Diet: Should I worry about a finicky piggie?

[mom929]

Our new piggie, Nibbles, happily eats tons of romaine lettuce and timothy hay. But he seems picky. He wouldn't eat green or red peppers, grapes, strawberries, brocolli and only very rarely takes a bite of his pellets (Oxbow Cavy Cuisine). He did eat one piece of apple, but I know that he shouldn't have too much. I'm a bit worried that he won't get enough vitamin C. Should I be worried or is it ok to be a picky piggie?

He does have an unlimited supply of timothy hay, and gets about a cup of lettuce every day, along with the other foods I've tried so far. Should I cut back on those he is eating to get him to try some other foods?

[starshine123102]

Ifyou just got him he may not be used to getting veggies yet. Keep offering him veggies and leave them in his cage for a few hours to see if he starts to nibble. Sometimes it can take a while so be patient.

I also find that when I give a new veggie that my piggie is unsure about I hold it in my hand to let her sniff it and hope that she nibbles on it. Even if she doesn't eat it I leave it inher veggie pile and keep holding it up to her every once and a while.

Good luck with your new pig!

[Amsley246]

How old is your piggie? I heard somewhere that if you don't feed your piggie a whole variety of veggies when they are babies, then they won't eat anything else except what they are use to eating all the time when they get older. And from what I've been told about the not eating of the pellets, don't worry about it. I went through the same thing with mine and I was told that it's normal, the pellets are just kind of back up nutrition aside from the hay and veggies (one of the mods from this site told me that one).

[akstrohm]

Try to be patient. It's very common to have pigs that are reluctant to try new foods. Here are a few things you can try:

-Feed only a few new foods at a time. Start with bell peppers and other vegetables.
-Try feeding favorite foods opposite of new foods. So if you give him lettuce in the morning, give him peppers at night.
-Cut the vegetables differently (strips, chunks, etc). Cut open foods like tomatoes or grapes so your pig can see what's inside and get to it easily.
-Get another guinea pig if you don't already have one. Not only is it better for your pig to have a friend, but watching another pig eat new foods may encourage yours to do the same.
-As mentioned above, leave the food in the cage for several hours or until it gets wilted/dirty.

Don't cut back on the hay or lettuce. He needs these. And I wouldn't worry too much about him not eating too many pellets. Hope this helps!

[Ly&Pigs]

One thing I want to add to asktrohm's post. Don't try too many things at first. Start with one or two things (bell pepper and cilantro are two good ones) and give it a couple weeks. If your pig starts eating those then add in one new thing every 4 days or so.

[suzilovespiggie]

I must say that they all are right so the same goes for me to

[mom929]

He came from a rescue which only takes guinea pigs and hamsters (and an occasional rabbit when the local bunny rescue is full up - after Easter). He is 8 months old and was at the rescue for 4 months where he did get veggies daily. I have an email in to the owner of the rescue to see what he ate while there.

Thanks for the tip to give him his lettuce in the morning and other veggies at night, and not to worry too much about the pellets.

I think it may just be settling in. We've only had him for a week. I saw him eating his pellets this morning. And he did take a little nibble of a red pepper last night (didn't eat it though so I had to take it out this morning).

Since Nibbles fights with other male piggies and I won't get him neutered or breed him, he's a solo pig for the time being.

I'll keep you all up to date and let you know if he gets more adventurous with eating as he settles in.