We Would Like To Introduce Ourselves

little_russian · May 10, 2006

Hi, there! My name is Olga and I would like to introduce my little buddy - Flick! My husband thinks that I should finish college before we have kids, so he found a furry munchkin alternative for now! I wasn't protesting as I always wanted a piggie! We have done our research and stopped by Petco (shouldn't say this word here) just to get more info and look at some piggies... needless to say, we didn't come out empty handed as there he was - cute as they come...

We had to hurry up on the cage, and I must say - we couldn't do it without all of you all - so thank you for ideas, links and useful suggestions!
After having Flick for a week, we realized that we want one more piggie, so we went to the animal shelter in Seattle - that's the way to go by the way - there were a lot of cuties there, but this time we couldn't take any home just yet... Let's say Flick needs to suffer a little at the doctor's first...:weepy: before he can have a girlfriend. But we have a date set and we can't wait!
As far as his cage goes. We've created a 2x4 with a small second floor deck - he seems to like it, although there are still some more things we would like to add for his comfort. Do you guys find fleece to work the best?
For some reason, he doesn't like any kind of veggies...

I guess we'll just have to be persistent. Any suggestions as to how to show him that it's ok to eat those?
Anyways, we are proud to be part of this and are looking forward to contributing to the discussions and bettering our piggie's life!
Thanks for the attention!:cheerful:

TipiDancer · May 10, 2006

Such a cute piggy, and nice to meet you!

Cavyslavesteph · May 11, 2006

Wow, he is absolutely adorable. I'm glad to hear you will be adopting his next friend. I'm sure Flick will love the company. As far as the veggies go, it sounds like he has never had them before, so he doesn't realize they are food. Just keep offering him a variety of veggies. He will eventually nibble at them and discover they are great. Once he finds that out, he will be begging constantly for more! You may have to eat some yourself in front of him to show him they are ok, but hopefully he will try them on his own.

As far as comfort, I have my girls on fleece and they love it. You can find a lot of threads about it in the Bedding section. Fleece is by no means necessary however, and you can buy little couches, small dog beds, and buy or make your own cuddle cups for extra "cozies".

Oh, and I just wanted to make a quick comment about his food (from the pic). You may have already read this, but it is much better for your pig to have a plain pellet (no little colored bits). Oxbow makes a good plain pellet for pigs ((broken link removed)), or since you are on the west coast, you may also want to try KM's pellets ((broken link removed)). I learned so much from this forum and I'm sure you will too. Feel free to ask any questions, and again, welcome and congrats on little Flick.

GeorgieLolaLove · May 11, 2006

Nice to meet you Olga and Flick!
My rabbit Knorretje is also very aware when I offer 'new' veggies to him, veggies that he has never had before. So I used to 'crack' the veggies open, so that the juice would come out and he could smell the nice smell of fresh veggies. This also worked well with tomatoes and grapes and other fruits with firm peels: once he had tasted the juice, he would try to eat it soon! Good luck!

My Baby Mu · May 11, 2006

Welcome to the forums. Your piggy is very cute.

Keep offering veggies, and soon he will begin to eat them. What veggies are you feeding? Also, offer a plain pellet. You can use Oxbow ((broken link removed)), KleenMamas ((broken link removed)), or you can feed Mazuri (www.mazuri.com). If you feed Mazuri, be sure to get the plain guinea pig pellet they make.

little_russian · May 11, 2006

Thank you guys for such great replies, we feel so welcomed! I did notice that Flick isn't touching the colored stuff - I'll be smarter next time - thanks to you guys! So far I've given him carrots, green peppers, apple, celantro, celery, strawberries, bananas - that's all I can remember - he nibbled on a pepper once, but that was it! I will try to keep giving him stuff - he should cave in eventually, right? I will try the technique of eating in front of him as well. I will check out the threads on fleece too, sounds like that's the way to go. Thank you so much for the comment on the plain pellet - what would I do without you? Later.

NMPiggyMom · May 11, 2006

Welcome from a fellow newcomer! Aren't the comments wonderful! Like you, I learned from this forum about the pellets with other additives. Our piggie is learning to enjoy his plain Timothy pellets. We've been lucky in that Piggie loves his vegetables. Good luck and be persistent!
Welcome again!

JennG · May 11, 2006

Welcome to the forum and pretty much ditto on what everyone else has commented on: he needs his veggies, just keep trying; eliminate the pellet mixture (I believe Mu gave you some sites to look up good pellets for him); adopt his next friend now that you are wiser and make sure he has unlimited amount of a good quality hay. We're here for assistance but alot of things can be found if you do a quick search in the little boxes above. Good luck and welcome again.

My Baby Mu · May 11, 2006

Bananas should only be fed in small amouts about once a month.

He should cave in eventually. If he doesn't, this is what I did with one of my pigs when he didnt eat veggies-https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16400.

little_russian · May 11, 2006

Wow! Thanks for the link Baby Mu! That was some trouble you went through, but it is an awesome idea! I am definately going to try something like that! My husband thinks that if we get an older piggy, he might teach him, but I guess now I know that it didn't work for you! Thanks so much, for that suggestion! Thanks for the banana tip as well, is that because it has a lot of fat? I only gave it to him once so far.

My Baby Mu · May 11, 2006

It is because it can give pigs constipation.

It may work if another pig teaches how to eat veggies, just didn't work for me.

BabyGrl · May 11, 2006

Welcome to the forum.

jdomans · May 11, 2006

The is a very cute pig. Welcome to the group. If you go with Mazuri, get the 5664.(I think I got the number correct) It is not sold in pet store chains. I get mine at a garden center and it only comes in a 25 lb. bag. If you have a freezer, you can bag it up and put the overflow in there. I have 8 piggers so it gets used up quickly.

fourbwabbys · May 11, 2006

Welcome! Just be persistant with the veggies, put a variety in and keep offering them until he gets the idea. Once he has a friend, he will watch her eat them and figure out the jist of it.

Martini · May 11, 2006

Welcome aboard!!! My little girls are only a month or so old, so they don't really know what veggies are either. Ginny is starting to nibble the odd one out of my hand, which in itself is an improvement, but that's it. I figure just introduce things slowly every day. They'll come around. =) By the way, Flick is adorable! =)

little_russian · May 12, 2006

We've got progress! Although he didn't touch the celery, Flick nibbled on some carrots last night! I'm so happy! I spent 5 minutes this morning picking out the colored stuff from his food - I've got to use it up before I use just plain pellet. I left a variety of veggies for him this morning before leaving: carrots, lettuce, celantro and grapes - we'll see the results in a little while!
I also read a whole deal about the fleece on some threads last night - I think I'm gonna go for it - I'll get some when I head out to Walmart next time! Gosh, what a spoild brat - so much hastle around him! We love it though!

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We Would Like To Introduce Ourselves

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