy, so he’s off them for a couple days. So I’m just wondering if critical care as a supplement of sorts is a good idea? Or if there’s a better alternative for what I’m thinking of

My other boy Ollie LOVES critical care and hates all nuggets that are actually good seemingly. He liked the Burgess one but since they have alfalfa/lucerne I avoid them. Just wondering the same for him, would critical care be a supplementary suitable feed aswell as hay? And veggies of course.

 

[Piggies&buns]

First I would ask how many nuggets you are giving to him so to gauge what you consider is him overeating nuggets.
It should not be possible for them to overeat nuggets because only one tablespoon should be provided each day.
Soft poops at present is a tummy upset caused by a build up of the wrong gut bacteria. Usually caused by too much veg and not enough hay. Removing veg and increasing fibre intake (through increased hay intake) is the first course of action to deal with it.
If you stick to the feeding guidelines of 80% hay, one cup of veg and one tablespoon of pellets and consequently he is routinely eating enough hay to maintain his weight, then supplementing with critical care should not be necessary.

For Ollie, if he doesn’t like pellets, then just don’t give them to him. His diet can be hay and veg. Pellets are the expendable part of the diet provided they are given enough variety in their veg to make up for the balance in nutrition.
It doesn’t sound like he needs to be supplemented at all.
Personally I only feed pellets three times a week, and the other days I give a dried forage mixed into their hay.

To add though, there is nothing wrong with the burgess pellets provided they, like all pellet brands, are kept limited to one tablespoon per day. I have heard it said that they contain a better balance of nutrients than some other pellet brands.

 

[Piggies&buns]

To add, older piggies can find it harder to maintain their weight just through their bodies being less efficient at processing nutrients etc. In that case, it is fine to offer a bowl of critical care or porridge oats in the cage to supplement them and help give them a boost
(Obviously you’d want to check there isn’t a more pressing medical issue going on in which case you’d probably syringe feed anyway)

 

[lauryn1289]

First I would ask how many nuggets you are giving to him so to gauge what you consider is him overeating nuggets.
It should not be possible for them to overeat nuggets because only one tablespoon should be provided each day.
Soft poops at present is a tummy upset caused by a build up of the wrong gut bacteria. Usually caused by too mosh veg and not enough hay. Removing veg and increasing fibre intake (through increased hay intake) is the first course of action to deal with it.
If you stick to the feeding guidelines of 80% hay, one cup of veg and one tablespoon of pellets and consequently he is routinely eating enough hay to maintain his weight, then supplementing with critical care should not be necessary.

For Ollie, if he doesn’t like pellets, then just don’t give them to him. His diet can be hay and veg. Pellets are the expendable part of the diet provided they are given enough variety in their veg to make up for the balance in nutrition.
It doesn’t sound like he needs to be supplemented at all.
Personally I only feed pellets three times a week, and the other days I give a dried forage mixed into their hay.

To add though, there is nothing wrong with the burgess pellets provided they, like all pellet brands, are kept limited to one tablespoon per day. I have heard it said that they contain a better balance of nutrients than some other pellet brands.

I’ve just started cutting down the amount of nuggets he’s getting because I was giving him over a teaspoon/30g like the bag suggests! He’s soooooo charming and loves them so much so when he begs I would always cave and would hand him a few extra but I’m being more strict with them now. He’s so fussy with hay that I worry about if he’s eating enough but if he’s hungry he will go eat hay!

Yeah I haven’t actually been feeding Ollie any nuggets now, he’ll pick them up and then spit them out again so it’s a waste even trying. I was always so conscious of lucerne/alfalfa so I avoided Burgess for that reason but even more panicky about it since my Bobby died after his bladder stone surgery so I think I’ll stick to avoiding it in pellets at least I’d been feeding them the Versele Laga one for a long time now and the exotic vet I saw recommended it again and sells it so I feel justified with sticking to that food I just wish Ollie liked it! He’s very fussy. I give them bell pepper especially most days so vitamin C shouldn’t be an issue at all I’m just still a worrier! Thank you

 

[lauryn1289]

To add, older piggies can find it harder to maintain their weight just through their bodies being less efficient at processing nutrients etc. In that case, it is fine to offer a bowl of critical care or porridge oats in the cage to supplement them and help give them a boost
(Obviously you’d want to check there isn’t a more pressing medical issue going on in which case you’d probably syringe feed anyway)

I was actually told that they find it harder to maintain weight when they’re older but had no idea I could give him porridge oats! I mix his nuggets lately with critical care for some extra bulk but he doesn’t particularly love critical care even though he will eat it after puffing about it for a bit, I’ll offer him some oats and see what he thinks, thank you so much!

 

[Princess Dustmop]

What I find helps if you want to be able to give pellets more than one time a day is to scoop pellets for the day and then give in whatever intervals, but once the scoop is gone, it's gone. My girls have their little baby measuring cups that get "filled" every day or two, and that's their allotment ... it might get doled in two or three portions, but once it's gone, that's it until next fill time. Adorable behavior gets rewarded with hay ... really, really adorable might get a smidge of lettuce (to be deducted from dinner portion for the day ... maybe, lol).

 

[lauryn1289]

What I find helps if you want to be able to give pellets more than one time a day is to scoop pellets for the day and then give in whatever intervals, but once the scoop is gone, it's gone. My girls have their little baby measuring cups that get "filled" every day or two, and that's their allotment ... it might get doled in two or three portions, but once it's gone, that's it until next fill time. Adorable behavior gets rewarded with hay ... really, really adorable might get a smidge of lettuce (to be deducted from dinner portion for the day ... maybe, lol).

I’ve actually started giving him pellets in small meals! He’s not too impressed by it but at least it prolongs the enjoyment

 

[Livia Rabideau]

I used to top off my senior girl Snickers before she passed with critical care. She couldn't gain weight no matter what I did. She loved it. Helped her maintain.