Bell pepper or no bell pepper?

[Frapplove]

So I see on here that almost everyone feeds their guins bell peppers. I have two girls, and they do NOT like bell pepper. Or celery. They will chew at carrots. And they will chew at apple, but I don't think they've eaten a whole slice by morning.
On the other hand, they do get their hay, which they love, as well as other veggies- cilantro, parsley, salad mixes (no iceberg), kale, etc. A lot of fruits are not in season yet but when they are I will have to try those too.
My questions are, is this okay? Does anyone else have guineas that do not eat the super-recommended bell pepper? How much of a taste difference is there between the pepper colors? What other things can I try for them?

[pandaloki]

Are they new/babies? My pup went through the same thing, he loves bell peppers but he ignored hay and romaine lettuce. He changed his mind when i ripped tiny pieces of lettuce for him and mixed it with the tiny pieces of bell pepper. Possibly they're just skeptical about the new food, especially if there's no adult pig to teach him what and what not to eat. For hay, he eventually ate some after a few days, I fed him grass during days when he didn't want to eat hay. It could also depend on the brand of hay you have, some hays aren't that good in quality.

[mac73]

Mine will only nibble bell peppers. She will eat more if I cut it up. Keep trying. I am.

[CavyMama]

I had the hardest time getting my newest male to eat green peppers. It seems maybe he wasn't exposed to them with his previous owner. It was suggested by a wise member here to chop the pepper in to very small pieces and sprinkle over his pellets. Lo and behold, he ate the pepper!

Bell peppers are very good for pigs and an excellent source of vitamin c. Keep trying with the pepper. Some just take a little longer to get used to the idea. They don't trust themselves to eat it in larger form like chunks.

[Senamian]

There is no taste difference between green and red, just color. And I am finding the same problem with my Honey, who is 2 months. She won't eat anything BUT pellets and hay. So I plan to sneak in strips of this and that into her food :3

[Frapplove]

Thank you everyone I was suspicious that that was just the case, the previous owners had never fed them those types of veggies before. The older one, Frappe, is a few years old. I am not sure of the younger one's exact age but I would say almost a year. She has adopted Frappe as her new mommy so I keep trying... I saw one post where someone had diced the veggies in with the pellets so I will see if that will work!

[kourt1313]

Shelby won't touch bell pepper. He's iffy about mango. He loves carrots, parsley, romaine, apples, cantaloupe and let's not forget the oh so coveted blueberry. Give him one of those and he's like, "My precious..." haha

[mac73]

Mine wouldn't eat any veggies when we first got her. I put cilantro in the food processor and mixed it with her pellets everyday...then I gave up. A week later I threw a spring of cilantro in with the lettuce. It was gone in seconds. Sooo...the dicing and mixing does work! She is up to lettuce, spinach, kale, apples and cilantro. Like I said, still working on the bell pepper. She had her first blueberry today...she didn't need any help on that. She gobbled it right up.

[Frapplove]

Ha yes the berries! I forgot to mention those! And the melons! And the herbs! I can't wait until spring is here we will be moving into a bigger place soon with room for a garden! The "Frapp Garden" (that the sugar gliders can be privileged enough to eat from too)

[CavyMama]

Fruit should be fed sparingly. It's high in sugar. Mango, cantaloupe, and apple should be limited to 1-2 times/week. One baby carrot/day is okay. Parsley and blueberries can be given 2-4 times/week.

Fruit should be only a minor part of the diet (if at all). Veggies should be the focus.

Take a look at this guide to find how much and how often a food can be given in a guinea pig's diet.

http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ixid=Nutrition

[Frapplove]

Thank you! Most of their diet is definitely greens and hay, and because they aren't too crazy about the carrots they don't get them that often. They do like the tops of broccoli but since I learned it gives them gas it's only a special treat. I'm also one of those people that doesn't like to get too many things that aren't in season or local (especially fruit from other countries!) so thankfully I've avoided sweetening them up with fruits other than the odd apple.

[CavyMama]

Sounds good! The importance of their diet in this order is: 1. Hay (should have unlimited access). 2. Vege (up to 1 cup daily per pig) and finally 3. pellets (1/8 of a cup per pig daily).

That's interesting that they aren't interested in carrots. I've had 11 pigs over the years and have yet to meet one who turned their nose up at carrots. But just like people, pigs definitely have their own preferences for types of food. The important thing is not to let their preferences outweigh what they need in their diet.

Another thing I've noticed about preferences is, sometimes left to their own devices, a pig will exhibit a preference or lack of preference for a certain food but when paired with a roomie who loves that food, suddenly you see the wheels turning. You can almost hear them thinking, "Wait a minute what is he eating that I don't have?" and amazingly, it soon becomes a favorite of his.

[Frapplove]

That's how little Frappilicious is she won't always eat something if I offer it to her on her own, or it's in a separate just-for-her pile, but once she sees Frappe chowing down, sometimes she'll even sidle up and eat off of the piece Frappe has in her mouth!

[Senamian]

I've noticed my two older piggies barely touch their pellets. o.o But, as long as they do eat some, and do eat the veggies I don't mind I mixed in peppers with their food and they ate it last, eventually.

[kourt1313]

What about tomatoes? Like the little baby ones? Anyone have any luck with those? I'm bummed Shelby isn't touching bell peppers as I purchased a 4 pack the other night :-l (<-- unamused face, cuz I'm not going to eat them either!).

[Senamian]

If my guineas wouldn't eat the pepper it'd go to the bf Little baby tomatoes are okay, a couple a day I believe. (or what it says on the chart)

[Frapplove]

I have not tried tomatoes yet... I have been trying to switch up some of what I offer them every now and then so they don't get tired of the same things always.

[CavyMama]

That's how little Frappilicious is she won't always eat something if I offer it to her on her own, or it's in a separate just-for-her pile, but once she sees Frappe chowing down, sometimes she'll even sidle up and eat off of the piece Frappe has in her mouth!

Haha, yeah Ive seen one of my pigs snatch food right out of the another pig's mouth. As charming as guinea pigs are, having manners is not their strong suit LOL

@Senamian - what kind of pellets do you give your pigs? Sometimes the lack of interest can be due to the type of pellets themselves.

[kourt1313]

Cool, thanks guys, I'll pick up some tomatoes tomorrow. (Now those I WILL eat if he won't haha!)

[Senamian]

Well they came with the lowest quality there is, and I tossed those stale things out. (they were given to me by previous owners). I gave them exactly what Honey has, which is a decent quality food with vitamin C - no seeds, no dyes Maybe they are just not willing to eat new pellets. But they were not eating the stale stuff either :/ They also have health issues (I'm getting to the vet yes yes ) but they'll eat veggies just fine. I might mix them with the pellets xD