Demanding Behaviour

[Cleolyn]

Hi Everyone !
So we have had Cedric for about 3 years now, I'm not exactly sure how old he is, I would say around mid life. He was very spoiled when we first got him, and now he's developed this greedy food habit. We feed him veggies twice daily, and seeds and hay whenever he needs it. As soon as he is finished eating (which is fast) he immediately perches himself on the bowl and waits for more. If he doesn't get anymore he beeps and beeps until either we give in or he finds something else to do.. but if that's the case its not long before he's up there again anyways. How do we stop this? He's so loud ! Plus I don't want him to get fat
Thanks !

 

[lauralucy]

piggies should have unlimited hay so he should always have this to eat. also nuggets about a handful a day and veggies, but NO nuts or seeds.

it might be that he wants attention not food.

try some toys for him to play with tunnels, toilet roll tubes stuffed with hay, newspaper tents or crumbled up.

 

[AudioHeart]

Does Cedric have a playmate? Sometimes piggies can become lonely, bored and deppressed without their own kind to talk to, play with and have a good old natter to! You could look in our rehoming section to see if theirs any lone male piggies available in your area...or i could suggest some rescues for you? Whereabouts are you located? Most rescues do 'boar dating' so your boy finds the right friend for himself.

Also to keep him entertained is to get a food ball...i give these to my boys, i stuff them full of veggies and the boys have to learn to roll to get the food out (which they have now figured out):
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/small_pets/toys_transport/guinea_pig_toys/14544

It might be also an idea to give him a variety of hay to choose from, herbage/timothy/medow etc. but i'd strongly suggest finding him a friend

Laura x

 

[Wiebke]

Here is a thread that can help you with any diet/overweight problem:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38805

I would strongly recommend to leave out any fatty seeds! Hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake for a healthy diet. Make sure that he gets a mix of veg that contains high vitamin C veg like peppers of any colour, broccoli or parsley.

If Cedric is an only piggy, his behaviour can stem from boredom/attention seeking. Does he get run time? You will probably have to entice him to move around by sprinkling veg all over the place at first!

 

[Cleolyn]

Thanks for all the tips !
He does have some toys in his house and we do re arrange things from time to time. I should have specified about the "seeds" ..I meant the guinea pig mix you can buy at the pet shop. I will try putting his hay in the ball.. he gets a little mad when we do that cause its harder to eat lol. He does get run time but not as much as he should I spose. I doubt we will get another piggie for him unfortunately.. he is enough trouble ! But I will definately try a few of the things mentioned..
Thanks again !