Help All My Guinea Pig Eats Is Hay!

Chloegkenny

Chloegkenny

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I have two guinea pigs Earnie and Norman, every morning they get a fresh bowl of fruit for breakfast such as apples, bananas, berries etc as well as nuggets and plenty of hay they get this each on a morning and then in the afternoon I will prepare fresh vegetables such as kale, cabbage, leak, broccoli, tomato’s and Lettuce and top up the hay supply if need be. But all my Earnie seems to eat is hay while Norman eats everything that’s put down for him. I have separated them to see what they both eat and Earnie only has hay. I have tried techniques such as hiding veggies in hay and he picks them out. Is there anything I can do because I don’t want him missing out on key nutrients :(
 
I don't think fruits should be such a prominent part of their diet - they're more of a rare, occasional treat than a key part of their diet.

As far as veggies are concerned, you can try handfeeding them to Earnie, chopping them in smaller pieces, trying other types of veggies and/or grass and wild plants.

If he's not eating any veggies, does he have pellets? It's great he's eating lots of hay, which is what should be the bulk of their daily food intake, but in the absence of veggies, it would be good for them to have an alternative source of vitamins and minerals, since hay is so diverse nutritionally.
 
RosieMaia said:
I don't think fruits should be such a prominent part of their diet - they're more of a rare, occasional treat than a key part of their diet.

As far as veggies are concerned, you can try handfeeding them to Earnie, chopping them in smaller pieces, trying other types of veggies and/or grass and wild plants.

If he's not eating any veggies, does he have pellets? It's great he's eating lots of hay, which is what should be the bulk of their daily food intake, but in the absence of veggies, it would be good for them to have an alternative source of vitamins and minerals, since hay is so diverse nutritionally.
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No he doesn’t eat pellets either just drinks plenty of water and hay. He doesn’t take them out my hand either he will sniff at them and then go away. I mix grass into the pellets and I haven’t seen him eat them either but I could try just grass on it’s own
 
Hay should be the biggest part of the diet so it is good they are eating mainly that. Could you try switching to a different pellet to see if he likes that? Pellets should only be fed in small amounts anyway. Fruit should not be fed daily as mentioned above. Have you tried any other veg apart from those you mention? My Rose is really picky but can usually be tempted by something. Could you try fresh herbs like coriander or dill? how about cucumber, or green beans? Has he always been this way or is it a recent development? if recent, I would suggest a vet check as something could have changed the way he eats.
 
First off, dont feed the leek as being part of the onion family they can make them sick, is he pooping ok? If so you can probably rule out a tummy upset from eating the leeks. Have you tried presenting the veggies differently? My Bramble would only eat carrot if I grated it to start with , all of them will only eat swede if I use a potato peeler to make thin peels of it.
Ive yet to see a piggy refuse the green leafy carrot tops, chard or parsley which might be a good place to start, especially with herbs as they're quite smelly and you could try rubbing them on other foods once they will eat them.
 
Good idea about the parsley @Eriathwen! Mine will do virtually anything for parsley! They never used to like coriander (cilantro) much but they love that now. Not tried them on dill ..... yet. Can they have basil? It was reduced in Asda this morning and I was tempted but not sure so didn't get any. I now have a decent crop of chickweed under my bay window in my front garden that I can give my lot in a mo. I am growing it for them (well that's my excuse for not doing the weeding!:lol!:)
 
Betsy said:
Good idea about the parsley @Eriathwen! Mine will do virtually anything for parsley! They never used to like coriander (cilantro) much but they love that now. Not tried them on dill ..... yet. Can they have basil? It was reduced in Asda this morning and I was tempted but not sure so didn't get any. I now have a decent crop of chickweed under my bay window in my front garden that I can give my lot in a mo. I am growing it for them (well that's my excuse for not doing the weeding!:lol!:)
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Basil is safe for piggies.
 
And much loved by my pigs. As with most herbs, it's rich in vit. C, but also calcium, so it's best fed sparingly. :) But I'm sure they'd love a basil leaf now and then
 
I have kind of the same problem where my piggies has ditched his pellets and most veggies for hay. He actually popcorns every time I pull out the hay until he gets the amount that he wants.
 
Hey guys I was trying fruit with Earnie to see if he liked that more than vegetables but he doesn’t seem to like either. I have tried him today with peppered leaves and fresh grass and he has ate the lot as well as hay
 
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