How to get pig to eat diff. things? :S

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ellie_jo3213

ellie_jo3213

Teenage Guinea Pig
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hello. at the moment my piggy only eats carrots, cucumber and occasionally spinage.
Ive tried her with lots of different food: tomatos, peppers, lettis, leaves of cauliflower, broccoli, apple, banana, corn of the cob even stir fry! but she just leaves it and digs out the carrots and cucumber from the bowl.
does any one have any ideas/methods of helping me try get her to eat a more varied diet? it surely cant be good for her to only have carrots and cucumber everyday.
have even tried to wrap little bits of carrot up in lettis or smear it in tomato, but she just spits out eveything other that the carrot! she runs and hides away from the corn of the cob and the cauliflower leaves...
however she does seem to like eating: cardboard, paper, my carpet, my desk, my socks, her plastic hut, wooden chewtoys... and more things shes not supposed to eat!

any ideas would be greatly appreciated !

thanks
 
If they are kept alone piggies can often be very fussy and don't eat as well as if they have a friend. Piggies in pairs or more tend to be competetive and worry about the other eating their food so will often scoff whatever they're given! Why not try just feeding one type of veg at a time, as they are well known to be 'selective eaters' and will often just pick out their favourite bits.
 
ours are the same, they like the most expensive stuff, like living salad! They also eat the carpet, table, chair and the wall!

no idea how to get them to eat other things, wish they would!
 
she does live on her own, the cage i have is too small for 2, but recently added an extension to it. going to get a friend once i have moved into diff accomodation in sep, and set up my C&C cage. shall give it anaother go. ive tried feeding it seperate but shes quite willing to go with out fresh veg if its not carrot or cucumber. have bought some diff hay with dandylion and herbs in so she gets a bit more nutrients. also have some dried dandelion and green oats treats for her.
think once sping kicks in, i'm going to try find some fresh grass and dandelions for her. - harder than it sounds when living in the middle of bristol! hee hee
 
how old is she?
It might just be a case of getting used to different food. Although she just may not like it, my girls love bean sprouts but the boys wont touch them :)
 
shes not a year yet, think around 8-9 months. her mum was very fussy too. only eating carrots and cucumber (got her from my friend) but am very pleased ive got her onto some spinach over xmas!
 
If you put more of the other food in and leave her with it until next dinner time you may find she ends up eating it... If she hasnt eaten it by dinner time then leave it in the bowl and just pop some of her normal food in...
I di that with mine if i run out of something they like...
They always end up giving in and having a munch...:) ALthough all my animals have a limited veg tolerance... my rabbits will only eat 4 vegetables and 1 type of fruit. the piggies only eat a variety of veg and 2 types of fruit...
 
I've found that mine are eating more different things as they've got older( they've just had their 1st birthday) When I 1st got them they would only eat kale & grapes I tried everything I could get my hands on in Tescos but they just turfed it out of the bowl & pooped on it to show their disgust ( my hubby had loads of left over salad & stir frys last summer !). i've been slowly re-introducing things & now they will eat Kale, grapes, romiane, tomato, celery, cucumber, strawberrys, Spring green cabbage,banana. apple & pear, so if I was you I'd leave it a bit then try introducing other bits & pieces.
 
My boys are definitely competitive when it comes to food, Biscuit who is 6 months old inhales his so fast that he sometimes has to cough because its gone down the wrong way! (silly piggy)

At the beginning they refused to eat red pepper, which worried me because its such a great source of Vitamin C, but after putting it on their plate for a few weeks, it slowly got eaten up. They are now big pepper fans.

I would just say keep trying, if they are anything like my two gluttonous boys they will be tucking in in no time. :)

Good luck!
 
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