Pat Shields
Adult Guinea Pig
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2011
- Messages
- 1,151
- Reaction score
- 50
- Points
- 425
- Location
- USA MO, Ft. Leonard Wood area
The little guy is finally growing! I haven't weighed him, but he is bigger today than he was when I rescued him on Saturday. He really likes being in the dog carrier; he would rather be in there than anywhere else. He is active in the carrier, and he balls up tight and hides when he is outside it.
I have been cutting fescue hay to feed him, and he eats it all. Today I found two rich, crunchy stems of first-growth timothy hay with heavy catkins on each, and he immediately stopped everything else and started eating that. I think that is when he started growing, when he started getting the fresh hay.
The hay I cut for him can be considered organic, I guess; it simply grows wild and is never sprayed, fertilised, or otherwise manipulated. I bundle it and cut it into sections 5 or 6 inches long and pile it up in his enclosure.
I hope this was OK, but today I gave him a flower to eat; a black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Rabbits and deer eat them also. He ate it. Tonight I will put a couple of sprigs of alfalfa in there for him to see if he likes that.
Two days ago I gave him some bits of a green Granny Smith apple; he did not eat them. Last night I again gave him some bits of a Gala apple as I did before, and he ate them as before.
Tonight's vegetable is carrot. He did not eat any of the green pepper. He has been selecting corn kernels out of the pellet mix, so tomorrow's vegetable will probably be fresh corn. His preferred food so far is the hay, certainly.
He has taken to hiding behind his box rather than in it. If I move the box back flush with the edge of the dog carrier, he moves it away from the wall every time.
He would rather not be held.
One thing I haven't mentioned, but I did from the second day, is that in his pellet feed bin I placed a mineral and salt block, not quite 1 inch in diameter. He has taken one nibble from it, and he has licked it a little.
If he makes it until Saturday he will get his name. It appears that he is going to thrive.
I have been cutting fescue hay to feed him, and he eats it all. Today I found two rich, crunchy stems of first-growth timothy hay with heavy catkins on each, and he immediately stopped everything else and started eating that. I think that is when he started growing, when he started getting the fresh hay.
The hay I cut for him can be considered organic, I guess; it simply grows wild and is never sprayed, fertilised, or otherwise manipulated. I bundle it and cut it into sections 5 or 6 inches long and pile it up in his enclosure.
I hope this was OK, but today I gave him a flower to eat; a black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Rabbits and deer eat them also. He ate it. Tonight I will put a couple of sprigs of alfalfa in there for him to see if he likes that.
Two days ago I gave him some bits of a green Granny Smith apple; he did not eat them. Last night I again gave him some bits of a Gala apple as I did before, and he ate them as before.
Tonight's vegetable is carrot. He did not eat any of the green pepper. He has been selecting corn kernels out of the pellet mix, so tomorrow's vegetable will probably be fresh corn. His preferred food so far is the hay, certainly.
He has taken to hiding behind his box rather than in it. If I move the box back flush with the edge of the dog carrier, he moves it away from the wall every time.
He would rather not be held.
One thing I haven't mentioned, but I did from the second day, is that in his pellet feed bin I placed a mineral and salt block, not quite 1 inch in diameter. He has taken one nibble from it, and he has licked it a little.
If he makes it until Saturday he will get his name. It appears that he is going to thrive.
