Very Picky Eater

[Lauralee]

Hi,
My guinea pig, Teddy, is a very sweet, good little boy, except he is extremely picky about what he eats. I have had him for most of his life, since he was about 6 mths. old. He is a very healthy guinea pig overall, except for 1 health crisis, listed below. He is 6 years old has always been a fussy eater. For vegetables, he only eats carrots and celery. His main diet is hay, then celery, vit. c drops, carrots and pellet food. I have tried most fruits I know, cucumbers, lettuce etc., and he won't eat them. My brother and sister have guinea pigs that will eat almost anything, but Teddy is completely opposite. The reason this is now such a big concern for me, because he has a bladder stone that he will be having surgically removed this coming Wed. Because I'm finding out that celery is high calcium and there's a good chance it contributed to his bladder stone, and I don't want to feed him the same food again, after his surgery. If he is hungry enough, he will eat what's in his bowl, if he has eaten it before. But if I put lettuce in his bowl or a honeydew, it will sit in his bowl all night and he won't touch it. I have had family members tell me make him eat it, when he's hungry enough, he will eat it. I am skeptical, because I have yet to see him do that. He is very stubborn and doesn't understand that celery can give him more bladder stones. What concerns me too is that I don't want him to lose weight/get too hungry, etc. or get tired of hay to point where he won't eat it. Since hay is his main diet both in captivity and in the wild, I don't think he would stop eating it altogether. He is on Meticam, right now, which has helped his appetite tremendously, because just a few days ago, between the Baytril and his bladder irritation, his appetite diminished greatly. The only thing he was eating was hay, because he even refused celery. And he already gets tired of carrots at random, so I don't know what else to feed him. He will take his medicine via syringe, but he fights me on it, he doesn't like it. Is there anyone else out there that has a guinea pig that is picky like Teddy, or has any suggestions, on how I can add another food to his diet to replace his celery? Much appreciated thank you.

Sincerely,

~Lauralee~

 

[Kylie80]

My piggies are great with their veg but really picky with hay so I feel your frustration, it's a constant battle here to get them to eat even 50% of the 80% hay they are supossed to eat daily. I didn't know that celery was high in calcium as I feed my two celery everyday so might have to rectify this. I so far have no bladder problems with my piggies so probably shouldn't give advice on food's but there are plenty of people who have and i'm sure you will get some great advice shortly.

 

[Lauralee]

And no, you are fine, thank you for your feedback, it's nice to know that Teddy is not alone in his pickiness, and I'm not alone in my frustration. Wow, I feel your frustration though, at least with Teddy, hay is his main staple. I guess I figured that hay would be something they eat a lot of since it's their main diet in the wild. I don't want to scare you with the celery, because every guinea pig is different. I just gave him more celery because it's what he liked. Celery has 40 milligrams of calcium, which I guess is kind of high. But I know there are foods that are higher in calcium than celery, which is why I never worried about it. Cilantro, for example, is 67 milligrams. Teddy's surgeon said celery is high in calcium though. I think he said, 'celery is not necessarily been proven to cause bladder stones, they are still studying it.' Yes, he recommended I give Teddy 2 small sections a week. So, I have to try to fill the gap with carrots and vit. c drops and rotate it. The doctor gave him some papaya and hay mix via syringe and Teddy ate it all. So, I may have to attempt the papaya via syringe, because he is not eating it out of bowl. He might eat and like more papaya - hopefully that will fill the gap. But like you, I gave him 2 celery sections a day, every day. Then I bumped it up to 3 for the past 2 weeks, trying to bring his weight up a bit, and since it wasn't giving him diarrhea (because sometimes it has), I didn't worry about it. I buy them pre-cut from Publix and gave him a whole stick - and that's been more recently. I used to give him smaller sections twice a day, But basically over the past 6 years I have had him, I gave him too much celery, partly to compensate for all the foods he would not eat. The weight was manageable, it was the blood in his urine (his urine was pink) I found after he wet on me. I got him to the vet A.S.A.P., they did blood work and an x-ray, and that's when they found out about the bladder stone. Thanks again, "Lauralee"