My Guinea Pig Will Not Eat Fruit And Veggies

Mishatoe

Mishatoe

Junior Guinea Pig
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My piggie eats her hay, pellets, lettuce, spinach, and the occasional treat I give her. I never give her too much spinach because it can be damaging. Thing is, that's all she eats. I've tried so much with her but she refuses to eat. What should I do?
 
Hm. I'm not quite sure why she is doing that. What fruits and veggies have you tried with her? Maybe green bell pepper would be good because it looks a little like the leafy greens she's use to.
 
Does she have a cage mate? Guinea pigs learn from other guinea pigs what is safe to eat and what is not. You could try getting down on her level and eating a bit of the new foods each time to show her that they're safe?
 
Guinea pigs really need a friend to live with. A single lonely pig can start eating more once they have company. I have also had guinea pigs refuse certain veg but start eating it when they see a new one tucking in.
 
Long ago I had a stubborn boar who used to eat only pellets, some grass and carrots. Nothing else!
Also my sows now eat very few foods, but at least they eat the right ones... the bell pepper for example...
About fruit, no, they don't have to eat fruit and must keep themselves far from any font of sugars, therefore it is not a problem if they are refusing an apple... as they should not eat it.
Try to give them fresh grass, the only food which contains all the minerals, vitamins and fibres they need. I give my sows only a very little amount of vegs (and one teaspoon of pellets, and not even daily), but they eat a huge amount of fresh grass.
Anyway, I use also a supplement of vit C in drops, the one for children. Maybe it is only wasted money, but I prefer doing like that. The supplement is very little, though.
 
I have to agree with the above that a second pig would be beneficial. I had a single pig for about a month and when I got my second one it was amazing how they taught and learned from each other. If you are unable to do so then I would spend as much time with your piggie as possible.
 
How old is your piggie? When we first got all of our pigs, they had never been exposed to fruits or veggies and it took some time to figure out that they were for eating. For awhile they would sniff at unfamiliar foods, but not eat them. I do find that they learn what is edible by watching another pig eat it first. Also, frequent exposure may lead to them accepting more foods as they get used to it, so serving something they like alongside something unfamiliar may help. I also find it's easier to get younger pigs to accept new foods... trying to get my older pigs to accept new things has very seldom worked. They get set in their ways!
 
this is an older thread but if the problem is still occurring maybe just leave some veggies in the cage for a day and see if they will approach them.
 
JenniferG said:
Guinea pigs really need a friend to live with. A single lonely pig can start eating more once they have company. I have also had guinea pigs refuse certain veg but start eating it when they see a new one tucking in.
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Good point, the addition of a second pig may well solve the problem, guinea pigs like most animals follow the example of there peirs ,
If she were my pig l would introduce another sow that is known to eat a variety of vegetables
 
LaurenKaye said:
this is an older thread but if the problem is still occurring maybe just leave some veggies in the cage for a day and see if they will approach them.
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This is what I had to do when I had a piggy who wasn't used to a variety of veg. I'd give him a range at night and leave it there til the following day and just keep giving it. Once I left a slice of pepper in there and was about to throw it away as it was starting to wrinkle when he ate it. Needless to say once he got used to the veg he soon wolfed it down while it was fresh
 
Not all piggies have had the same experiences and not all will know what is good to eat. It's a bit like having children and trying to educate them as to a healthy diet. I do what @Lady Kelly does. I leave the veg in the cage until the next feed time. Then remove it and replace it with the same. Eventually they do learn to eat it, as there's no alternative. Otherwise they will always only eat what they know. Having said that, my recent foster pig still refused to eat cucumber after several weeks.
 
We got Pumpkin from a rescue place and the lady told us that she didn't really eat vegetables, she had been kept by herself after her sisters had been adopted. Well, Pumpkin soon got called Plumpkin and had a voracious appetite when living with two other piggies!
 
My boys wouldn't eat spring greens until they saw me eating spring greens...then apparently decided they were amazing and never looked back.

Plus they were far nicer than I thought they'd be. But if they see you eating the veggies, they may be more comfortable trying them themselves.
 
Lorcan said:
My boys wouldn't eat spring greens until they saw me eating spring greens...then apparently decided they were amazing and never looked back.

Plus they were far nicer than I thought they'd be. But if they see you eating the veggies, they may be more comfortable trying them themselves.
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Haha well they are within their rights to be fussy but how dare you attempt to eat food that belongs to them!
 
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