can piggies live on veg alone?

[fudgebrownie]

My guinea pig Fudge aged 4 lost his brother Brownie 3 weeks ago.

Since then we've been making a big fuss of him & giving him lots of company and grass/veggy treats to cheer him up. We are going to get him a new friend.

This morning he was sqeaking for his food but when we filled up his bowl he turned his nose up and went to his other bowl downstairs which again he turned his nose up to.

He then stood up squeaking, I knew what he wanted....grass etc.

I put a carrot & celery in his cage and he wolfed them back.

My question is can a guinea pig live on veggies alone, he's obviously decided he only wants fresh stuff

 

[lauralucy]

is he eating hay as well?

hay should be at least 75% of there diet to keep there teeth nice and trim.
pellets dont have to be fed. but hay does.

 

[Wiebke]

80% of a piggy diet should be hay. Short term, they can survive on veg. Your boy is probably feeling bored and lonely and wants you to fuss over over him!

Have you thought about finding a rescue that will allow you to bring Fudge for some boar dating, so he can choose his own new mate himself? Sadly, not all rescues do, but it is well worth ringing around - that way, you can take character compatibility into account and end up with a much more stable bond founded on mutual liking.
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp#Wales
This is the nearest rescue in Stoke-on-Trent that I know offers boar dating. It is run by a forum member: http://www.thepotteriesguineapigrescue.co.uk/

 

[fudgebrownie]

Yes he's eating straw as well!

 

[Wiebke]

Yes he's eating straw as well!

He should be eating proper hay, not straw; that is too much roughage for a guinea pig (unlike rabbits). In that case I wouldn't worry. Just make sure that he has plenty of fresh hay daily, and he will be healthy, happy piggy.

Fresh grass is fine, too. Here is a list of what veg, herbs and fruit guinea pigs can eat; it sould be about 1 cupful/50g per piggy per day: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

 

[Kikikickin]

Here is a list of what veg, herbs and fruit guinea pigs can eat; it sould be about 1 cupful/50g per piggy per day: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

Sorry to hijack but I was just wondering Wiebke, where you got the figure of 50g from? I am still very confused about how much veg to be feeding the girls. Until I saw the other day that it should be about 50g of veg per pig, I was just filling a cup to measure. So since I've seen that a cup is roughly 50g, I thought I would fill a cup up to see how much it weighs, and it comes to far more than 50g!

 

[Lizzie]

Peter Gurney, I think...and use a smaller cup

 

[Wiebke]

As different veg weigh differently, a cupful of carrot, cucumber and broccoli can weigh more than a cupful that is half filled with lettuce, pepper and fresh herbs! These weights and measures are just a rough guideline from several reputable sources which all recommend between 50-100g of veg daily, preferable from a mix of veg.

Members who have tried to go for the lower end have reported that the consistency of the poos is usually better and the hair glossier if you aim for the lower end and a higher volume of hay in the diet.

One good link if you want to know more about diet is here:
http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

 

[Kikikickin]

Peter Gurney, I think...and use a smaller cup

LOL well I did think it was very arbitrary to use a cup as a measure as I have many different sizes ha ha is it Americans who still use cups as measures? Knew there would be a measurement in grams somewhere!

Thanks for the link Wiebke, I have guinealynx (and others) bookmarked already and have referred back to it several times , it was just the cup measure that was confusing me! Oh, and I've probably done tooo much research :p I only say that because I have now seen conflicting advice (about veggies) given in several reputable places, and charts with different figures for vegetables! Who would have thought I'd be spending this long fussing over vegibubbles?!?! -c Anyway, think I'm getting the hang of it now!

About the 80%hay consumption.. it definitely does not seem to me that they consume about 80% hay. I changed their hay slowly to a new one, which they like much more and will eat more of it, but I do think they need to be eating more hay to hit the 80% consumption, but I have no idea how to get them to eat more!

 

[lauralucy]

About the 80%hay consumption.. it definitely does not seem to me that they consume about 80% hay. I changed their hay slowly to a new one, which they like much more and will eat more of it, but I do think they need to be eating more hay to hit the 80% consumption, but I have no idea how to get them to eat more!

try putting hay in a toilet roll tubed which has been cut open(piggies can and do get stuck in them otherwise)

or in an old tissue box (take out any plastic) if you put a treat inside to makes them work a bit harder.

these are good toys and as they are new things i find they keep the piggies interested in hay.

75-80% should be hay. i just ensure they always have hay.

 

[*SRH*]

Yes he's eating straw as well!

I would avoid straw as it is sharp and can cause nasty pokes!

I would not cut out pellets from their diet as they contain added things which keep their bones and teeth in good order, removing pellets, can in fact cause tooth problems.

Hope this helps.