The Alcotroll
Junior Guinea Pig
Another thread from me I'm afraid.
I've had my two for three weeks now, during which time they seem to have become a little more confident, especially during floor time when they constantly frustrate my efforts to pig-proof my flat.
One of the first pieces of advice I read about Guinea Pigs is for new owners to feed each pig some veg every time they come out of the cage, so that they start to look forward to coming out and being handled. Mine are supposedly class pets for a bunch of unruly 7 year-olds, so I want them to be comfortable and confident being taken out of their cage sooner rather than later (with supervision, naturally).
Anyway-For the first two weeks, both of them were quite happy to nibble on anything I gave them, but recently they are refusing to touch food whilst being held. Cleopatra (at 490g she's the larger of the two) is less fussy, but Nefertiti (quite young I think, and only 300g) is adamant that she doesn't want to eat anything- whereas earlier she was quite enthusiastic about having a piece of carrot that she didn't have to share.
I don't think I'm overfeeding them veg, since when they go back in the cage, everything gets hoovered up in short order. I'm not sure what's brought on this change, but I'm surprised by it, because I'm given to understand that Guinea Pigs are habitually greedy and can be won over by anybody prepared to give them food.
Any ideas or suggestions?
I've had my two for three weeks now, during which time they seem to have become a little more confident, especially during floor time when they constantly frustrate my efforts to pig-proof my flat.
One of the first pieces of advice I read about Guinea Pigs is for new owners to feed each pig some veg every time they come out of the cage, so that they start to look forward to coming out and being handled. Mine are supposedly class pets for a bunch of unruly 7 year-olds, so I want them to be comfortable and confident being taken out of their cage sooner rather than later (with supervision, naturally).
Anyway-For the first two weeks, both of them were quite happy to nibble on anything I gave them, but recently they are refusing to touch food whilst being held. Cleopatra (at 490g she's the larger of the two) is less fussy, but Nefertiti (quite young I think, and only 300g) is adamant that she doesn't want to eat anything- whereas earlier she was quite enthusiastic about having a piece of carrot that she didn't have to share.
I don't think I'm overfeeding them veg, since when they go back in the cage, everything gets hoovered up in short order. I'm not sure what's brought on this change, but I'm surprised by it, because I'm given to understand that Guinea Pigs are habitually greedy and can be won over by anybody prepared to give them food.
Any ideas or suggestions?