How to put one of a bonded pair on a diet? U/D not going so well...

[sierra*323]

Finx and Tango had a check up today, and since he came from the rescue, Tango has put on weight and Finx has lost a little. Finx is a healthy weight as she is, but doesn't need to get much smaller, while Tango needs his pellets cut - he is eating half of her share as well as his, he's so greedy!

How can I cut down his pellets without cutting hers? Am I going to have to feed them separately I guess? Any practical solutions would be appreciated :wave: Finx always used to graze when she felt like it, but Tango scoffs the lot as soon as it arrives. They currently get about 2/3 of a small cup each, once a day, except obviously Tango is getting more than his fair share.

 

[GrahamL]

How do you feed them, is it in a bowl?

Is it possible to scatter feed instead, so they have to search for them, rather than just sitting in the same place nomming away?

 

[sierra*323]

How do you feed them, is it in a bowl?

Is it possible to scatter feed instead, so they have to search for them, rather than just sitting in the same place nomming away?

They have a bowl each, side by side, and both eat from both. I could try scatter feeding, Finx physically chomps faster than Tango, just she goes away when she's had enough, and he polishes off the rest! So she may be able to find her share faster than he does. It might be hard to monitor though? I'd just have to wait and see any results in their weights I suppose.

 

[megansmummy]

I have had to try and cut down Daisys weight but Poppy was a perfect weight so I didnt want to cut her pellets down too much. So at feeding time I have to feed them seperatly...they have a bowl each and I just watch them while they eat their pellets (daisy only gets 6-8 pellets and Poppy gets around 15) and if daisy finnishes hers and moves onto Poppys then I just move her away. Sometimes if they are seperatly in the hutch (one up/one down or one out in the run then i just put their bowls where ever they are and leave them to it...they eat them pretty quickly so by the time daisy has finnished and realised that poppy probably has some pellets somehwere too and then hunts her down they are normally all gone anyway! :thumb:

 

[sierra*323]

I have had to try and cut down Daisys weight but Poppy was a perfect weight so I didnt want to cut her pellets down too much. So at feeding time I have to feed them seperatly...they have a bowl each and I just watch them while they eat their pellets (daisy only gets 6-8 pellets and Poppy gets around 15) and if daisy finnishes hers and moves onto Poppys then I just move her away. Sometimes if they are seperatly in the hutch (one up/one down or one out in the run then i just put their bowls where ever they are and leave them to it...they eat them pretty quickly so by the time daisy has finnished and realised that poppy probably has some pellets somehwere too and then hunts her down they are normally all gone anyway! :thumb:

I have a feeling that if I feed them separately then Tango will eat all of his and Finx will nibble, with the intention of returning later, and find hers gone too! Although watching them could work if they are side by side. I wondered about bringing Finx in for hers, making sure she eats her portion and then putting her back with Tango, but I wouldn't want her to get too hot. Not that our heating does much :lol: It's nice to see them eating together though, so I'm reluctant to separate them for dinner. If I did it until Tango was a healthier weight and then let them eat together again, he'd probably just go straight back to eating 2 portions!

 

[sierra*323]

Update

Ok, so I separated them for dinner tonight, Tango is in the small, covered secton of the run andFinx is in the hutch. But Tango has polised off his share of pellets while Finx has left half of hers. She pops back now and then for another mouthful, but Tango is getting impatient outside! I've given him a carrot to keep him occupied as I guess there are less lories in that than in Finx's share of pellets.

This is not ideal

 

[megansmummy]

Oh dear hope you manage to sort it soon...both mine scoff their pellets but thats of no help to you

 

[nessar]

You'll want to cut down on carrots - full of sugar. You can feed them, but I wouldnt give a whole one to a bun that needs to lose weight, and not often. Treat carrots like fruit.

2 thirds of a cup does sound like a lot of pellets, if Finx is a healthy weight it may be that she was just a little podgy before.

If youre worried you may want to give her a few mins to eat them, and then remove the rest to stop Tango from stealing them, and if need be feed them later.

 

[Tamsin]

Try increasing the number of feeds, so feed the amount she'll usually eat in one sitting. Then have another meal later. Depending how much she eats you could split it into 2-3 meals.

You could also try using her extra portion as treats, so when you treat them, she gets a pellet and he gets something more healthy like a spring of herbs or chunk of veg.

 

[sierra*323]

You'll want to cut down on carrots - full of sugar. You can feed them, but I wouldnt give a whole one to a bun that needs to lose weight, and not often. Treat carrots like fruit.

2 thirds of a cup does sound like a lot of pellets, if Finx is a healthy weight it may be that she was just a little podgy before.

If youre worried you may want to give her a few mins to eat them, and then remove the rest to stop Tango from stealing them, and if need be feed them later.

Thanks, yeah I thought carrots weren't a great plan - he just had half as I didn't have any greens left Finx was a little podgy before, the vet is now happy and says she is perfect as she is, but I have no idea how many pellets she hs been eating and how many Tango has been hogging!

Try increasing the number of feeds, so feed the amount she'll usually eat in one sitting. Then have another meal later. Depending how much she eats you could split it into 2-3 meals.

You could also try using her extra portion as treats, so when you treat them, she gets a pellet and he gets something more healthy like a spring of herbs or chunk of veg.

My shifts are awkward, so I'm trying to give their meals into just 2 sittings. Today I gave Tango some greens while sneakily hand feeding Finx some extra pellets. He wasn't too pleased when he noticed, but it worked for a couple of minutes while he was happy munching his low calorie snack :lol:

Im not sure how much to give them tonight now! I think I may be making this more complicated than it should be Just trial and error I guess! I need to invest in some scales.