Vegetables: One pig eats all the veggies.

[Jenwaite]

I have two guinea pigs and when I put the veggies in the cage, one of my girls (Gadget) eats most of them right away. The other (Gizmo) will get some but it seems that she doesn't want to eat right away so Gadget ends up getting more. I would just feed them separatly, but they are new and still very frightened of me so I don't want to pick them up or bother them too much. Any ideas for making sure both pigs are getting enough veggies?

[Ly&Pigs]

Try putting separate dishes of veggies on each end of the cage. That sometimes works.

[Jenwaite]

I tried that..Gadget still eats most of it before Gizmo because she won't go to the veggies right away.

[Heady]

I don't know if this will help or not, but what I do with my second pig, Barney, is hand feed him veggies while Santino eats off the plate. I do this to get him comfortable with me, but lately I've noticed that after I'm finished hand feeding and it's time for Barney to eat off the plate, Santino will shove him away a few times before sharing. So, maybe you could try hand feeding Gizmo veggies...that way she'll get enough and at the same time you're getting her used to you.

I know a lot of people don't have a lot of time to do it the way I do, but it couldn't hurt...I don't think.

[Jenwaite]

I would love to hand feed, but the problem with that is that neither will take food from my hand yet.

[princesspoppy]

Does Gizmo run or stay in his hidie ? My poppy just to hide all the time. So i put veggies into her hidie and she ate while princess scoffed the veggies in the bowel. I did that for a few days then put the veggies outside the hidie at the entrance for a few more days. Seemed to work. Now they eat from the same dish.

[Jenwaite]

Originally Posted by princesspoppy

Does Gizmo run or stay in his hidie ? My poppy just to hide all the time. So i put veggies into her hidie and she ate while princess scoffed the veggies in the bowel. I did that for a few days then put the veggies outside the hidie at the entrance for a few more days. Seemed to work. Now they eat from the same dish.

She runs behind the hidey that Gadget tends to stay in. It doesn't seem to matter where in the cage I put the veggies. Gizmo will ignore them for awhile while Gadget pigs out. She does leave some for Gizmo, though, I just worry she isn't getting enough.

[princesspoppy]

How long have you had them ?

[Matt Ceja]

Originally Posted by Jenwaite

She runs behind the hidey that Gadget tends to stay in. It doesn't seem to matter where in the cage I put the veggies. Gizmo will ignore them for awhile while Gadget pigs out. She does leave some for Gizmo, though, I just worry she isn't getting enough.

Are you feeding them at the same times everyday? If not you should try to get them all on the same feeding schedule. Maybe you should watch them closely and keep track of the times they are both active during the day. Then try to feed during those times. You could also try taking the pig that isn't eating and try getting her to eat out of your hand during that time until she gets used to eating at that time.

Another thing that might help. I always have 2 or more of everything in their cage. 2 water bottles, 3 houses, 2 pellet dishes, 4 veggie piles and etc... That way if there are issues with dominance the smaller piggies in the herd have an alternative place to eat.

My last suggestion! If she just isn't hungry by the time you are feeding her then possibly wait another hour and see if that helps. Maybe she is just not hungry yet.

[Cogni]

I love the names Gadget and Gizmo. They make a nice name-pair.

[Jenwaite]

Ill try feeding them a bit later. I don't know if its just that Gizmo is a bit more timid and doesn't want to come out and Gadget doesn't seem to be very scared at all so she comes to get the food right away. I've only had them for two days so it may not be a problem all the time, I just get paranoid and want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong. I'm probably worrying for nothing.

I do have two of everything except water bottles and I'm getting a second one today. As far as them getting along, they seem to get along great. I saw them both eating on the same lettuce leaf this morning, .

[akstrohm]

You can always take one pig out for floor time and leave the other in the cage. Give them an hour or so to eat since they often like to eat a bit at a time rather than all at once.

[Jenwaite]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

You can always take one pig out for floor time and leave the other in the cage. Give them an hour or so to eat since they often like to eat a bit at a time rather than all at once.

This brings up another question I had. Should I be taking them out on the floor right away or should I wait until they aren't as scared of me? I took them out this morning but all they wanted to do was hide.

[akstrohm]

You can start now. You can't expect them to come out right away though. Give them lots of places to hide and veggies to find. It might take a while for them to get used to floor time, you just have to be patient.

[princesspoppy]

It can take several weeks for the piggies to get used to you. It will happen. Chop the veggies in small pieces and maybe hide some on the floor during floor time.

[Jenwaite]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

You can start now. You can't expect them to come out right away though. Give them lots of places to hide and veggies to find. It might take a while for them to get used to floor time, you just have to be patient.

I don't really expect them to come out right away, and I know that instinct will tell them to run and hide even after they are used to me. I'm just making sure I'm not doing anything that could stress them too much. I had a hamster before this so I know about being patient. She took so long to get used to me, but eventually she would climb right into my hand (She wouldn't stay there though cause she was curious and wanted to smell/try to eat everything around her, ) I like the idea of putting veggies out for them to find. I'll try that when I feed them again tonight. Should I leave them out until they eat the veggies? How long is too long to have them out of the cage?

I have been reading about guinea pigs for weeks and I still feel like I have so much to learn.

[akstrohm]

An hour of floor time per day is recommended. If your cage is smaller than recommended, more is better. When you're just starting out, you can do it for shorter times. Make sure they have hay and some water if they'll be out for a while.

To make sure both pigs get veggies, you could put the veggies in a hidey with the pig who has floor time at first. Then gradually start spreading them out. If they're not all eaten, that's okay. Just put them back in the cage with the pig.

[Jenwaite]

Just tried giving them veggies at floor time and it worked like a charm. I did this with each of them separately. I just put the veggies in front of the hidey, some close, some a bit further out. Both came out almost immediately to get the veggies. They are both crazy for green peppers so I put those really close to me. I just lay down by the hidey and moved very slowly so I wouldn't scare them. Gizmo even surprised me by taking some from my fingers! They both also eventually came out and ran around a bit, right up against me too. They don't seem to be scared of me unless I move, then they run right back in the hidey. I feel like we made some progress today.

Originally Posted by akstrohm

An hour of floor time per day is recommended. If your cage is smaller than recommended, more is better

I have a 2x4 C&C cage. That's good for two pigs, correct?

[akstrohm]

I'm glad it went well!

A 2x4 is just fine for two pigs. It's still good to provide floor time for exercise and mental stimulation, but they'll be able to run around in their cage too.