Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Dumping Food

RedOrDead

New Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Posts
2
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
2
I have three females in a custom 6' x 3' cage. One of them is dumping food on the ground and using it as a bathroom. The wet food then breaks up and clumps all over the cage and sometimes the pigs. They have a gravity feeder so they do not have bowls to tip over, but they are still managing to get food on the ground. They have toys and they get floor time so I don't think they are doing this out of boredom. I've even tried different foods to see if another kind of pellet will make less of a mess. There is plenty of bedding in the cage. I've had many guinea pigs over the years and this is the first time I've had this problem. Constantly cleaning this nasty mess out of the cage is driving me crazy. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
 

WEAVER

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Posts
1,771
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Messages
1,771
How much pellets do you feed you piggies a day??

I am assuming because you said they have a gravity feeder they are free-feed. Guinea pigs should only get 1/8-1/4 of a cup of food per pig, per day. Anything more than that you are feeding them too much.

My pigs go crazy when I fill their dishes for the day. They usually eat them all at one time so I have started to split it into two feedings. Needless to say during the afternoon the dishes are empty so there is no spills or food going to waste.
 

RedOrDead

New Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Posts
2
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
2
I thought you were supposed to keep pellets and hay available all the time. The couple of times I've had to hand feed I've been told by the vet to feed them every couple of hours to mimic what they do naturally. Why would they tell me to do that if it's OK to feed them once or twice a day? I'm confused...
 

WEAVER

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Posts
1,771
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Messages
1,771
They should have hay available 24/7, but not the pellets.

Sorry you are confused and I dont know why your vet told you that. The pellets are actually very fattening and if they eat a lot of them over time it can lead to stones.
 

SW <3 Guineas

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 18, 2006
Posts
67
Joined
May 18, 2006
Messages
67
I use to have this problem too. It makes such a differrence when you feed less pellets and more hay. There somewhat happier too :)
 
Last edited:

aqh88

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Posts
2,966
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
2,966
If they are not eating themselves then yes you should feed them very frequently because they do eat constantly during the day and night. Moistened pellets are also much easier to feed a sick pig than hay but a healthy pig should not eat too many pellets. They should eat almost all hay with only a small amount of pellets to provide the nutrients that are missing in hay. Then they need 1 cup of fresh vegetables per pig per day to provide vit c and variety.
 

Percy's Mom

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 10, 2005
Posts
7,501
Joined
May 10, 2005
Messages
7,501
How old are your pigs? That makes a LOT of difference as to how much to feed. If they are under 6 months old and still growing at a really rapid rate, then unlimited pellets are fine. If they are over about 6 months old or "adult", then you want to go with the amounts that Weaver suggested, 1/8-1/4 cup of pellets per pig per day. From the sound of your description, the pigs are bored and just playing with their pellets.
 

Ly&Pigs

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Posts
20,516
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
20,516
What I want to know is what brand/kind of pellets you are feeding?
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Top