Stealing veggies

mls18

mls18

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi! Is it ok to seperate my guinea pigs when i give their veggies? Oreo loves to steal food from brownie(the older one) and since Brownie eats alot slower Oreo manages to steal alot of his veggies. What should I do? Does anyone else have a similar problem?
 
hi! That is actually very common when it comes to food. u dont have to separate them. it happens with my piggies to. have u tried hand feeding them? that way they wont be able to steal veggies from each other that much.
 
LilyandNugget said:
hi! That is actually very common when it comes to food. u dont have to separate them. it happens with my piggies to. have u tried hand feeding them? that way they wont be able to steal veggies from each other that much.
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Glad to know its not just me! Ive tried hand feeding before but Brownie eats alot slower so when i dont have any more veggies to give oreo, oreo just goes and steals it from brownies mouth. Should i just start giving oreo more veggies then brownie?
 
This is very normal. Feed the normal amount of veg - don’t suddenly increase portion size because you could inadvertently cause a tummy upset.
You can hand feed to Brownie or scatter feed so Oreo has to search for his food which would hopefully take longer giving Brownie more chance to have some
 
Piggies&buns said:
This is very normal. Feed the normal amount of veg - don’t suddenly increase portion size because you could inadvertently cause a tummy upset.
You can hand feed to Brownie or scatter feed so Oreo has to search for his food which would hopefully take longer giving Brownie more chance to have some
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Thanks for the idea! Ill try that next time i feed them:)
 
The most important indicator of if your piggies are getting enough to eat is their weekly weights.
Are they stable?
If both of them are maintaining a fairly steady weight then you really don't need to worry about it.
 
Swissgreys said:
The most important indicator of if your piggies are getting enough to eat is their weekly weights.
Are they stable?
If both of them are maintaining a fairly steady weight then you really don't need to worry about it.
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My older one has lost weight but i think its just due to aging. How would i know if he was missing out on nutrients from veggies? Is that a big problem?
 
mls18 said:
My older one has lost weight but i think its just due to aging. How would i know if he was missing out on nutrients from veggies? Is that a big problem?
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Hay is the biggest part of their diet and so weight loss is linked to hay intake rather than veggies. How much weight has he lost and over what period of time?
 
Siikibam said:
Hay is the biggest part of their diet and so weight loss is linked to hay intake rather than veggies. How much weight has he lost and over what period of time?
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Hes lost about 100 grams in the past 5ish months.
 
How much were you giving him compared to now? And did you decrease the amount five months ago?
 
Siikibam said:
How much were you giving him compared to now? And did you decrease the amount five months ago?
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I used to feed him unlimited and now i scatter a small handful around everyday. I decreased it around then.
 
That could have contributed (minimally) to his weight loss in the beginning but not now. If it’s been a generally downward trend I’d have him looked over by the vet. And perhaps consider offering him a top up.

How old is Brownie?
 
Siikibam said:
That could have contributed (minimally) to his weight loss in the beginning but not now. If it’s been a generally downward trend I’d have him looked over by the vet. And perhaps consider offering him a top up.

How old is Brownie?
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He lost most of the weight like 5 months ago, and when i brought him to the vet he was completly fine. His weight is barely changing now. Hes around 6 and a half years old.
 
Okay. Fluctuations of up to 40g are okay. That’s the general difference between a full/empty bladder or stomach.
 
Stealing veggies is common. The best food is in the mouth of their cagemate(s).

Try scatter feeding the veggies. My boys do not like to eat out of bowls they tipped them over when I first got them so now what I do is literally put veggies all around the cage.

This way that no matter how slow or fast one Piggy eats they can go to the different sides of the cage. You can also try hiding some food in the hay to give them an opportunity to forage.

Pellets you should only be giving 1 tablespoon per pig per day and what I do is I will put one pile of pellets on one side of the cage and one pile on the other.

Normally though both boys will eat from the same pile of pellets so I can’t win there but my guys generally don’t steal pallets from each other it’s mainly only veggies and hay.

1 cup of veggies per pig per day.
1 tablespoon of pellet per pig per day.
 
dhill_cb7 said:
Stealing veggies is common. The best food is in the mouth of their cagemate(s).

Try scatter feeding the veggies. My boys do not like to eat out of bowls they tipped them over when I first got them so now what I do is literally put veggies all around the cage.

This way that no matter how slow or fast one Piggy eats they can go to the different sides of the cage. You can also try hiding some food in the hay to give them an opportunity to forage.

Pellets you should only be giving 1 tablespoon per pig per day and what I do is I will put one pile of pellets on one side of the cage and one pile on the other.

Normally though both boys will eat from the same pile of pellets so I can’t win there but my guys generally don’t steal pallets from each other it’s mainly only veggies and hay.

1 cup of veggies per pig per day.
1 tablespoon of pellet per pig per day.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks for the tips, ill try that! My guinea pigs also dont have a problem with sharing pellets(thankfully). Thanks so much for the reply!
 
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