• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea pigs not eating?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DM010620
  • Start date Start date
D

DM010620

Hi,
my piggies are not eating what I give them I have tried many foods but, nothing...
I'm super worried about them, they only take tiny nibbles and only eat some hay and treats luckily they do drink water, hope you can help,
thanks
 
Do you know they arent eating as in actually losing weight day to day and week to week or do you not see them eating? If they are not eating and have lost 50g of weight in a week you need to syringe feed immediately and see a vet. If they havent lost weight they are probably eating mostly hay, which is good for them and really hard to measure, when you aren't watching. Please weigh daily at the same time and same length of time after feeding until you are sure- not eating at all is a medical emergency, but not eating when you are looking probably means they are picky eaters and a bit shy!
 
As PigglePuggle has said, hay makes up the most part of their diet -85/90% of their diet needs to be hay so you cannot judge how much of it they eat unless you weigh them.
How much pellets and what veg are you offering them?
 
Excellent advice above from both @Piggies&buns & @PigglePuggle

please weigh your piggies so can see how much is going in?

Out of interest how long have you had them? Have you tried putting their veg in hideys with them?
 
Coffee the pig said:
Hi,
my piggies are not eating what I give them I have tried many foods but, nothing...
I'm super worried about them, they only take tiny nibbles and only eat some hay and treats luckily they do drink water, hope you can help,
thanks
Click to expand...
If you havnt already, try buying the greenest looking timothy hay you can find, might tempt them a bit more to eat, because you said both are not eating much, this makes me think its not teeth related problems. But if in doubt go get a vet check
 
PigglePuggle said:
Do you know they arent eating as in actually losing weight day to day and week to week or do you not see them eating? If they are not eating and have lost 50g of weight in a week you need to syringe feed immediately and see a vet. If they havent lost weight they are probably eating mostly hay, which is good for them and really hard to measure, when you aren't watching. Please weigh daily at the same time and same length of time after feeding until you are sure- not eating at all is a medical emergency, but not eating when you are looking probably means they are picky eaters and a bit shy!
Click to expand...
they are not shy, they won't eat and when i leave a nd then come back, there is still the same amount of veg
 
Piggies&buns said:
As PigglePuggle has said, hay makes up the most part of their diet -85/90% of their diet needs to be hay so you cannot judge how much of it they eat unless you weigh them.
How much pellets and what veg are you offering them?
Click to expand...
each pig gets a cup of food, I was told that was enough...
 
sport_billy said:
Excellent advice above from both @Piggies&buns & @PigglePuggle

please weigh your piggies so can see how much is going in?

Out of interest how long have you had them? Have you tried putting their veg in hideys with them?
Click to expand...
I don't have a weight apart from cooking weights... could I use them? I had them for Almost 4 months and the usually PULL their veg inside their hideys
 
Skypipdot said:
If you havnt already, try buying the greenest looking timothy hay you can find, might tempt them a bit more to eat, because you said both are not eating much, this makes me think its not teeth related problems. But if in doubt go get a vet check
Click to expand...
ok, I'll try to find some soon
 
You could try mixing a chop up cucumber in with they food , trust me if that don't work my guinea pigs go wild for cucumber
If cucumber
 
Coffee the pig said:
I don't have a weight apart from cooking weights... could I use them? I had them for Almost 4 months and the usually PULL their veg inside their hideys
Click to expand...

Yes normal kitchen scales are perfectly fine for weighing your piggies in.

So, you say that they usually take their veg into their hideys to eat it but now they are not doing that and are not eating at all?
 
Yes one cup of veg a day is enough. The rest of their food should be hay and it should be topped up regularly throughout the day. If they are eating plenty of hay, then that is fine.

Coffee the pig said:
each pig gets a cup of food, I was told that was enough...
Click to expand...
 
Skypipdot said:
If you havnt already, try buying the greenest looking timothy hay you can find, might tempt them a bit more to eat, because you said both are not eating much, this makes me think its not teeth related problems. But if in doubt go get a vet check
Click to expand...
Yes vet and timmothy hay. My piggie was the same. Teeth problems
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes normal kitchen scales are perfectly fine for weighing your piggies in.

So, you say that they usually take their veg into their hideys to eat it but now they are not doing that and are not eating at all?
Click to expand...
yup, that's correct, not taking the food AT ALL
 
are they eating hay?
If they aren’t eating hay, and in fact aren’t eating anything at all then, you need to take action - seeing a vet and starting to syringe feed them. When pigs stop eating altogether, then as mentioned above, it is a medical emergency.
 
Piggies&buns said:
are they eating hay?
If they aren’t eating hay, and in fact aren’t eating anything at all then, you need to take action - seeing a vet and starting to syringe feed them. When pigs stop eating altogether, then as mentioned above, it is a medical emergency.
Click to expand...
they do eat hay, but they don't go crazy for it and it doesn't seem they eat as much as before:(
 
You need to weigh them at the same time every day and keep a record of their weights so that you can see what is going on. It is hard to tell whether they are eating enough hay just by looking at the hay pile so weighing the piggies is the only way to know. Keep a record and come back to us with the information.
If you are in any doubt in the meantime, then see a vet straight away.

Sometimes trying a different hay can help them regain their interest in it.
What veg do you feed them? Is there enough variety in their veg to keep their interest?
How many pellets are you feeding them. They only need one tablespoon of pellets each per day.
 
@Coffee the pig when you joined the forum you had just one pig living alone. Please answer the following questions so we can help you (or at least try to figure out what the problem might be)
1. How many piggies do you have living together?
2. What age are they
3. What sex are they?
4. how long have you had them?
5. What dry food are you feeding? Do you weigh the bowl with it in? How do you know none is being eaten?
6. What veg are you feeding, what amounts, how often?
7. Do they have constant access to hay?
8. What weights are your piggies?

If you feel that they are truly not eating and are losing weight you must take them to a vets as soon as possible.
 
Piggies&buns said:
You need to weigh them at the same time every day and keep a record of their weights so that you can see what is going on. It is hard to tell whether they are eating enough hay just by looking at the hay pile so weighing the piggies is the only way to know. Keep a record and come back to us with the information.
If you are in any doubt in the meantime, then see a vet straight away.

Sometimes trying a different hay can help them regain their interest in it.
What veg do you feed them? Is there enough variety in their veg to keep their interest?
How many pellets are you feeding them. They only need one tablespoon of pellets each per day.
Click to expand...
their hay is in a hay rack so I can tell like that and I just get a small handful of pellets (it has dried carrot and sweetcorn in it but not alot) , I have fed them out of everything they tried:
broccoli, carrots, apple, spinach, watercress, cauliflower leaves, bananas, cucumber, red pepper, sweetcorn, squash, strawberries, blueberries and grapes(nay be more, can't remember😂)
 
It’s still not really possible to tell whether they are eating enough hay even if it is in a rack. Weighing them regularly is the only way of knowing they are eating enough. How many times in a day do you refill their hay rack?
Answers to VickiA’s questions would be useful.
if their pellets contain dried carrot and sweetcorn, then I’d be curious to know what brand they are? Recommended dried foods are just plain pellets. It’s generally the muesli types of food which contains other items.
 
VickiA said:
@Coffee the pig when you joined the forum you had just one pig living alone. Please answer the following questions so we can help you (or at least try to figure out what the problem might be)
1. How many piggies do you have living together?
2. What age are they
3. What sex are they?
4. how long have you had them?
5. What dry food are you feeding? Do you weigh the bowl with it in? How do you know none is being eaten?
6. What veg are you feeding, what amounts, how often?
7. Do they have constant access to hay?
8. What weights are your piggies?

If you feel that they are truly not eating and are losing weight you must take them to a vets as soon as possible.
Click to expand...
no no, I never just bought one, but to answer your questions, here:
1.i have two
2.probably half a year or so, one a few days older
3.both female
4.almost 4 months
5.i feed these dry food that comes with dry carrots and corn, I do not weigh it, I can tell as when they do touch the food the just pull it down then leave it
6.broccoli, carrots, apple, spinach, watercress, cauliflower leaves, bananas, cucumber, red pepper, sweetcorn, squash, strawberries, blueberries and grapes, I feed them broccoli and pepper at most, sometimes spinach and carrots, the rest, sometimes.
7.yes they do, I put some in piles and gay racks
8.hmm, I have not checked they are pretty skittish and they'll probably run off the weights
that's the info you'll need;)
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s still not really possible to tell whether they are eating enough hay even if it is in a rack. Weighing them regularly is the only way of knowing they are eating enough. How many times in a day do you refill their hay rack?
Answers to VickiA’s questions would be useful.
if their pellets contain dried carrot and sweetcorn, then I’d be curious to know what brand they are? Recommended dried foods are just plain pellets. It’s generally the muesli types of food which contains other items.
Click to expand...
the brand of the pellets is called nature's touch
I refill their hay 1-2 times a day
 
Nature’s touch is not a complete pellet, I suspect. Here is a thread about it. Natures Touch Guinea Pig Food
Here is a link to the pellets guide
Nugget Comparison Chart

To be sure what is being eaten please weigh an empty bowl. Put food in, and weigh again. Next day weigh the bowl (with food in) to see if any has gone. If none has gone, and the weight is the same then that is usually an indication of a problem.If you are refilling the hay then that indicates that some is being eaten or you wouldn’t need to do it?

You can weigh piggies in a bowl or tub on your scales. Even skittish piggies can be weighed safely.
 
Coffee the pig said:
the brand of the pellets is called nature's touch
I refill their hay 1-2 times a day
Click to expand...


I’ve just looked this up and, assuming I’ve found the right thing, this does not look like it is a suitable daily guinea pig pellet dry food. It looks more like a treat forage. To be honest though, it’s ingredients alarm me a little - it contains bran, wheat, alfalfa, molasses and straw! (to name just a few). I’d recommend you feed an all in one pellet such as Harrington’s, science selective, burgess etc.

All guinea pigs are different, but as a guide, I refill my two hay racks for my two piggies around 3-4 times per day. This is why weighing is so important. Hay consumption is very deceptive without their weights.

If they are taking food into their hideys and then not eating any of it, then I would be getting a vet to check them out.
 
A complete pellet is by far the most preferred pellet for piggies. You can get nuggets/pellets in most pet shops (including P@H).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top