Hello!

[zoepiglet]

I am new, so thought I would post a little introduction aswell as a question. Hopefully I won't mess this up.

As my profile says, I'm Zoe, 21, living in Glasgow, Scotland. A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I became piggy parents to Minnie (photo - http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...girl/wheek.jpg). I call myself a newbie, as though I had two piggies as a child, I've realised that my education begins here. I'm afraid Minnie was a petstore purchase, and my reason for discovering this site was seeking out something bigger than her current petstore cage. Throw in the complication that she's pregnant, and my boyfriend and I have alot of figuring out to do with regards to how much space everyone will need, rehoming, etc. We'd like to keep as many as we can, but we're stuck in our small flat until at least the end of this summer and will be rearranging some furniture to make a cavycage as it is.

For now we are waiting and doing alot of reading. I feel bad for buying from a petstore, as much as I love Minnie and feel I have rescued her and her babies from god knows what could have been. I'm also obviously excited and nervous about the birth. I know discussion about breeding should be limited, so I will just say that though young she is at least a fairly decent size now, but I know the risks involved even with sows of the correct age and just hope she will get through it okay.

And now my question - and I know this will sound horrendous but please understand that we didn't know she was pregnant until recently and have tried pretty much everything - she will only eat (round) lettuce, despite our constant offerings of a wide range of food, and we don't know what to do. She will also eat certain things from her guinea pig mix, though I am looking into what different mixes will be available to me and worry about her turning her nose up at whatever I might buy. We hope that the babies will respond well to a variety of food, but is there anything we can do to persuade her? I know a varied diet is so important right now, and I don't know what to do besides giving her what she wants.

That was probably quite long-winded and suitably newbie-ish. I must admit I'm nervous as you guys seem so clued up - just bear with me as I quickly learn, it's been a crazy first few weeks but my boyfriend and I really do want the best for our little family. Thank goodness for this great site - I hope to have alot of fun learning and posting here.

[katiecavyNC]

Sounds like you are off to being as big a piggy slave as a lot of us on the forum!

Although you may feel bad for getting from a pet store, it sounds like Minnie was lucky that she was picked out by you! Any time someone is willing to learn and move forward with what is best knowing the new informaiton is on the right track!

My piggies were not used to seeing veggies either at first. I just kept offering the things I knew were good for them, especially the bell peppers, etc and finally they began to nibble them and now they try pretty much anything I put in their bowls.

Good luck with her birth and welcome.

[Ly&Pigs]

She will also eat certain things from her guinea pig mix, though I am looking into what different mixes will be available to me and worry about her turning her nose up at whatever I might buy.

First of all Welcome. Secondly, you need to get her off a pellet mix and onto a good quality plain pellet such as KM's (www.kmshayloft) or Oxbow (www.oxbowhay.com). If you cannot get the first two the third choice would be plain Mazuri 5664. Mixes pose a choking hazard and make cavies very obese plus many contain harmful ingredients.

Until she starts eating more of a variety of veggies (will explain more in a bit), please get a plain Vitamin C tablet and start giving her approx. 50mg per day.

Also make sure she has unlimited grass hay and some alfalfa hay in addition to the grass hay. Hay is an absolute must for any guinea pig. It helps wear down the teeth and aids in digestion.

Now back to the veggies for a moment. The key is to keep giving small amounts of veggies daily. It may take a couple weeks to get her to eat them, but if you start off with adding one or two new things every 3-4 days and maybe even sample it in front of her, she will eventually start eating them. Get some parsley and some bell pepper and try her with those. Give her a strip of bell pepper daily and a sprig or two of parsley in addition to the lettuce. Also try other varieties of lettuces (no iceburg).

I know discussion about breeding should be limited, so I will just say that though young she is at least a fairly decent size now, but I know the risks involved even with sows of the correct age and just hope she will get through it okay.

If she came from the petstore pregnant, you didn't breed her. It would be considered an accidental pregnancy. It would be beneficial to you and your sow to have a cavy savvy vet lined up just in case there are any complications or problems.

[zoepiglet]

Thank you, and yeah - I am lucky enough to have a very good vet nearby.

I never thought to try bell peppers - I shall buy some tomorrow. I'll try the slower introductory technique, maybe I offered too much too quickly!

I have been reading through the UK section of the forum, and I'll be phoning local pet supplies to see if I have any luck with the various types of hay and the pellets. Pet shops have left me unimpressed so far. Failing that, I'll be buying online.

Thank you both for the information and good wishes!

[HowietheGreat]

Welcome! I'm glad you found us. My two pigs love red, yellow, orange and green bell peppers. There are multiple lists of good veggies for the cavy's on various threads here. She is very adorable and she and her babies will be in my thoughts. Please post pictures when they come.

[My Baby Mu]

Welcome to the forum.

What type of hay are you feeding? You should feed unlimited supply of a grass hay (Timothy, Orchard, Bluegrass...) plus and unlimited suppy of alfalfa hay (a legume).

[Soola]

Hi Zoepiglet

Im from Central Scotland. So far I havn't been able to source the pellets that Ly has mentioned so have to use the pellets from Pets at Home. They do get eaten much better than the mix I had been originally using which my piggies just picked the "best bits" out of. Maybe one of the more experienced Scots on the forum could point us to a supplier of the better pellets.

Im sorry that you have ended up in the situation where she is pregnant but I do hope Minnie has at least one little sow so you can keep her a companion as piggies are very social little animals and are better not kept on their own.

It can take time for them to try other foods, mine are pretty suspicious of anything new and it can take a few times of putting it in before they start tucking in.

Soo x

[jdomans]

Hi Zoe,
We are glad you found us. There are many old timers from the UK on here and they will indeed help you.

[PiggieMom]

Welcome to the forum. This is going to sound silly, but have you tried eating the veggies in front of her. My boys take to new veggies faster when I take a bite to show them they're good. Even if she doesn't eat them, keep putting them in there everyday. Eventually they'll stop being a scary new thing and she'll take a nibble. Once she does that it will be all over. She realize they're yummy things and won't get enough.

[Ruby77]

Hi Zoepiglet, I am new here too, although not new to piggie owning! I am also in Scotland, way up in Argyll!!!
Everyone has given some great advice, the only thing I would say is the only lettuce that piggies should get is Romaine! So I would stop giving her the lettuce and offer other things, all piggies eat parsely which is good for her when is pregnant, and also Fresh Greens, cucumber, celery and carrots which my piggies get everyday. They also get other things every now and again, tomato, grapes, melon, banana, skin and all!
Some good piggie foods are Allan and Paige guinea pig mix, Wagg, even Chudleys Rabbit Royale. I dont' give mine pellets as I would hate to eat the same thing everyday, but loads of people do and I think a good one is Science Selective or Oxbow. When changing food remember to change it gradually.
Good luck on the baby front, minipigs are the best and I am sure Minnie will deliver with no problems, normally the only problems they have is if they are over a year and have never had babies before, but with her being from a pet store I am sure she isn't over a year!
Let us know how she gets on, I have a piggie here just now on foster who is about to deliver in the next few days as her pelvic bones have started to open.
Take care

[PiggieMom]

Actually pigs can have all kinds of luttuce as long as it's not iceberg. I feed mine romaine, red leaf, green leaf, boston and fennel.

[Rachy1412]

Welcome! There is an online source of Oxbow in the UK section. If thats too expensive the best pellet is Burgess Supa Guinea Excel. I feed round lettuce so that is fine to feed, try some corriander, parsley, endive, carrots, celery, cucumber, romaine and bell peppers. My pigs love corriander and bell peppers!

[daftscotslass]

Hi Zoe I'm from Dunblane just outside of Stirling. I agree with Rachy in that Supa Guinea Excel is probably the best choice or Science Selective. You can get them in most pet shops, though Excel is a wee bit more readily available.

Round lettuce is generally iceberg and is bad for piggies - you can get romaine lettuce (also called Cos) relatively cheaply in Tesco, coriander too. You will find that if you offer it eventually she will eat it - they are often afraid of new things. My most recent rescue, Bart, had huge problems as he was only fed carrots and cheap pellets by his previous owner. He came round very quickly.

If you need advice on supplies in this area let me know and I'll help as best I can. Our flat is small but my boyfriend isn't hugely bothered that the living room is taken up mostly by Cavy Cage!

[C&K]

I would avoid feeding the Iceburg at all costs, not only is it not nutritious for them, but it can actually make them sick!

Also get a digital scale and weigh her daily until you are sure she is gaining weight steadily. Then, you only have to weigh her weekly. That is the best way to know for sure if she is eating enough or not.

Good luck!

[Rachy1412]

Round lettuce is ice berg? My round lettuce looks nothing like iceberg! Is it not safe to feed them? This is the kind of round lettuce I'm talking about: http://www.greenfingers.com/images/s.../SE0596A_l.jpg

[Percy's Mom]

That looks more like Boston or Bibb lettuce to me. If it's either of those it should be fine. You're right, that doesn't look like iceberg.

[Ly&Pigs]

Round lettuce is just another name for Boston/Butterhead/Bibb.

[JarBax]

Hi Zoepiglet and Minnie (who is absolutely gorgeous!)

I made a few changes to my girl's (Mary and Marble) diet, after finding this site too. The main one was changing from a pellet mix, to plain pellets. It took a wee while, but they eat them now. I am waiting to finnish a bag from 'Pets at Home' guinea pig nuggets, and will transfer to Supa Guinea Excell - if I can't find it locally, will buy on line (good Scottish rescue Thistle Cavies does online mail ordering).

[cavy-cool-crazy]

Welcome, Zoe. I'm another UK-er - Northern Ireland though! I have driven through Scotland on my move over here and the parts we drove to were stunning.

I have tried and tested many piggy pellets here. The pros and cons of each plain pellet I have tried:-

Burgess Supa Guinea Excel
Pros - plain pellet, widely available, many pigs seem to enjoy it
Cons - currently contains beet pulp, I don't think it contains hay

Science Selective
Pros - plain pellet, contains hay, has other apparently health-benficial ingredients (small amount of nettle to aid digestion etc.)
Cons - is made of alfalfa hay so is higher in calcium and protein

Oxbow Cavy Cuisine
Pros - just about the best plain pellet you can get!! Made from timothy so the best type for adult pigs. The pigs adore it. It is the one to go for if you can get it.
Cons - expensive, not easily available.

Mine are on a mixture of all three. 1 part Burgess, 1 part Science Selective and 2 parts Oxbow Cavy Cuisine.

I think you could go for Science Selective GP or Oxbow Cavy Performance (like Cuisine but with alfalfa) because Minnie is pregnant; the alfalfa in the pellets will help in this case.

I buy my Oxbow foods and hays from www.sphsupplies.co.uk
Cost-wise, with shipping to Northern Ireland, a 4kg sack of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine plus 2kg of Oxbow hay comes to around £35. 4kg of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine between four pigs lasts me about 2 months. A little longer when I offer other pellets and less Cuisine.

Wow, thanks Ly and Elizabeth! I was all worried beecause mine get round lettuce occasionally, but now I know it's a good one to feed! Thank you!

[JennG]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with the babies. Hopefully she'll only have one or two and they'll both be girls. Good luck.