How Do I Make My Guinea Pigs Eat Vegetables?

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ash231421

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i’ve had my 2 guinea pigs for 1 week and 3 days but they don’t seem to be eating the vegetables. i tried giving them lettuce, parsley, coriander, carrot, broccoli, apple and red pepper, but they havent eaten any of it. one of them nibbled a tiny bit of lettuce but there was literally no difference from when i put it in the cage. the petshop told me to give them cabbage, pepper, broccoli a few times a week so I'm assuming they’ve been given these vegetables at the store? they’re about 13 weeks old now but they are eating their hay and nuggets. is there a way to encourage them to eat their veggies? thanks
 
ash231421 said:
i’ve had my 2 guinea pigs for 1 week and 3 days but they don’t seem to be eating the vegetables. i tried giving them lettuce, parsley, coriander, carrot, broccoli, apple and red pepper, but they havent eaten any of it. one of them nibbled a tiny bit of lettuce but there was literally no difference from when i put it in the cage. the petshop told me to give them cabbage, pepper, broccoli a few times a week so I'm assuming they’ve been given these vegetables at the store? they’re about 13 weeks old now but they are eating their hay and nuggets. is there a way to encourage them to eat their veggies? thanks
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Hi and welcome

Guinea pigs learn what is safe to eat from their mum and other elders in their group. If that hasn't happened at the pet shop breeder's, then it is very much a process of patience and persistence as the youngsters have no reference. Even if the pet shop occasionally is chucking in some veg, it doesn't mean that yours will have eaten it. ;)

Unlimited hay makes ideally over 80% of the daily food intake, veg about 10-15% and pellets just 5%. You can feed more pellets at the moment to cover the vitamin C angle as long as they are not eating. Try a small bit of dog and fox pee free fresh grass (please no wet grass) to see whether they will be tempted by that. Be careful as it is likely that their digestive system is not used to processing fresh food (risk of diarrhea).
Here is our diet guide: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet
 
The most important thing is that they are eating the hay. Keep on offering veggies. Without observing other pigs eating veggies, some pigs have a hard time figuring out that they are food. I have generally found that eventually someone will have a nibble and decide that it's good. Hopefully if one will accept something, the other one will follow suit. A lot of pet shop pigs have never seen a vegetable prior to being adopted, so it's a learning process. You could also put some veggies in there just prior to bedtime, as they may be bolder about venturing out an eating it if no one is watching.
 
I would pop a few bits in the cage and just leave it there for hours. I have left a slice of pepper with a pig for over 12 hours before. It started shrivelling and just before I took it out the pig in question decided to eat it. Keep offering it and I'm sure they will soon learn
 
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