Whiskers Doesn't Eat And Flips His Food Bowl.

[Whiskers's grandma]

My daughter has had Whiskers for 2 and a half years. The past few months, he eats very little of his food, and flips his bowl over every day. He eats his hay and some fruits and veggies. He used to eat oranges, but lately doesn't eat those very well either. I have tried several different kinds of food, but every time his bowl is filled, he flips it over. He also will not drink water if it has vitamin drops in it. I am concerned about him not getting enough vitamin c. Any advice?

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

Hello. I understand your frustration; flipping his bowl is Piglets favorite thing to do, and it drives me nuts! He still eats his food, just off the ground. maybe your pig is doing the same? You could try getting a different bowl that is more stable and harder to flip (worked for us for a while). As for vitamin drops in water, it really isn't worth it. The vitamin c doesn't last long in water and changes the taste so they don't want to drink. It's better to give them vitamin can rich vegetables. If you feel like he needs more, you can get a supplement an add it to a piece of veg so you know he will eat it. Hth!

 

[piggyfan]

Use a ceramic bowl as they are too heavy to move. Please weigh him in grammes so we can see if he is under weight.

 

[Stewybus]

You could also feed him vitamin c by syringe. Abidec which can be bought from most chemists is good or if you use an unsweetened fruit juice, 1 or 2ml of this can be given. Minky likes Lidl's unsweetened tomato juice which I drink myself at breakfast time. I just leave a little in the bottom of glass & Minky gets this via syringe.

 

[MerryPip]

You can buy Oxbow vitamin C tablets for piggy online but they are expensive. You can also use human ones but they don't need as large a dose as we do. If you use dissolving ones you can then syringe feed them but I have found my boys like to crunch up the chewable tablets as they are sweet and tangy!

Please weigh him regularly to monitor his weight. Any significant weight loss is concerning and needs investigated by a vet.

You might need to try changing his dry food gradually to another brand. Pigs can be faddy eaters so a change might interest him. Try to pick a pellet based food like Burgess Excel or Science selective so he doesn't just pick out the nice bits and miss out on the nutritional value of the rest. Make sure he has plenty hay as this should make up a huge proportion of any pigs diet.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! Which country are you in? Please click on your name on the top bar, go to personal details/location and add your country, state (US/Aus) or your county/general area (UK), so we can give you the appropriate advice with product names straight away.

I agree with Merrypip - try another brand of good quality pellets and give either Oxbow vitamin C tablets or syringe/feed about 1/8 to max. 1/4 of a human tablet daily. Be aware that both a veg mix and a good pellet brand contain vitamin C, so you need to factor that in.

As long as he is eating veg, he will get some vitamin C from it; otherwise try fresh herbs like one sprig of cilantro/coriander daily, or a sprig of parsley or dill every 2-3 days. Please weigh your boy regularly; there may be a medical reason for his behaviour. The ratio of a balanced diet is about 75-80% hay : 10-15% fresh veg and herbs (with fruit and tomato no more than twice weekly) (ca. 50g) : 5-10% good quality pellets (ca.20-40g, depending on whether he is still growing) : fresh water without additives daily.
Here are more links that you may find helpful and informative:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/scurvy.html