Newbie Question, Piggy Not Eating His Veggies

[Harvey&Mocha]

I adopted Harvey two weeks ago. He is my first piggy and he was quite a mess when I got him...long curly nails, sore red feet (from a dirty cage?), grease matted into his fur halfway up his back and a perineal sac issue.

He was eating all the vegetables I would give him, the first week that he was here. He seemed to be munching hay all day and all night the first few days. He'll eat the pellet mix too.

I've gotten him all cleaned up, but he's been refusing vegetables this week. I'm giving him organic spring mix, bell pepper, carrot, celery leaves, a little spinach and cucumber. I tried giving him coriander because I read it was good to feed daily, and that's when he quit touching his veggies. I haven't offered the coriander the last few days, but he still won't eat any vegetables. He's still eating a lot of hay, so I don't think it's a tooth issue.

Should I be worried? Do I need to give him vitamin c drops?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! It could well be that Harvey has got a little tummy upset over not being used to eating much veg. Please weigh him daily until he is eating normally again; the daily weight can vary around 1 oz (ca. 30g) depending on how full his belly and his bladder are at the time of weighing to make sure that nothing else is going on. check whether his belly feels hard or blown up (bloat).

Offer veg sowly and introduce it one by one to make sure that his digestion can deal with it.

I would not feed spinach daily; it is very high in calcium. Could you please explain what is in your organic spring mix?

Here is our diet thread; it also contains how much you should feed of each food category.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/

 

[Stewybus]

I've never come across this with my piggies. They sometimes have spells where they go off particular veggies for a while but not all. As Harvey is eating hay I don't think it is a dental problem. While he is like this I would weigh him daily to be sure if his weight is stable. Extra Vitamin C is not normally necessary. Is there any in his pellets. You could give him some Abidec drops, about 1ml a day or unsweetened tomato juice. I give about 3 to 4ml a day of this to my long term head tilt piggy, Minky & she loves it.

 

[Harvey&Mocha]

The spring mix is a blend of baby lettuces, not iceberg. The package says it's green leaf, beet tops, mizuna, green romaine, tango, green oak, green chard, baby spinach, arugula, frisee, tatsoi, mache, red chard, red leaf, lolla rosa, red romaine, red mustard, radicchio, and red oak. Not all the lettuces are in it every time.

I haven't been feeding him spinach every day, I got kidney stones this past summer from too much raw spinach, so I know it's best enjoyed in moderation.

His pellets do have vitamin C.

His belly doesn't feel hard or enlarged. He's still pooping normally. I had a look at his teeth and they look like they're okay, compared to the photos of healthy piggie teeth.

 

[Harvey&Mocha]

Thanks for the advice! I started weighing him daily and noticed he had lost several ounces, so I took him to the vet today and he has a respiratory infection.