Breaking the sorting habit

[Inca-bink]

Hi All!

About 2 months ago, my chin Inca started to sort her food - picking up pellets and throwing them away, then digging through the dish and scattering the food all over her cage. I took her into the vet and voila! malo. She's had this problem once before, but this is the first recurrance in 4 years. The overgrowth has been corrected and she finished her course of pain meds and antibiotics, etc, so she should no longer be having trouble eating (at least not this soon). But she is still sorting her food.

It wouldn't bother me as much if it weren't so expensive, she goes through almost a cup of food a day, and she really isn't gaining much weight. I don't want to limit her access, and she won't eat from pellets returned to the bowl. I've watched her dissect the same group of pellets 3x without eating anything. Her 2 cagemates don't get involved - and they will eat from the "sorted" pellet bowl, but Inca won't leave a full bowl of food alone, no matter how many bowls of fresh pellets there are. It is like a compulsion now.

I've currently got a pan under her favorite bowl, which catches most of the tossed pellets. She doesn't try to throw them out of the pan, only the bowl, so I've been leaving the sorted stuff in the pan for her cagemates and refilling the bowl with fresh, but this isn't the solution I'm looking for.

Thoughts?
Steph

 

[mishellyshel]

sounds like habit more than illness.

instead of filling up the bowl once per day and giving a large amount. have you tried giving smaller amounts of fresh more frequently??

have you tried other pellets?

does she eat snacks??
That is how I know something is wrong with my boys. I have one chin who does have malo and he would not eat any of his snacks, so i knew he needed some work done in his mouth.

 

[SpaceChinnie]

Since it is a psychological problem, have you tried a new bowl? Perhaps a totally different bowl would throw her off enough to drop the habit. Try getting one that is a different shape or size. She may relate the sorting habit directly to her favorite bowl. If its not present...then theres no reason to sort! Good luck!

 

[addictedtochins]

One of my boys did this until I switched to PANR

 

[ticklechin]

Was the actual diagnosis malo or does she just have points? Malo chins can need trimming as soon as 4 weeks after a last trim if the condition is worsening. I would take her back to the vet for a recheck.

 

[Inca-bink]

Thanks guys...

She never stopped sorting, even directly after the trimming, so I agree that it must be psychological. I will see if a different dish in a different location in the change does the trick. I can also break down the feeds a bit, but as I said, she does have cage mates and I wouldn't want them to be deprived just because she's being picky! I don't give "treats" really, only occasional rosehip pieces and an oat supplement a couple times a week... she eats the rosehips as usual, and she still eats her supplement (with the exception of the safflower seeds, she hates them as per usual). I guess I could look into a food switch, but I rather like Oxbow for them and I can get it wholesale through work so it would be much better if something else will work instead. That would be a bit of a last resort.

Thanks again, always open to more suggestions!
Steph