My guinea pig has stopped eating Timothy hay..help!

[Henry'sMom]

My guinea pig is 2.5 years old. In the last month he has stopped eating his Timothy hay completely. I bought new bags and even a different brand but nothing! He still eats his usual veggies and pellets. He begs for apple slices still. His stools are softer and he has lost some weight. When I took him to the vet she didn't seem too concerned since he is acting the same. He is very sociable, squeaking, purring and running around as much or if not more in the last month. Anyone had a similar problem or have any suggestions. Any vets who take e-mail questions or phone consults? Also as a side note does anyone ever give their guinea pig peanut butter? Henry about bites my lip off if I have even the faintest smell of it on my breath. Thanks in advance!

[Ly&Pigs]

Try a different type of grass hay and see if he will eat that. If he is continually losing weight (you may need to weigh at the same time daily), he needs to see a cavy savvy vet.

You may need to withhold veggies completely for a couple days to kind of force him to eat the hay.

Peanut butter is an absolute no for guinea pigs.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

If he is losing weight and his stools look bad, he needs to see a vet. He may be having teeth problems.

[Mummy]

Please don't delay in getting a vet to check his back molars. Some pigs will refuse to eat certain types of hay, but if he was eating before and has now stopped he must see a vet.

No peanut butter - it's not good for him.

[this_lil_piggy]

My pigs won't really give Timothy or bermuda hay the time of day anymore either, but this is because I bought a bale of half timothy and half bluegrass......and they developed a strong preference for the bluegrass.
If you haven't offered your pig another type hay that he may be preferring over timothy, then you certainly need to have him seen to figure out why he is going off his hay, a sore tooth or overgrown teeth are a likely culprit. Unlimited hay is one of the most important parts of his diet.
If he is grazing his pellets and ignoring his hay, then personally I would consider pulling his pellets and only allowing him limited access to them to try to encourage more hay grazing. I would also offer some fresh grass clippings to graze until you get him back eating hay regularly.

This bluegrass (orchard) hay, is the bomb!
Kleenmama's Hayloft :: Hay

[muffin]

I don't have a lot of experience in this area but it does seem like he may be having trouble grinding down food like hay. He might be managing pellets because they kind of dissolve easily. If the molar teeth have become a bit overgrown it can be very painful to eat, and he will eat less, making the problem worse. I don't know that removing pellets before having the teeth checked by a good vet is a good idea, since he would suffer more from eating less than not eating hay alone.

A vet should use bucal pad seperators to look at the molars. This sounds scary but it is merely an instrument to open the mouth to let him have a good look. Teeth can be trimmed/filed without anaesthetic. Guinea Lynx has more information.

One more thing to check is whether there are any signs of mouth scabs. Have a look inside the mouth and around the lips to se if the tissues are inflamed or if there is any scabbing. It could possibly be that mouth scabs or a fungal mouth or throat infection is causing him discomfort when eating hay, although I would have thought he might be off most foods if this was the case. It really does sound like a tooth problem. Get your vet to check his teeth, including the back ones.

Please let us know how you get on with this, it's always valuable to have information on mouth problems.

[Henry'sMom]

Well, after much trauma to Henry and me it ends up that the problem was his back molars. After going to 3 vets I got one who could look back there and see that one of his back molars had overgrown and started to curve so he couldn't grind his food. I don't know which came first - the not eating hay or the tooth overgrowth but I am glad I got him seen. The traumatic part for me was having to hold my baby down while the vet examined him - boy can Henry fuss! The vet was able to fix the tooth quickly though. Thanks for all the great advice and encouragement from all who responded!

[muffin]

Yay! I'm so glad you managed to get Henry sorted out. I bet he's a happy boy now that his teeth are in full working order- all the better to munch with!

[HowietheGreat]

How did he fix it?

[Henry'sMom]

The vet trimmed them without sedation. Next time if this problem occurs me and Henry will have some sedation

[Ly&Pigs]

Did the vet give any type of pain meds after trimming the molar? Most pigs that get their molars trimmed are in a bit of pain afterwards and it takes them a few days to get back to their normal routine of eating well.