a bit worried about my 3 baby hoglets

[jo125]

My 3 hoglets never ate no where near as much as they have been last night, i hope its just where they stuffed themselves in the first two days and they have now relised that there is a constent supply of food, they have all put on weight since i have had them (2 on monday and 1 on tuesday) they are lapping up kittens milk (<2% lactoes) atm they are fast asleep and they wasnt happy that i woke em to clean them out, they are pooing and weeing fine no runny poo just a sandy colour slightly loose but "shaped"

[valleyforge]

Hi jo125,

It's not unusual for their appetites to have slacked off a little, now that they've come to realise that there's no shortage.

Continue to monitor their weights, and as long as there is a steady gain, with food going in and waste coming out naturally, then you are doing OK with them.

You do need to feed them more than just the kitten milk though ... are they still eating mashed cat food too?

[jo125]

Originally Posted by valleyforge

Hi jo125,



You do need to feed them more than just the kitten milk though ... are they still eating mashed cat food too?

sorry they are drinking water and they have kitten milk in a small flowerpot tray and between the 3 of them they ate about 1/2 of a tin of mashed cat food a few mealworms and a nibble of kitten biscits

the night befor they got through 3/4 of a tin tho

[Hedgehoggy]

Originally Posted by valleyforge

Hi jo125,
It's not unusual for their appetites to have slacked off a little, now that they've come to realise that there's no shortage.

Continue to monitor their weights, and as long as there is a steady gain, with food going in and waste coming out naturally, then you are doing OK with them.

Fully agree

As an added note, are you leaving food out 24/7 for them? Small hoglets in captivity will feed 24/7 until they’re bigger and have established a nocturnal pattern. Even then, some will still venture out for a quick snack or a drink. It would also be a good idea to offer them a dish of good quality kitten biscuits alongside the kitten/cat meat – not only will kitten bics help pile on the pounds and solidify their poos, they’re also very good for their teeth and, unlike cat meat, won’t ‘go off’ when left out 24/7. You probably know this already, but to gauge whether the hoglets are getting enough food, as a rule of thumb there should be some food left over every morning; if the dishes have been licked clean, you need to give them more food.

[Mixing a small amount of crumbled weetabix or bran into their cat meat should help firm up their poos too]

EDIT: Doh! Just seen you're already feeding kitten bics!