Hi everyone, welcome to where you will find the regular updates on Blackberry. I know a lot of you will want to follow his progress. I will try and update daily if I can. 😊
29th of January.
Blackberry's weight loss had become very clear. Despite getting him his two favourite foods cucumber and watermelon. He showed no interest, upon offering him his crittacare feed. I managed to get a little into him. I had a feel down the sides of his jaw. Discovering his teeth did not sit right. I was able to put my finger down his throat and feel the issue may very well be his back teeth.
30th of January - Part 1.
Rang the vet as soon as they opened. Got him booked in for an xray and assessment to confirm what the situation is. Gave Blackberry another crittacare feed, managed to get him to eat more and show a little more interest. Still very active and trying to hop around a lot. The wait feels like forever away.
30th of January - Part 2.
Been to the vet and had an xray done. Good news is there isn't any signs of it being his back teeth. He is however showing bone density. Which is causing arthritis to his overall body. So he is now on pain relief and will need to be on soft foods and crittacare for the rest of his life. He will continue to be one of our high care medical piggies here. But that just means extra love and time with him.
I took photos of the xrays, so everyone could have a chance to look at them. As I found it quite interesting to see his bone structure etc.
Here's hoping the pain relief and a softer food diet will help him improve and gain some weight again in no time.
31st of January.
Blackberry seems to have more movement and is attempting to try and eat. He did have a fair bit of crittacare. Got some swallow bowls and some different pellets to try him with. They absorb the water easier and become a mush. Mintie loved them, made eating easier for him. I am hoping it will be the same with Blackberry. Hoping this will encourage him to eat inbetween crittacare feeds. Will also be trying him with grated/finer chopped veggies as well.
A huge thanks to Lisa for her donation for Blackberry. It was able to help get the pellets to try him with and swallow bowls to make it easier for him to access and eat. 💖
A huge thanks to Bridget, your donation of pet wipes, syringes and a bed will help crittacare feeds and clean up much easier and give him comfort. He loved that he could rest his head and relax on it. It was also wrapped beautifully. 💖
1st of February.
Blackberry is still not the best weight. But continuing the regular feeds. Still got some energy to move around. Hoping the feeds will give him some energy and help him gain. Found that soaking oxbow pellets in water and mixing with crittacare was the way to go. He loved it, been also putting water soaked oxbow pellets in his cage to hopefully encourage him to eat more on his own. Not having much luck there, will keep trying.
2nd of February.
Sadly still no much improvement. So there's not a lot to update. But continuing to try everything I can to encourage him to eat. He is continuing to be spoilt and being kept cozy. At the end of the day I guess there is only so much we can do to help them. 😔
5th of January.
Sorry, I havent updated. But there really isn't much to update. He's still about the same, continuing to keep trying and make sure he is cozy and spoilt.