Moonpix
Active Member
Hey everybody!
We have been having trouble increasing Mouse's hay intake. We've had him for 14 months now, and it's been an uphill battle ever since.
He was passed around 5 different homes before we got him, and from what the vet can tell, he wasn't fed any hay. When we first welcomed him into our home, we had to put the hay through our Magic Bullet and sprinkle it on his pellets and fresh greens, just to get him to eat any of it!
This led to molar spurs which led to GI Statis when it got too painful for him to eat. Luckily, we knew him well enough at that point to realise that something wasn't right, and with the vet's help, pulled him through it.
Over the last few months, we've managed to increase his hay intake, but it's nowhere near what it should be yet.
As per the vet's request, we cut down on veggies and pellets in the hope that he'd increase hay intake. Instead, he just increased water intake, and was peeing all over the place, so we upped his other foods again and tried mixing hays.
We tried putting it in toilet paper tubes and making games out of it, but he lost interest quickly after a few tosses.
So far, the best mix we've found is two different brands of timothy hay, a bit of orchard grass, and a sprinkle of dried herb mix, all of which we then spray with two sprays of organic apple juice. However, on our last vet visit, she told us what we already knew - he needs to eat more hay.
We realise that he's getting more and more used to it, but does anybody have any other ideas that might speed up his love affair with hay?
We have been having trouble increasing Mouse's hay intake. We've had him for 14 months now, and it's been an uphill battle ever since.
He was passed around 5 different homes before we got him, and from what the vet can tell, he wasn't fed any hay. When we first welcomed him into our home, we had to put the hay through our Magic Bullet and sprinkle it on his pellets and fresh greens, just to get him to eat any of it!
This led to molar spurs which led to GI Statis when it got too painful for him to eat. Luckily, we knew him well enough at that point to realise that something wasn't right, and with the vet's help, pulled him through it.
Over the last few months, we've managed to increase his hay intake, but it's nowhere near what it should be yet.
As per the vet's request, we cut down on veggies and pellets in the hope that he'd increase hay intake. Instead, he just increased water intake, and was peeing all over the place, so we upped his other foods again and tried mixing hays.
We tried putting it in toilet paper tubes and making games out of it, but he lost interest quickly after a few tosses.
So far, the best mix we've found is two different brands of timothy hay, a bit of orchard grass, and a sprinkle of dried herb mix, all of which we then spray with two sprays of organic apple juice. However, on our last vet visit, she told us what we already knew - he needs to eat more hay.
We realise that he's getting more and more used to it, but does anybody have any other ideas that might speed up his love affair with hay?
