Tips for a fussy eater with brain damage

[Britt]

Hi There,

Just over a month ago I adopted a special wee piggy (Tipsy) from PaH who had a bad history with her previous owner. She was brought into them with an ear infection which had resulted in a head tilt along with other health issues that were due to neglect. I was also informed that she was never fed a proper diet and was never given hay. I’m also unsure if she has ever had piggy company.

Since having her home, her head tilt has improved significantly but it has become very clear that she has suffered some brain damage. She stumbles about a lot and struggles to keep her balance. I’ve had her checked over by my vet (who is an exotic specialist) and we have both agreed that she is super fussy when it comes to food. He did say she has very early stages of dental disease, but that it’s best to hold off on treatment until it gets worse as it’s likely to be an on going thing for the rest of her life.

But my problem is, I’m really struggling to get her to eat a proper diet. She doesn’t touch hay, but she loves dried forage. I’ve tried mixing the dried forage in with they hay but of course she just picks it out. I’ve also tried many different brands of hay with no luck either. She’s very picky with her veg too, only showing interest in lettuce, cherry tomatoes and sweet corn. She also loves fruit but obviously all these things are foods that she should be having very little of. I’m syringe feeding her critical care to ensure she’s still eating but I don’t want to give her so much that’s she’s constantly full and has no reason to try and eat for herself.

Does anyone have any tips for getting fussy pigs to eat? I feel like the fact that she’s a bit brain damaged really isn’t helping the situation, she’s a very happy piggy but just very dopey! I’d really appreciate any advice as I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle. Thanks!

 

[Black piggies]

People with brain damage can very often have swallowing difficulties, or sensory issues which affect eating. They would have soft foods in the first case, and foods that don't trigger them in the second. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Poor Piggy. Glad you adopted her.

 

[alpacasqueak]

So pleased she’s got a lovely home with you, bless her little heart.
My Cleo wouldn’t touch hay when I first got her, she’d never eaten it before either, and only really started when she could watch her neutered hubby Jasper tucking in! She was only a baby at the time though.
People with dental piggies try chopping up their veg into small batons as it’s easier for them to eat, I wonder if that could possibly help her a little too? (Just a thought as well!)
Hope she gets tucking in soon, sounds like she’s got a brilliant owner taking care of her!

 

[Eriathwen]

I have found with my own piggies who have neurological or brain damage (and head tilts) can suffer from nerve damage in the face, this effects how they pick up food, chew and swallow. Luckily mine were able to eat hay, even if chopped up, but they accepted fresh grass much more readily. If you can get hold of enough grass to replace the hay part of the diet, this should help her teeth.
My current head tilt piggy, Tilly, has dental issues on and off but only her incisors, her lips are quite scarred where she bites them because she can't feel her face as well as a regular piggy.

Have you tried readigrass? It has a stronger smell than hay and can encourage eating.

 

[Britt]

People with brain damage can very often have swallowing difficulties, or sensory issues which affect eating. They would have soft foods in the first case, and foods that don't trigger them in the second. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Poor Piggy. Glad you adopted her.

Hadn’t really thought of that but it makes sense. I’ll definitely keep that in mind, thank you!

 

[Britt]

So pleased she’s got a lovely home with you, bless her little heart.
My Cleo wouldn’t touch hay when I first got her, she’d never eaten it before either, and only really started when she could watch her neutered hubby Jasper tucking in! She was only a baby at the time though.
People with dental piggies try chopping up their veg into small batons as it’s easier for them to eat, I wonder if that could possibly help her a little too? (Just a thought as well!)
Hope she gets tucking in soon, sounds like she’s got a brilliant owner taking care of her!

I was hoping she would learn to eat hay from her new sisters but she’s been with them a couple of weeks now and no luck but I’ll keep persevering, thanks for your help!

 

[Britt]

I have found with my own piggies who have neurological or brain damage (and head tilts) can suffer from nerve damage in the face, this effects how they pick up food, chew and swallow. Luckily mine were able to eat hay, even if chopped up, but they accepted fresh grass much more readily. If you can get hold of enough grass to replace the hay part of the diet, this should help her teeth.
My current head tilt piggy, Tilly, has dental issues on and off but only her incisors, her lips are quite scarred where she bites them because she can't feel her face as well as a regular piggy.

Have you tried readigrass? It has a stronger smell than hay and can encourage eating.

The poor wee things She’s unfortunately not that fussed for fresh grass either, but I still offer it to her regularly in the hopes she’ll learn to love it. I haven’t tried readigrass, but I have seen it in my local equine store so will definitely pick some up! Thanks for your help

 

[alpacasqueak]

The poor wee things She’s unfortunately not that fussed for fresh grass either, but I still offer it to her regularly in the hopes she’ll learn to love it. I haven’t tried readigrass, but I have seen it in my local equine store so will definitely pick some up! Thanks for your help

It smells gorgeous! All my pigs have been big fans, I’d eat it myself if it wasn’t so dry! Hope she approves

 

[Wiebke]

Hi There,

Just over a month ago I adopted a special wee piggy (Tipsy) from PaH who had a bad history with her previous owner. She was brought into them with an ear infection which had resulted in a head tilt along with other health issues that were due to neglect. I was also informed that she was never fed a proper diet and was never given hay. I’m also unsure if she has ever had piggy company.

Since having her home, her head tilt has improved significantly but it has become very clear that she has suffered some brain damage. She stumbles about a lot and struggles to keep her balance. I’ve had her checked over by my vet (who is an exotic specialist) and we have both agreed that she is super fussy when it comes to food. He did say she has very early stages of dental disease, but that it’s best to hold off on treatment until it gets worse as it’s likely to be an on going thing for the rest of her life.

But my problem is, I’m really struggling to get her to eat a proper diet. She doesn’t touch hay, but she loves dried forage. I’ve tried mixing the dried forage in with they hay but of course she just picks it out. I’ve also tried many different brands of hay with no luck either. She’s very picky with her veg too, only showing interest in lettuce, cherry tomatoes and sweet corn. She also loves fruit but obviously all these things are foods that she should be having very little of. I’m syringe feeding her critical care to ensure she’s still eating but I don’t want to give her so much that’s she’s constantly full and has no reason to try and eat for herself.

Does anyone have any tips for getting fussy pigs to eat? I feel like the fact that she’s a bit brain damaged really isn’t helping the situation, she’s a very happy piggy but just very dopey! I’d really appreciate any advice as I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle. Thanks!

Hi!

Please keep the mix with Critical Care for hay fibre going plus dry forage.

Monitor her weight daily at the same time time in the feeding cycle to eliminate the daily weight swing of ca. 30-40g as much as possible and adjust the hay based amount of syringe feed accordingly. You can also see whether she is interested in a little fresh grass (is softer than hay and may go down better) to encourage her to chew some silica rich grass fibre (which is likely painful) but vital to keep the crucial premolars ground down and the gut microbiome optimally balanced as the two runs through the gut are very much laid out to break down the nutritious but tough grass fibre that make around 80% of what piggies eat in a day. Veg, pellets and dry forage together replace the supplementing role that wild forage would have had.

Try and see whether some good quality readigrass may tempt her. It is much richer than hay but is more like the forage she likes; so you cannot feed masses of it but in your case, it may be the closest to feeding the staple of her diet you can come. If she's never had hay, then it is difficult to get her to eat it; especially when chewing is difficult.
In your case, it is all about what she will eat and to keep the proportions as close to a normal diet as you can for longer term sustainable health.

You are a very caring owner and she is lucky to have found you.

 

[Britt]

Hi!

Please keep the mix with Critical Care for hay fibre going plus dry forage.

Monitor her weight daily at the same time time in the feeding cycle to eliminate the daily weight swing of ca. 30-40g as much as possible and adjust the hay based amount of syringe feed accordingly. You can also see whether she is interested in a little fresh grass to encourage her to chew some silica rich grass fibre (which is likely painful) but vital to keep the crucial premolars ground down and the gut microbiome optimally balanced as the two runs through the gut are very much laid out to break down the nutritious but tough grass fibre that make around 80% of what piggies eat in a day. Veg, pellets and dry forage together replace the supplementing role that wild forage would have had.

Try and see whether some good quality readigrass may tempt her. It is much richer than hay but is more like the forage she likes; so you cannot feed masses of it but in your case, it may be the closest to feeding the staple of her diet you can come. If she's never had hay, then it is difficult to get her to eat it; especially when chewing is difficult.
In your case, it is all about what she will eat and to keep the proportions as close to a normal diet as you can for longer term sustainable health.

You are a very caring owner and she is lucky to have found you.

Thanks for your advice! I’ve got some readigrass ordered as unfortunately my local store was out of stock, so fingers crossed that tempts her! She’s booked into the vets this week so hopefully we can get on top of this all as soon as possible.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for your advice! I’ve got some readigrass ordered as unfortunately my local store was out of stock, so fingers crossed that tempts her! She’s booked into the vets this week so hopefully we can get on top of this all as soon as possible.

Try some dog pee free fresh grass and see how this is going down. Please start with small quantities to allow the gut microbiome to accustom. Too much too quickly can lead to diarrhea or bloating.
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

 

[Betsy]

My Meg has half her face paralysed among a few other health issues and could only manage grass for around 3-4 months. She found the longer grass stems easier to pick up than the shorter stems. Also I would hand feed her bits of lettuce rolled up with the stalk end first as that went in her mouth easier too. She got hand fed baton veg as well while she was adapting to only having a half functioning face.

 

[Britt]

Unfortunately Tipsy took a turn for the worst last night her stumbling got much worse and she could barely stay on her feet. She started refusing critical care completely and made it impossible for us to force feed her as she kept rolling over. We had her hospitalised in the early hours of the morning until the exotic specialist came in and ended up having to make the heartbreaking decision to put her to sleep as it was very obvious she was suffering. I’m absolutely devastated, especially after having my Hugo put to sleep a couple of days ago as well I knew that I might not have much time with her but I was hoping it would be longer than this. Thanks again everyone for your help x

 

[Black piggies]

So sorry to hear about Tipsy and a double loss for you. I'm so glad she had you for this difficult stage of her life, free from the neglect she suffered and being cared for so well. Very sad

 

[Free Ranger]

I'm so sorry for your losses. Tipsy would have known happiness at the end with her caring owner and piggy company

I adopted a pair with a head-tilt piggy in his older years and the vet said it was probably some sort of growth in the brain that would get progressively worse. His balance was affected but he walked one way round the cage leaning against the Correx! His pellet bowl and food were set against the wall as lowering his head made him even more wobbly... but boy did he love to eat and he was always smiling as he munched, leaning against the wall. I wondered if I would know when his end was approaching as he managed so well but one evening he just started fitting and it was time to say goodbye. He was such a pleasant boy and it was a comfort to know that in the short time I had him he seemed really happy. RIP Hungry Harvey, Tipsy and Hugo x

 

[alpacasqueak]

Oh I’m so sorry @Britt, how unexpected when she’s just joined you, poor little Tipsy You did everything and more for her, she was very lucky to have found you so her last times were happy and with you and her new friends I’m so sorry for your loss of Hugo too, what a tough few days for you. Massive hugs x

 

[Betsy]

So sorry for your losses. I lost my beautiful boys within 4 days of each other last year so I know what you're going through. It's not easy you just have to let your grief go. Cry when you feel like crying and sod what anybody else thinks! To everyone else they were "just guinea pigs" but to you they were your guinea pigs and you looked after them, cared for them and loved them no matter how long or short a time you had with them. They both knew they were loved and they were well look after and that's all that matters. They are both out of pain and suffering now and are happy over the Rainbow Bridge. Look after yourself as you grieve.

 

[Britt]

Thank you everyone for your kind words