My girls are both approx 1yr old and get a big bowl of fresh greens every evening but just lately they seem to have slowed down eating their dry food... The dry food is always available they just dont seem to be eating much of it anymore! should i try a different brand or maybe a few less greens? ?
How much dry food?
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Jane
Senior Guinea Pig
Dry food isn't that important - their diet is (if I remember correctly) 80% hay, 15% veg and 5% dry food, so don't worry if they aren't eating that much.
Do you feed a mix or pellets/nuggets? If you are feeding a mix then they probably aren't eating much because they are selectively feeding, they are just eating their favourite bits. Just like if you gave someone a plate full of chocolate and veg, they're more likely to eat the chocolate. You could try changing them (slowly) to a pellet food - like Burgess Supa Guinea Excel, Science Selective or Pets at Home nuggets. You need to mix their old food with the new for a week or so, slowly increasing the amount of new food and decreasing the amount of old food - if you suddenly change it it could upset them. Some guinea pigs don't like the pelleted foods but if they will eat it it is a lot healthier because they are getting all the nutrition in one nugget, they don't have to eat the whole mix for it to be balanced.
I wouldn't cut down on the amount of vegetables you are feeding, but maybe you could spread it out into two meals? They could have one in the morning and one in the evening?
Do you feed a mix or pellets/nuggets? If you are feeding a mix then they probably aren't eating much because they are selectively feeding, they are just eating their favourite bits. Just like if you gave someone a plate full of chocolate and veg, they're more likely to eat the chocolate. You could try changing them (slowly) to a pellet food - like Burgess Supa Guinea Excel, Science Selective or Pets at Home nuggets. You need to mix their old food with the new for a week or so, slowly increasing the amount of new food and decreasing the amount of old food - if you suddenly change it it could upset them. Some guinea pigs don't like the pelleted foods but if they will eat it it is a lot healthier because they are getting all the nutrition in one nugget, they don't have to eat the whole mix for it to be balanced.
I wouldn't cut down on the amount of vegetables you are feeding, but maybe you could spread it out into two meals? They could have one in the morning and one in the evening?
Jane
Senior Guinea Pig
They're probably just full from eating their veggies and hay that they don't want that many pellets then 
How much do they eat approximately? I think spreading the veg out over the day might help..even if it doesn't then they still get two meals and that's better than one 
How much do they eat approximately? I think spreading the veg out over the day might help..even if it doesn't then they still get two meals and that's better than one They have about 2 handfulls of veg every evening each and are currently eating maybe half a small handful of pellets each a day or maybe even less. The bowls are small and have not been emptied for a while. I often have to throw away haf a bowlfull to replace with fresh dry food. They have seperate bowls for greens so dry food is always available.
And they live seperatly by the way!
And they live seperatly by the way!
Jane
Senior Guinea Pig
I wouldn't throw away the dry food that hasn't been eaten unless something has happened to it (like been peed on - my piggies like to do that :
Do they have unlimited hay too? If so then don't worry
Do they have unlimited hay too? If so then don't worry They always have lots of hay too which is topped up with fresh every other day. I wasnt sure what to do with the leftover food, because they eat so little of it! I guess you are right though, as long as its not been pee'd on i guess its ok.
(I did noticed wen once, actually aiming into her little food bowl! they like to keep us busy dont they!)
(I did noticed wen once, actually aiming into her little food bowl! they like to keep us busy dont they!)
Jane
Senior Guinea Pig
Yep they do! Mine always pee in it when it's empty too :
How much do your piggies weigh?
How much do your piggies weigh?
He he! Al pig is 1020g and Wen is 940g. Wen was poorly in the summer and lost some weight but she's put most of it back on now, she's 20g lighter than the first time we ever weighed her. Al is a right little chunky thing! she's the one on my pic.
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