Guinea Pig refusing to eat hay; no dental / digestive / other issues.

[Alamerona]

Hi there TGPF, Joey, my youngest pig, has for some reason started to refuse to eat hay - We provide him with 1tbsp of Oxbow Adult pellets and the recommended veggies shown on the Long Term Balanced General and Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets thread (Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets), however he just refuses to eat hay for whatever reason...

We provide our boys with fresh Meadow Hay and fresh Timothy Hay once a day (Changed daily) in their hay racks, and tried fitting hay into cardboard rolls, bowls, tupperware 'dig' containers and more... But nothing seems to work!

Why might he be refusing to eat hay?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Could you please confirm that you’ve seen a vet to rule out dental and other health issues.

Perhaps he needs variety in hay or fresh hay provided more often. I just put a pile of hay on the floor, no containers or racks, just put straight on the floor and it gets topped up 3 to 4 times per day. I find this way they eat so much more - as soon the fresh pile goes down (even though there is still plenty of hay available), they immediately start eating.

You will need to weigh your piggy regularly to ensure the weight doesn’t drop. Hay is the main food source (veg and pellets are merely snacks making a total of 15% of their total daily intake), so if your piggy is not eating any hay at all then he may well need you to step in and syringe feed.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Will he eat grass? that can help to keep his teeth healthy, (the silica in hay and grass keeps the teeth worn down) but introduce slowly if he doesn’t normally eat it.

 

[Alamerona]

Hi there @Piggies&buns - Yes, Joey's been to the vets today and went to the vets also last Wednesday where they confirmed that he was healthy, and showed no signs of any additional health issues - He has recently been on a week's course of Baytril 0.5ml once daily; we're currently weighing them weekly (Previously daily), and he's put on weight recently as we've had to syringe feed him Oxbow Critical Care (Which he absolutely gobbles up) due to suspected infection (See my previous posts); the vet wasn't concerned at all and thinks he may be fussy!

In relation to eating grass @Bill & Ted, he hasn't tried it yet as they're only young, and have had health problems prior (Previous URI when we first got him, then suspected bacterial infection as a result after). Are there any specific considerations to take when giving grass? We do get a lot of foxes around where we live, and quite a few local cats pass through our garden, so I just worry about urine on the grass.

He's more than happy to eat veggies, pellets, the odd pea treat and, of course, his own poop... But just not hay!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hi there @Piggies&buns - Yes, Joey's been to the vets today and went to the vets also last Wednesday where they confirmed that he was healthy, and showed no signs of any additional health issues - He has recently been on a week's course of Baytril 0.5ml once daily; we're currently weighing them weekly (Previously daily), and he's put on weight recently as we've had to syringe feed him Oxbow Critical Care (Which he absolutely gobbles up) due to suspected infection (See my previous posts); the vet wasn't concerned at all and thinks he may be fussy!

In relation to eating grass @Bill & Ted, he hasn't tried it yet as they're only young, and have had health problems prior (Previous URI when we first got him, then suspected bacterial infection as a result after). Are there any specific considerations to take when giving grass? We do get a lot of foxes around where we live, and quite a few local cats pass through our garden, so I just worry about urine on the grass.

He's more than happy to eat veggies, pellets, the odd pea treat and, of course, his own poop... But just not hay!

yes, you would need to know the grass is clean, I tend to forage grass from our local churchyard as you get different varieties not just lawn grass. Like most foods, you give a little to start with and see how it’s tolerated, my vet treats lots of dental piggies and is a firm believer that grass is very good for their teeth and a good substitute for hay.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there TGPF, Joey, my youngest pig, has for some reason started to refuse to eat hay - We provide him with 1tbsp of Oxbow Adult pellets and the recommended veggies shown on the Long Term Balanced General and Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets thread (Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets), however he just refuses to eat hay for whatever reason...

We provide our boys with fresh Meadow Hay and fresh Timothy Hay once a day (Changed daily) in their hay racks, and tried fitting hay into cardboard rolls, bowls, tupperware 'dig' containers and more... But nothing seems to work!

Why might he be refusing to eat hay?

Hi!

Have you had him vet checked? It is either a mechanical or a pain issue at the root of any sudden change.
Please be aware that a developing tooth or jaw abscess may be brewing and causing toothache but is not yet showing. I have had this happening to piggies of mine a couple of times. Hay was the first food group that was dropped.
There can however be a number of issues affecting the mouth or gut directly or indirectly that could be in play.

Please step in with feeding hay based recovery mix or replace some of your fresh veg with fresh grass (which is high in vitamin C but should be dog or fox pee free) to help keep your back teeth ground down.

 

[Alamerona]

Hi!

Have you had him vet checked? It is either a mechanical or a pain issue at the root of any sudden change.
Please be aware that a developing tooth or jaw abscess may be brewing and causing toothache but is not yet showing. I have had this happening to piggies of mine a couple of times. Hay was the first food group that was dropped.
There can however be a number of issues affecting the mouth or gut directly or indirectly that could be in play.

Please step in with feeding hay based recovery mix or replace some of your fresh veg with fresh grass (which is high in vitamin C but should be dog or fox pee free) to help keep your back teeth ground down.

Hey!

Yes, he has been vet checked and they did not identify any sort of oral or internal issues - No signs of any abscesses in his teeth or jaw, and no signs of toothache. He's on Critical Care for another week as per our vet's recommendation, and we'll look at getting some grass from some deeper parts of local forests (Thankfully we're surrounded by greenery up here so it's not hard to find an un-touched bit of grass free from fox or dog pee )

 

[Wiebke]

Hey!

Yes, he has been vet checked and they did not identify any sort of oral or internal issues - No signs of any abscesses in his teeth or jaw, and no signs of toothache. He's on Critical Care for another week as per our vet's recommendation, and we'll look at getting some grass from some deeper parts of local forests (Thankfully we're surrounded by greenery up here so it's not hard to find an un-touched bit of grass free from fox or dog pee )

Just introduce the grass slowly and still continue to syringe feed fibre to keep the gut steady; too much grass at once on an unprepared stomach can cause diarrhea or bloat, as can too much fresh food overall.

But ideally you want to get your boy to chew on silica rich grass and hay in order to keep the crucial back teeth ground down.

 

[LMPigs]

Taking into account that he's being syringe fed critical care and is putting on weight, it may be that he's just not hungry. Once you stop the CC perhaps he will start eating hay again?