Fussy guinea pig

Jenny_12

Jenny_12

New Born Pup
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
18
Reaction score
10
Points
140
Location
UK
My guinea pig is so fussy he sticks to the same things he loves lettuce not iceberg cucumber peppers celery he loves melon but now throws his broccoli which he uses to love won’t touch it no dark greens he will eat a tiny bit but that’s it how do you manage on feeding them when they only want a tiny bit when most come in a huge bag? How do u fit everything in dark greens fruit the right amount when they are so fussy
Thank you
 

Attachments

  • E5BEF382-55D9-45A4-92DB-4B34820622C8.webp
    E5BEF382-55D9-45A4-92DB-4B34820622C8.webp
    41.1 KB · Views: 5
Hi Jenny,
I'm a fairly new guinea pig owner myself. I don't know how you get your guinea pig to eat more things, but I can say at my household the piggies eat a little bit of the veggies they are only supposed to have a couple of times a week (like broccoli, kale, etc, all the ones on that veggie chart that are higher in calcium) and the humans in the house have had a drastic improvement in their diet in terms of amount of vegetable consumption!
 
It’s fine if he doesn’t like broccoli. I would also say if he doesn’t like fruit he’s not missing anything by not eating them. Herbs work well as a treat every now and then. Just be aware parsley is high in calcium so should only be an occasional feed. Cucumber, lettuce, bell pepper and coriander can be fed every day. Then you can add in one thing maybe every week. If he eats the ‘staples’ I wouldn’t be too worried about the rest. But in most cases it’s a matter of persistence. Keep putting in for him to eat. Remove if he doesn’t and repeat. Pellets (max one tablespoon a day) are fortified with veg.

Does your piggy live with a friend? They’re highly social so need companionship of their own kind. How old is he? And are you sure he is a he?
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
Thank you for your reply I was just worried as he just eats the same old things and wouldn’t be getting what he needed, ye he is a he. He did have a friend but sadly passed away of old age he enjoys things once then never again
 
Hay needs to form the basis of the diet.
My piggies then get the same basis of veggies each day (lettuce, cucumber, pepper and coriander) and I may or may not add in other things depending on whether I’ve got them in the fridge.

He would benefit greatly from having a new friend to live with.
 
Ye he loves his hay which he gets daily and a lot of it. It’s good to hear that he is getting what he needs then was just worried as not that varied but he loves all his lettuce cucumber pepper. Was just worried about introducing another one as he is not done the other male was and he is getting on a bit now how would he react to a young male that was done
 
What a lovely boy! If you can find a little bit of fresh grass (not from the roadside, and nothing that might have been peed on by cats/dogs) he might enjoy that. Tricky at this time of years though. My pigs all had different tastes - some wouldn't touch brassicas at all (that's the cabbagey stuff) some loved it so much I felt guilty limiting it. One would eat bell pepper but not the green ones!
Did his friend die recently? Did that change his appetite? Sometimes they start to eat something new when they see another pig eating it.

I'm not a bonding expert but depending on where you're based there are rescues which can do 'boar dating' where you take your piggie in and they try and find you a match! It might be something to think about - it's what we're trying to do. Our boar is now alone - he's neutered but we are having trouble finding sows - and I am starting to look at plan B which is another boar, maybe in next-door cages so they can see each other and interact.
 
Jenny_12 said:
Ye he loves his hay which he gets daily and a lot of it. It’s good to hear that he is getting what he needs then was just worried as not that varied but he loves all his lettuce cucumber pepper. Was just worried about introducing another one as he is not done the other male was and he is getting on a bit now how would he react to a young male that was done
Click to expand...

by 'done' I assume you mean neutering? If so, then a boar being neutered makes absolutely no difference to their ability to get on, neutering doesn't change guinea pigs behaviour like it does for other animals - its character compatibility which is vital. all neutering does is prevent pregnancy. two boars do not need to be neutered to live together and your boar won't have any idea if the other boar is neutered as they will both behave absolutely the same.

character compatibility and mutual liking is the key to a successful bond - the two piggies have to like each other to be able to form a functioning hierarchy. the best way to find a character compatible friend is to go dating at a rescue centre. that way, your piggy chooses his own friend which will result in a good bond. the rescue centre will help with the bonding procedure and you'll know the piggy you are bringing home is healthy as well as being assured they like each other.
if you buy a piggy on spec from a pet shop for example, then you will have no idea if they will be compatible and like each other, so you need to have a back up plan if they don't by having a separate cage so they can live side by side as neighbours with interaction through the bars to stop loneliness. You also have to follow the bonding procedure correctly - you cant just put two piggies together. You also need to forego quarantine if any piggy you bring home is less than four months old (babies need immediate bonding with an older piggy) so you do run the risk of bringing in an illness but in that case you'd just have to be prepared to treat them both.
 
Last edited:
Thank you. They just know what they like don’t they. He passed away 6 months ago his food habits never changed he still eats fine and knows what he dosent like lol I think there is one about a hour away from me I definitely want to get him another friend
 
Piggies&buns said:
by 'done' I assume you mean neutering? If so, then a boar being neutered makes absolutely no difference to their ability to get on, neutering doesn't change guinea pigs behaviour like it does for other animals - its character compatibility which is vital. all neutering does is prevent pregnancy. two boars do not need to be neutered to live together and your boar won't have any idea if the other boar is neutered as they will both behave absolutely the same.

character compatibility and mutual liking is the key to a successful bond - the two piggies have to like each other to be able to form a functioning hierarchy. the best way to find a character compatible friend is to go dating at a rescue centre. that way, your piggy chooses his own friend which will result in a good bond. the rescue centre will help with the bonding procedure and you'll know the piggy you are bringing home is healthy as well as being assured they like each other.
if you buy a piggy on spec from a pet shop for example, then you will have no idea if they will be compatible and like each other, so you need to have a back up plan if they don't by having a separate cage so they can live side by side as neighbours with interaction through the bars to stop loneliness. You also have to follow the bonding procedure correctly - you cant just put two piggies together. You also need to forego quarantine if any piggy you bring home is less than four months old (babies need immediate bonding with an older piggy) so you do run the risk of bringing in an illness but in that case you'd just have to be prepared to treat them both.
Click to expand...

ye sorry I meant neutered. That what I was worried about getting one for a pet shop I’m going to look more into looking at rescue centres he is very happy in himself at the minute
 
My two shelter pigs were like this. They used to refuse various leafy greens, bell peppers (except greens), squash, cucumber etc.

My advice- try every safe veggie out there til you find what he likes. I even bought more expensive stuff like bok choi for them. Come back to the rejected ones after a while- after a few months my boys are now eating the veggies they rejected before.
 
Never tried bok choi yet might give that a go. He nibbles dark greens then throws it around his cage up over his head :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top