Help! My Guinea Pigs Won't Eat Any Veggies

Status
Not open for further replies.
Vanessa1104

Vanessa1104

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 14, 2017
Messages
44
Reaction score
7
Points
75
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum. I need help. I have tried everything to get my guinea pigs to eat veggies. It has been over 6 months and they still won't touch it. Please help
 
If you pellets are a brand for guinea pigs, they will have vitamin C in .
 
PiggyOwner said:
If you pellets are a brand for guinea pigs, they will have vitamin C in .
Click to expand...
I use oxbow but I checked with the vet and she said that the vitamin c in the pellets only last 3 months after being made
 
did you get your guineas from a rescue or a shop ? It may be that they were never given any fresh veg by their previous owner . I think you just need to persevere .

Personally, I wouldn't recommend adding vitamin C to their water .
 
PiggyOwner said:
did you get your guineas from a rescue or a shop ? It may be that they were never given any fresh veg by their previous owner . I think you just need to persevere .

Personally, I wouldn't recommend adding vitamin C to their water .
Click to expand...
Thank you so much!
 
Perhaps try to make it more interesting -in toys etc maybe the thrill of finding it and getting it themselves will make it more enticing. Perhaps mixing it in the hat or hiding it underneath might make it clear that it's food and edible or even slicing it up and putting it in the pellets. Have you tried fruit like orange or apple that is fragrant? Obviously this can't be given everyday but a juicy orange slice is difficult to turn down. Haha. How about grass cuttings do they eat them? It's often hard for a piggy to deny itself grass.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Perhaps try to make it more interesting -in toys etc maybe the thrill of finding it and getting it themselves will make it more enticing. Perhaps mixing it in the hat or hiding it underneath might make it clear that it's food and edible or even slicing it up and putting it in the pellets. Have you tried fruit like orange or apple that is fragrant? Obviously this can't be given everyday but a juicy orange slice is difficult to turn down. Haha. How about grass cuttings do they eat them? It's often hard for a piggy to deny itself grass.
Click to expand...
Yes I have, I tried everything you said
 
Redribbon said:
Hope you get them sorted and on their 5 a day soon. I've got the opposite problem, my boys eat all their veg and immediately screech for more!
Click to expand...
Awwww how cute
PiggyOwner said:
:wel: to the forum


this thread may be useful ...
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?[/QUOT
Redribbon said:
Hope you get them sorted and on their 5 a day soon. I've got the opposite problem, my boys eat all their veg and immediately screech for more!
Click to expand...
awwww how cute
Click to expand...
 
My boys are like that. Pepper is way worse than Patrick though, but he lived in a pet shop for all but 5 weeks of his 1 year on this planet and had never seen a vegetable. One day while holding him I stuck a parsley stem in his mouth, he nibbled at it with an annoyed attitude, then realized it was delicious. He's still picky, but he will now eat lettuce (any type), parsley, cilantro, celery and watermelon. That's it. Patrick will eat all that plus carrots and mustard greens. Neither will touch bell peppers, pineapple, strawberries, apples, oranges, cantaloupe or honey dew. We'll try fresh grass when it warms up a bit.
 
Vanessa1104 said:
Hello everyone. I am new to this forum. I need help. I have tried everything to get my guinea pigs to eat veggies. It has been over 6 months and they still won't touch it. Please help
Click to expand...

6 months is a long time... I wonder whether you could feed them grass and dandelion especially... pigs have a dandelion fetish and it's good for the gut flora ...
Try coriander, they find it irresistible. Maybe some parsley and dill... my pigs love everything. Literally but one of or boys who was pretty much feral when we adopted him some 8 months ago was scared of veg...
Try fennel as well, apples and pears ( moderate amounts due to sugar)... perhaps some spring greens and cauliflower
Leaves, they love them...
...you could try bell peppers ( not sure whether you mentioned that).
Tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, spinach ... ?
courgettes are really good as low in calcium...
I think it may be a case of trying it all. Perhaps don't give them pellets for couple of days ( I know it sounds harsh but they will be fine as long as they have plenty of hay and water ) and when they are hungry they may reach for veg.

How much pellets to you feed them and how often? I'm thinking if it's quite a lot then they may just be stuffed from that. Mind you, piggies are ALWAYS hungry. Bit like me haha

Keep us posted x
 
You've probably already tried this but what about apple cut into very small slices? I find all of the piggies I've had grab for it, though they were used to veggies and fruit beforehand.

Probably a silly idea, but rubbing veggie or fruit onto their pellets so they get a small taste of it rather than refusing a solid veg or fruit first. ? Like getting a bit of apple and pressing it against a pellet to get a scent or taste on and then offering it.
 
My oldest girl and her sister were a nightmare with veggies when we first got them! Probably not much of a solution to you but they only saw veggies as food when we got 2 more piggies and saw them eating them!

Favorites of ours are celeriac, beetroot, baby corn, pea shoots, cavelo nero, spring greens, parsley, mint...theyre quite fond of the bags of bistro salad leaves too. Not sure how many of them youve tried but hopefully theres something that will tempt them.
 
CarnivalPiggy said:
You've probably already tried this but what about apple cut into very small slices? I find all of the piggies I've had grab for it, though they were used to veggies and fruit beforehand.

Probably a silly idea, but rubbing veggie or fruit onto their pellets so they get a small taste of it rather than refusing a solid veg or fruit first. ? Like getting a bit of apple and pressing it against a pellet to get a scent or taste on and then offering it.
Click to expand...
I tried both of those things, but thanks
 
@Wiebke would it be too stressful to feed veggies as fluid through a syringe to introduce it would it? Not having vegetables seems risky but stress is a factor
 
Hi! Have you tried fresh dog/fox pee free grass? You can also grow wheat grass and grass in trays on your window sill. Have you tried freeze dried readigrass as a treat to lure them into eating fresh grass? I find that grass is often the ice breaker with skittish piggies of mine.

It can be very difficult to get guinea pigs that have never had veg to take it, nor by the sound of it has their mum. Guinea pigs learn as babies from their elders what is safe to eat and what not. They also get used to it by traces in their mum's milk; but if that hasn't happened, then it is not at all easy to convice them that fresh stuff is safe and fun to eat. You also have to start slowly as their guts are not used to it, so they are very likely to get diarrhea if they eat too much too soon. May I asked where your guinea pigs have come from?

Please give extra vitamin C, but rather by syringe after you have dissolved the tablet in very little water, not via the water bottle, so you can control the intake. Guinea pigs drink noticeably less when their water contains additives; all it does is promote the growth green algae.

You could try to syringe water or a cooled herbal tea that is flavoured with a bit of veg, so they may get the taste of it this way. Never syringe more than a mouthful, which is about 0.3 - 0.5 ml for adult piggies. That way, nothing goes down the wrong way.

How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

It would help us a lot if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, as we have members from all over the world, so we can take available brands, climate, vet and rescue access etc. into account straight away. Please click on your username at the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This make it appear underneath your username in every post you make. Thank you!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top