Re: thanks, kate!

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Posted by Kate on June 19, 2002 at 12:26:45:

In Reply to: thanks, kate! posted by Hope on June 18, 2002 at 19:37:06:

I had the same problem with an ig who had MBD. He just wouldn't eat (for awhile). I spent lots of time coaxing him to eat. I knew that having food in his belly would make him feel better and give him more of an appetite, so it was pretty frustrating. Keep on hand feeding him for awhile if that's the only way he'll eat. If his appetite hasn't picked up in about a week and he's still only eating a couple little bites a day, you might try what I called "trick feeding." It's a step before force-feeding, you're basically tricking him into eating. It's slow, though, so you've got to have patience. I took a bite sized piece of a nice, flat green like collard. I held it taught between my hands so it was stretched out, and basically just gently pushed the taught side between the ig's lips. Usually when he found that the food was already in his mouth he would just eat it. He still wasn't eating nearly as much as a healthy ig would, but it was better than what he was doing before, which was exactly what yours is doing now. If he really doesn't want to eat the food, he'll let it fall out of his mouth. After a few days of eating this way, my ig's appetite picked up and he started eating more on his own. Just remember to be gentle and go slow with it, if you have to feed him this way.

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: I had the same problem with an ig who had MBD. He just wouldn't eat (for awhile). I spent lots of time coaxing him to eat. I knew that having food in his belly would make him feel better and give him more of an appetite, so it was pretty frustrating. Keep on hand feeding him for awhile if that's the only way he'll eat. If his appetite hasn't picked up in about a week and he's still only eating a couple little bites a day, you might try what I called "trick feeding." It's a step before force-feeding, you're basically tricking him into eating. It's slow, though, so you've got to have patience. I took a bite sized piece of a nice, flat green like collard. I held it taught between my hands so it was stretched out, and basically just gently pushed the taught side between the ig's lips. Usually when he found that the food was already in his mouth he would just eat it. He still wasn't eating nearly as much as a healthy ig would, but it was better than what he was doing before, which was exactly what yours is doing now. If he really doesn't want to eat the food, he'll let it fall out of his mouth. After a few days of eating this way, my ig's appetite picked up and he started eating more on his own. Just remember to be gentle and go slow with it, if you have to feed him this way.

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