Effie Is So Fussy With Veg!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sian25

Sian25

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 24, 2014
Messages
1,651
Reaction score
1,227
Points
730
Location
Wirral, Merseyside
So when we brought Effie home, she would only eat pepper, a small amount of celery (then leave it) and a small amount of cucumber skin (she would eat around it and leave the juicy center). She would not eat anything else veg/fruit wise. Cutting the pieces up small and having her share it with Milan has helped her as she always wants what Milan is eating so now she will eat her pepper, eat the whole piece of cucumber (including the center) most of the time, she will eat all of her celery and she will now eat spring greens. I have tried countless other things that she refuses: green beans, little gem lettuce, romaine lettuce, tomato, corriander, asparagus, carrot. Hopefully she will continue to improve and eat a better range of veggies but I'm wondering what I can do in the mean time to ensure that she's getting enough vitamin C.

I don't want to give her too much cucumber as i don't want her to get diarrhea and I don't want to give too much spring greens due to bloat. So how much pepper and celery can I give (along with her normal pieces of cucumber and spring greens) to ensure she's getting enough vitamins but don't want to overdo it. Obviously I will keep trying her with the different veg- Fingers crossed she will continue to improve her strange veg-eating habits haha. I've never had this problem before as Milan and Hugo would eat anything!

Edit: Anyone got any ideas of well loved veggies? I avoid high calcium veg as Milan has powdery wees and he's on the IC diet
 
have you tried grapes? these are a fav with mine and so they get them twice a week as a treat x
 
my4piggies said:
have you tried grapes? these are a fav with mine and so they get them twice a week as a treat x
Click to expand...
No I've not tried grapes yet but will do thanks. She's only been with us 2 and a half weeks so don't want to be introducing too much different veg too soon but worried she's not getting enough vit c
 
I have the same issue with my boys. They'll only eat cucumber, lettuce, and carrots (carrots are a treat after their monthly nail trimming). I can't seem to get any vitamin C into them that doesn't come from their pellets
:(
 
If she's eating pepper, i wouldn't worry too much. I think (but I'm not sure!) that red pepper has more vit c that green. remember that grass has a good vitimin c content (uk) at this time of year (it drops off towards the end of the summer. Also nuggets have added vitimin c. I'm sure your piggy is getting ample
 
tabelmabel said:
If she's eating pepper, i wouldn't worry too much. I think (but I'm not sure!) that red pepper has more vit c that green. remember that grass has a good vitimin c content (uk) at this time of year (it drops off towards the end of the summer. Also nuggets have added vitimin c. I'm sure your piggy is getting ample
Click to expand...
You're right and I'm glad she's eating pepper but ideally I would have wanted her to eat a better variety. I don't have a lawn so I buy pots of grass to grow so she doesn't get a lot of grass really
 
Sian25 said:
You're right and I'm glad she's eating pepper but ideally I would have wanted her to eat a better variety. I don't have a lawn so I buy pots of grass to grow so she doesn't get a lot of grass really
Click to expand...
you can give her as much pepper as she wants as far as I know. That's where my pigs get all their vitamin c, it is packed with it so don't worry! My pigs love red leaf lettuce and parsley!
 
I am sure she is fine with a combination of pepper and pellets alone, but if you are worried you could always try giving her a chewable supplement like Oxbow?
Also as it's early days it might just take her a while to develop a pallet for new foods.
I know our lot were horrified the first time we offered them coriander and now they practically take your fingers off to get to the stuff!
 
My 2 latest arrivals were both very picky to begin with. It's usually because they haven't been exposed to a variety of foods before. In the same way as I deal with fussy children I just keep putting the same things in the cage as I would normally. At first they might be picky but eventually they get used to what is on offer and eat it. It's natural that they may prefer some things over others but eventually they should eat it all. Mabel and Poppy now eat celery, coriander, basil, parsley, baby sweet corn and green beans - all were initially rejected but are now scoffed with delight. This week's new treat was watermelon. And after a less than enthusiastic response at first I now have 4 sets of wheeks demanding it when I'm preparing it.
 
Thanks guys, I will continue to offer her the foods I've tried and hope for the best :nod: I do imagine that she will eat more as I've already seen an improvement but just want to ensure she's getting enough vitamin C for the time being
 
Please try not to worry. Out of my 3 piggies, Emma has IC and Ellen diabetes so they are on a very strict diet of cucumber, pepper (except for red due to its high sugar content) lettuces and herbs, Harringtons nuggets and unlimited hay. They were eating celery at one point but have gone off if.
My newest edition, Edward has reacted very well to this strict diet x
 
Haha I've been wanting to feed them like that @Tigermoth - share it in a bowl but most of the time I have to leave the room for Effie to eat so I'd be worried that Milan would just scoff it all and Effie would be too slow to come out. Either that or one of the pigs would eat all of one specific veggie. So instead, they get their morning veg equaled out and fed at different sides of the cage then their evening veg is given next to eachother on my knee - I give them both a piece of pepper then wait for both to eat then give them both another piece of veg etc and so on, just feeding piece by piece. She wouldn't eat on my knee at first but does now that she sees Milan do it haha, bless her!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top