Stopped Eating Nuggets

HelenC

HelenC

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We've had our adopted guinea pig Spike for about 5 years (we have 3 others too) and recently he has completely stopped eating the nuggets he's always had and really gone off his water. Thought it might be tooth problem but he's wolfing down veggies and still eating hay and fresh grass. Gave him extra veg soaked with water as I was worried about weight loss but then he had a bit of diarrhea (sorry, gross!) so not sure what to do for the best to keep him healthy. Grateful for any advice
 
Have you changed the brand? If he’s getting a varied diet and plenty of hay, I would possibly not worry too much that he’s not eating the pellets. They make up a small percentage of their diet, and some piggies are in pellet-free diets.

Do you put anything in his water? Have you changed the bottle? Some pigs rarely drink and others drink quite a bit. Remember they also get some of their water needs met through the veg.
 
Has he lost any weight and is he eating his usual amount of hay and veg? The drinking less may be a direct result of eating less nuggets as the more they eat of them the more they need to drink. It could be an early sign off illness, because like us when you're feeling under the weather you go off certain foods.
 
Thank you both your replies are quite reassuring. I think my worry was about his change in habits as he always used to eat nuggets and drink quite a lot. Makes complete sense though if he's eating less nuggets and more veg he'll need less to drink. I do worry about overfeeding veg though, I'm trying to keep his weight up but don't want to give him an upset tummy
 
Have you been weighing him weekly up to this point? You need to do that and also a health check weekly, at the same time.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

You day he feels quite skinny. Is that how he’s been in the past? Can you feel each rib individually? Are you giving him a constant supply of hay? Heft is a better indicator of good weight, but weighing can flag up any large amounts of weight loss.
 
Yes constantly giving him fresh hay and grass and veggies every day, I'll start weighing him too
 
Weigh him every week at the same time - preferably before breakfast etc. There’s no ‘set’ weight but it’s useful if you weigh weekly. Then when they lose you can be aware. Weigh him and feel his heft.
 
Will do, thank you. He's very active and happily eats his hay and veggies so hopefully he'll be OK. Thanks again
 
That's good you're keeping his hay fresh! If he feels skinny, that is very concerning. Keeping weight on him is important. Oat hay can help fatten him up a bit more because of higher protein content. His pellets can be served mushy. Mushy pellets help with weight gain, but don't help with wearing teeth down. So use your judgement and continue to encourage lots of hay/grass consumption:). Pellets + boiled water, cooled and served in a shallow little jar lid, off a spoon held by you or if needed, via syringe if you first research assisted feeding techniques.

If he is losing weight, he would have less food moving thru him than in the past, which can lead to digestive/motility issues in some cases. So watch for changes in his poop (small poop, wet poop, less poop etc).

I had a piggie who stopped wanting pellets (or nuggets?) and eventually he did end up having overgrown teeth, requiring a trim. Leading up to identifying his overgrown teeth, he went back and forth with how much hay he ate but kept enjoying veggies. However, he had lost weight. It would often be hard to say if a piggy has dental problems at first glance but if you can peek at his incisors weekly at least and listen for tooth grinding, that is a good idea. So you'll want to pick him up and gently pull his lips/mouth open to expose his incisors. I'd suggest being patient with this if he's not used to you poking around at his mouth. And give him his favourite treat after a tooth check as a reward. If his incisors ever look like they're wearing on an angle, that's another clear red flag. If you can encourage him to eat more hay, it certainly cant hurt and would only help slow/prevent any possible overgrowth that could be brewing under the radar. You can offer him "the best pieces" of hay by hand (you dont have to pick him up to do this), help him forage for nice long strands/seed heads. Act excited about hay (ruffle it around and talk in a happy voice).

Best of luck!
 
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