Veg alternatives?

Little Ones

Little Ones

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 20, 2015
Messages
1,859
Reaction score
2,864
Points
955
Location
Barnsley, UK
One of the my guinea pigs just absolutely won’t eat the veg, I switched to giving them coriander, cucumber, pepper, celery and green beans. The only thing he eats are the cucumber and coriander. What can I use as alternatives for the rest? He ate them at first but seems to have completely gone off them now
 
Little Ones said:
One of the my guinea pigs just absolutely won’t eat the veg, I switched to giving them coriander, cucumber, pepper, celery and green beans. The only thing he eats are the cucumber and coriander. What can I use as alternatives for the rest? He ate them at first but seems to have completely gone off them now
Click to expand...
My willow goes through phases of preferring some veg to others. If she goes off something I simply I give it to her for a few weeks, then give it to her again and she usually eats it. There aren't really any alternatives to veggies, although Hay is the most important part of a piggies diet, so as long as your piggy is eating plenty of hay, and you continue to try and offers veggie variety allowing your pig to pick at what veg they wish to. How about Romaine lettuce? Or spring greens? Just to add a small bit of variety. Usually pigs get vitamin C from certain veg like red bell pepper, so to supplement the lower vitamin C intake you could give regular vit C supplement to your piggy
 
dannif_piggies said:
My willow goes through phases of preferring some veg to others. If she goes off something I simply I give it to her for a few weeks, then give it to her again and she usually eats it. There aren't really any alternatives to veggies, although Hay is the most important part of a piggies diet, so as long as your piggy is eating plenty of hay, and you continue to try and offers veggie variety allowing your pig to pick at what veg they wish to. How about Romaine lettuce? Or spring greens? Just to add a small bit of variety. Usually pigs get vitamin C from certain veg like red bell pepper, so to supplement the lower vitamin C intake you could give regular vit C supplement to your piggy
Click to expand...
Sorry, by alternatives I just mean what could I switch out the ones he doesn’t like for. I’m not all that knowledgable on which veg provides what and all that. I still want to make sure he gets a good diet but he just won’t eat the celery, green beans or peppers so I’m not sure which other veg would give the same nutrients and vitamins and things. It’s been a few days now and he just won’t touch any of it. I could try with the spring beans and romaine lettuce, veg is so expensive though so I’d want to substitute one thing for another instead of buying even more (if any of that makes sense lol)
 
Everydays i use are.
Coriander = good vit c
Red bell peppers = high vit c
Green bell pepper = high vit c
Tiny bit of parsnip for my sow. =good vit c

Twice a week i give

Kale = high vit c, vit k, but high caĺcium
Half a mini tomoto each
Or a little piece of apple
Or a tiny piece of satsuma section = high vit c but high sugar
Or celery
Or carrot lol or or or! 👍

By good vit c i mean not high but medium. The others I'm not too sure on to be able to say
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Everydays i use are.
Coriander
Red bell peppers
Green bell pepper
Tiny bit of parsnip for my sow.

Twice a week i give

Kale
Half a mini tomoto each
Or a little piece of apple
Or a tiny piece of satsuma section
Or celery
Or carrot lol or or or! 👍
Click to expand...
He seems to hate bell peppers :( no idea what to give instead! I’ve been trying coriander, cucumber, bell pepper, green bean and celery everyday - can’t seem to win though. I’ll try with the kale, I was advised to steer clear from carrots though. I never realised he was so fussy until now lol
 
Little Ones said:
He seems to hate bell peppers :( no idea what to give instead! I’ve been trying coriander, cucumber, bell pepper, green bean and celery everyday - can’t seem to win though. I’ll try with the kale, I was advised to steer clear from carrots though. I never realised he was so fussy until now lol
Click to expand...
Carrots are supposed to be high in vit a which is bad for something in guinea pigs. Cant think what though now.
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Carrots are supposed to be high in vit a which is bad for something in guinea pigs. Cant think what though now.
Click to expand...
Carrots can be a decent sort of vitamin C, but they're also relatively high in sugar, which is why they're not supposed to be an everyday food.

@Little Ones Gem lettuce is (usually) cheaper than romaine so that might be an option instead. Parsley is always an option too, either curled or flat leaf. I used to give my pigs some thyme as a treat every so often, but it's fairly strong and may not go down well with other pigs. Spinach is also good to try although again, not an everyday thing. Baby corn, carrot silks (although my two weren't fussed on those. weirdos), mangetout/sugar snap peas, broccoli (I always gave the stem rather than the heads), savoy leaves, dill, rocket, watercress - most of these can't be fed daily but if he'll eat them, it's a start.
 
Little Ones said:
Sorry, by alternatives I just mean what could I switch out the ones he doesn’t like for. I’m not all that knowledgable on which veg provides what and all that. I still want to make sure he gets a good diet but he just won’t eat the celery, green beans or peppers so I’m not sure which other veg would give the same nutrients and vitamins and things. It’s been a few days now and he just won’t touch any of it. I could try with the spring beans and romaine lettuce, veg is so expensive though so I’d want to substitute one thing for another instead of buying even more (if any of that makes sense lol)
Click to expand...
Do apologise I misunderstood your first message slightly. Veg can be expensive, I've now worked out what lasts well, and my veggies for my 3 girls costs me no more than £3 a week. It's taken me a long time to work out what works for me and my pigs in terms of budget and what they eat. I'm very fortunate that my pigs eat all the same stuff and although Willow is fussy, when left over veg is left in her cage she eats it later on.

There's conflicting information on carrots. I believe the main reason people don't advise to feed every day is high sugar content. However I give mine just one thin slice each day and I just feel it adds a bit of colour and variety to their veggies.

I recently read a post about a piggy owner having trouble with her new pig being almost terrified of veg, he too didn't eat anything except a nibble of lettuce, although it's a slightly different scenario, maybe her success in getting him to eat could be handing in taking steps to getting your pig to eat more veggies too. I will have a search about to see if I can find it.
 
Sorry I've had a look for the thread I was talking about, I can't seem to find it. If it comes up again in "new posts" I'll be sure to come back and link it
 
SkyPipDotBernie said:
Parsley is loved by pigs but its high in calcium isnt it?
Click to expand...

And?

@Little Ones is struggling to get a pig to eat enough of a variety of foods. At that point you don't get to be picky about "oh this is too high in calcium, it's off the menu forever". You need calcium in a guinea pig's diet. I clearly said most of the things I listed weren't suitable for daily feeding but feeding parsley once or twice a week is not a bad idea.
 
Wouldn't high quality pallets and hay be alright on there own. With something green given to them if they decide to munch on it or not.

I wouldn't really bother with parsley.
Yea they may like it.

But there's the risk later down the road they may develop health problems because of the calcium. Is it worth the risk?
 
Lorcan said:
And?

@Little Ones is struggling to get a pig to eat enough of a variety of foods. At that point you don't get to be picky about "oh this is too high in calcium, it's off the menu forever". You need calcium in a guinea pig's diet. I clearly said most of the things I listed weren't suitable for daily feeding but feeding parsley once or twice a week is not a bad idea.
Click to expand...
O i missed that sorry 😐
 
Lorcan said:
And?

@Little Ones is struggling to get a pig to eat enough of a variety of foods. At that point you don't get to be picky about "oh this is too high in calcium, it's off the menu forever". You need calcium in a guinea pig's diet. I clearly said most of the things I listed weren't suitable for daily feeding but feeding parsley once or twice a week is not a bad idea.
Click to expand...
I know you need calcium in a pigs diet. Too much info is better than not enough right? You really didnt need to write that back. Il unwatch this thread and keep out of it. All the best👍
 
@Lorcan @SkyPipDotBernie Let's all listen to some 'Strawberry Fields' by the Beatles and relax a little :) I am sure the written word may be coming across a little harsh here. All together now.... 'Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields Nothing is real...' I know you are both meaning well on this thread x

Parsley is fine as a once a week food but not each day due to it's high calcium.

The thing here which is tricky is trying to get the piggy to eat more veg. Lettuce is a great idea.

Try Sweet potato also.... Green beans?
 
Mine love spring greens, sweetheart cabbage and savoy cabbage. They also really love beetroot and celariac, expensive tastes.

Carrot is alright to be given twice a week maybe.

I have found the best thing is to just keep offering the veg even if they didn't like it at the start. I had one boy who was so fussy at first and didn't eat much and now he pretty much eats everything I offer to him. He used to only eat green pepper and now east all the colours. Proof that persistence does pay off. Unfortunately it does mean you waste a fair bit of veg.
 
my pigs totally refused to eat bell peppers for the first two-three months i had them, which bothered me as i know they are a good source of vit c. I got them some oxbow vitamin c tabs to reassure me they were getting enough vit c, but then they refused to eat them! But just keep trying them, because now they do eat bell pepper most days, and willow eats the support tablets too, sky still refuses!
 
How about some natural forage, grass, groundsel, chickweed and dandelion leaves always go down well with Bill and Ted x
 
My Finn and Lara are used to eating wide variety of veggies.
I would have harder time coming up with veggies they don't eat than ones they can eat. I have never seen them refuse to try new veggies.

Mine eat romaine lettuce everyday, and very often eat cilantro, basil, parsley, celery, kale, baby carrot, sprout, dandelion, blueberry, apple, grape, watermelon, baby spring veggies, and etc.
They always finish all their veggies. I sometimes feel mine are truly piggies. :tu:
 
Last edited:
We tend to share veg with our piggies. If we have broccoli they get stalk battons and any leafs, if we have celery they get any leafs and a few battons. Lettuce is in plenty of supply for slaves and pigs.
 
Have you tried beansprouts - you can get a big bag in Tesco for 50p. I've found that my two have times when they go off certain veg but they always appreciate herbs - mint might also be worth trying?
 
Helen82 said:
Have you tried beansprouts - you can get a big bag in Tesco for 50p. I've found that my two have times when they go off certain veg but they always appreciate herbs - mint might also be worth trying?
Click to expand...
My lot are mad for beansprouts, they eat half my stir fry veg every week... possibly more than half actually looking what's left in the pan!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top