Malnourishment?

[hrsrdr]

I'm not sure if it should be in this section, or the health and illness section, but, here goes:

I'm concerned my two girls are malnourished, I can easily feel their ribs, and I can feel their spines by their bottoms. I can also feel their leg joints easily. They didn't get veggies where I bought them from, but I've got them on veggies now. Each day, they get a few romaine lettuce leaves, along with diced celery, a bit of red cabbage, endless hay, a spoonful of pellets, and water with a vitamin c supplement in it. Once a week, they get a treat of some type, like carrot, a piece of bell pepper, or some type of chopped, seedless fruit, like a piece of orange.

I've already cleared any possible illnesses with the vet a little over a week ago when I took Bubbles for her hay-poke, and he said they were a healthy weight. Is there anything I can feed them to help them gain a bit more weight? Or is it normal for younger pigs to be bony?

Thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

How old are they? How long have you had them?
Are they gaining weight each week?

Good hay based diet is what will put weight on them but it will take time.
if the vet isn’t concerned, then I wouldn’t be either.

To add, bell pepper doesn’t need to be a treat, it can be given to them daily As a good source of vitamin c. Fruit and carrot is a treat though.
Please also don’t add vit c supplements to their drinking water. It can change the taste of the water and stop them from drinking, but it also degrades in water so it’s highly likely they aren’t getting any effect from it at all. they get all their vit c needs from their hay and veg. Pellets also contain vit c as well.

 

[Siikibam]

Also be aware that giving additional vitamin c can also cause problems when the levels fall below the ‘new norm’.

 

[PigglePuggle]

I think your veg selection sounds a bit watery and low in nutrients, lettuce and celery are very watery and offer little in the way of nutrition. If you add in some herbs like coriander/cilantro and some bell pepper almost daily, and a higher calcium leaf like parsley or spinach or kale once a week, this is more likely to meet their full nutritional needs and also more than meet their vit C requirements- no need for supplements, just some more nutritious daily veggies!

 

[Siikibam]

I forgot to add I wouldn’t feed cabbage every day.

Please can you also add your location to your profile. Country will do.

 

[Piggies&buns]

This thread may help you add a bit more variety
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading

 

[hrsrdr]

Thanks guys! Sorry I had to go back to work for a bit. I had read before that having too much bell pepper could give guinea pigs diahrea because of the vitamin c content, which was why I held off on it so much. I'll be sure to add more into their diets. They're only a few months old, and I haven't been able to weigh them yet because they're fidgety if I'm not holding them or in the cage. I'll look into more vareity of veg tho! Thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Mine get a slice of bell pepper every day. The important thing is to add any new food slowly.

do start to weigh them, it’s so important to know what is going on

 

[PigglePuggle]

A good tip for weighing is to put them in a small cardboard box, ideally with a piece of coriander in- that usually keeps them still for a couple of minutes!

 

[hrsrdr]

A good tip for weighing is to put them in a small cardboard box, ideally with a piece of coriander in- that usually keeps them still for a couple of minutes!

Oooh, thankyou, I'll have to try that!