Stopped Eating Complete Food.

[Swissgreys]

So it would seem that all 3 of our guinea pigs have stopped eating their pellets (complete food).

I am not majorly concerned (yet!), but wanted to mention it on here for some advice.

The pigs are 3 months old, they live together, and we have 2 females and a male.
Their complete food is Guinea Pig Dream Young.
They have eaten this since weaning.

Since coming to live here they have never eaten huge amounts - initially about 1 egg cup per day between all three of them. But in the past few days they have eaten less than 3 pellets.
We clean their ceramic feeding dishes every day with warm water only, and put a very small amount of fresh pellets in. Anything not eaten within 24 hours is thrown away.

In addition to their complete food they have unlimited hay, which they eat a huge amount of, and also fresh food.
Their fresh consists of around a cup of veg (varies daily), a small amount of fruit 2 - 3 times a week, and a large cup of fresh cut grass daily (shared between all 3 pigs).
All of this is consumed with gusto!
Their water intake is also fine, and there is no shortage of wees and poos.

Within themselves they are bright, bouncy, and very noisy, and so far have been gaining weight weekly (30 - 40 grams per pig, per week).

So I guess I want to know if I should be worried?
Their next weigh in is on Saturday, but they are handled daily and certainly don't feel like they are fading away if you see what I mean.

Do I need to cut back on the fresh so they eat more pellets, or do I just keep doing what I am doing and see what happens?

Any advice would be very welcome.

 

[Critter]

Pellets are more of a compliment to the diet, rather than a staple, so I wouldn't be too concerned, especially as they are full of health and they have all made this decision. It could be that now they are older they need a slightly different ratio of ingredients in their pellets perhaps... With mine I have several different types of pellets that I have as a mix for them, including those from the JR range, Emotion, Versele Laga, as well as some Burgess. Mine really enjoy a product called Fibafirst, comes in long sticks that they gnaw. The reason I mix is so that they have enough choice to keep them interested, but because most of it is pellets they don't get the issues of selective feeding.

 

[Swissgreys]

Thanks Critter - that's really helpful.
Maybe I will try them on another pellet food and mix the two so they can chose (or not) what they want to eat.

 

[Swissgreys]

I just wanted to update this thread and say that we bought them a new complete food, and they are loving it!
They still only eat around 1 egg cup full per day (between all 3 pigs) but at least they are eating some complete pellets.

I haven't thrown out the old food though - I am still suspicious that they are just messing with my mind, and will refuse the new food any day now

 

[Beans&Toast]

Yeah piggies like to make us worry