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Not Eating Piggies eating less and drinking more.. please help :(

mlgobel

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Hi there,

I have two guinea pigs, Zola and Lola, both around 6 months old. I have been feeding them Oxbow hay as well as Oxbow pellets. Every night I give them fresh veggies, rotating these:

Day 1: lettuce, cherry tomato, baby carrot, green bell pepper, grape
Day 2: lettuce, cherry tomato, baby carrot, red bell pepper, cucumber

*Also just started giving them corn husks, and sometimes the actual raw corn cob to chew on*
*They do also have alfalfa hay cubes to chew on*

Lately they seemed to be eating less hay, (I used to have to put more in about 3 times a day, now I barely have to do it twice.. sometimes only once) and I thought it was the quality of the bag because my piggies really only like to eat the soft green pieces, this bag seemed like it had more crunchy harder pieces and wasn't as fresh. I tried getting another bag but that one also seemed not very fresh.
They have also been going through their water bottle faster than normal. After a day they would maybe have drank a third of it, but now after a day it's down to about half.
I switched their hay to Small Pet Select thinking it would help because it's better quality hay. There were still a lot of stems in it, and my guinea pigs don't seem to be eating it more, and are still drinking a lot of water. Now I'm really thinking something is wrong.

Every night when I feed them their veggies I do it in their play pen, not in their cage. It seems Zola has been peeing a lot more when it's veggie time... but the pee is clear.

This morning I noticed white sludge on their fleece, which I believe comes from their pee? I'm very worried but don't really have an exotic vet super close to me... I will take them if I have to though. Am I doing something wrong??? I have tried to do the best for them. That's why I joined this forum. I got them a C&C cage with fleece flippers. and I buy them the good brands of food :( please help.
 

adeline13

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Do you always feed them alfalfa hay? its way to high in protein i think it is and if they are over 6 months then its bad for them and makes their pee white and sludgy like you said. Also i don't think your supposed to feed them cherry tomatoes or baby carrots everyday. What i would do is get them timothy hay and make sure you are giving them timothy pellets and just stop feeding them veggies and fruits all together for a while and just keep and eye on them if they stop pooping or peeing then take them to the vet. Im sure they will be fine this is happened to mine kinda only i was feeding them lettuce with too much protein. Hope they get better keep e updated. :)

heres a link to good food and how often to feed them but like i said stick to just timothy hay timothy pellets and water for about a week then ad in one veggie let them just eat that for like 3 days then so on so forth and hopefully this will help them and you https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List
 
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mlgobel

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Do you always feed them alphalpha hay? its way to high in protien i think it is and if they are over 6 months then its bad for them and makes their pee white and sludgy like you said. Also i dont think your supposed to feed them chery tomatoes or baby carrots everyday. Wht i would do is get them timothy hay and make sure you are giving them timothy pellets and just stop feeding them veggies and fruits all together for a while and just keeep and eye on them if they stop pooping or peeing then take them to the vet. Im sure they wil be fine this is happened to mine kinda only i was feeding them lettuce with too much protien. Hope they get better keep e updated. :)

I give them Oxbow Timothy hay. they have little alfalfa cubes that they gnaw on... they don't really "eat" them. I read that baby carrots are fine to give one daily, Im not sure about the tomatoes.
 

adeline13

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nevermind i was wrong about the cherry tomato and the baby carrot 1 of those for each pig a day is great!! :)
 

mlgobel

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Do you always feed them alfalfa hay? its way to high in protein i think it is and if they are over 6 months then its bad for them and makes their pee white and sludgy like you said. Also i don't think your supposed to feed them cherry tomatoes or baby carrots everyday. What i would do is get them timothy hay and make sure you are giving them timothy pellets and just stop feeding them veggies and fruits all together for a while and just keep and eye on them if they stop pooping or peeing then take them to the vet. Im sure they will be fine this is happened to mine kinda only i was feeding them lettuce with too much protein. Hope they get better keep e updated. :)

heres a link to good food and how often to feed them but like i said stick to just timothy hay timothy pellets and water for about a week then ad in one veggie let them just eat that for like 3 days then so on so forth and hopefully this will help them and you https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...vy-Nutrition-Charts-amp-Poisonous-Plants-List

That chart is what I currently use for their veggies.You said you were giving lettuce with too much protein... can you tell me the lettuce you buy them now?

I just switched my guinea pigs to Timothy Hay from Small Pet Select, and I give them Oxbow Young Cavy Performance pellets. I will switch them to the adult ones now since they are about 6 months.
 

adeline13

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That chart is what I currently use for their veggies.You said you were giving lettuce with too much protein... can you tell me the lettuce you buy them now?

I just switched my guinea pigs to Timothy Hay from Small Pet Select, and I give them Oxbow Young Cavy Performance pellets. I will switch them to the adult ones now since they are about 6 months.

Ok interesting ive never heard of this happening did they maybe get into something they werent supposed to and now they have an upset tummy? idk i used to feed them A baby spring mix but now i feed them whatevers on the chart idk i havent been giving them much lately since the hefty vet bills and killing me.
 

Red5Iam

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I know I'm new to the forum and piggies in general, so please anyone else feel free to correct me. But I've had similar concerns to these, and have subsequently spent hours on the internet trying to find answers (mostly on this forum!).

My pigs went through a phase where they weren't eating as much hay, which lasted a couple of days, but then when right back to it. They were still eating some, but definitely less than on other days. And then, there are days like yesterday where I had to refill the hay rack 3 times AND put some just on the floor under their rack because they were going through it so fast. How many days has it been going on that they've been eating less? It could just be that those days they don't need as much of it. As long as they are still eating hay, and not ignoring it, they should be alright, and I'm sure they'll pick up the frequency with which they eat it again soon.

As for the water, if it's warmer they are likely to drink more water. On the days where it was over 100F here (not in my room, but outside) they were still drinking a lot more water to stay hydrated and cool down. But I wouldn't be concerned that they're drinking a lot?

I've seen a decrease in the white deposits left behind in my pigs urine when I've changed from romaine lettuce to red or green leaf lettuce. I know that I've read from multiple sources that some pigs just don't process romaine the same way and it leaves their urine with more calcium in it.

As for the sludge, have you checked the consistency of it? I know that sounds gross but powder is a little more normal in terms of what is left behind once urine has dried (generally it is from calcium), but sludge can be a sign of a UTI, which would need to be seen by a good exotics vet. If it looks like the picture here, I'd go check it out. https://www.guinealynx.info/normal.html#urine

EDIT Forgot to ask, are they still eating all of their veggies? Or are they leaving those behind as well?
 
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CavyMama

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Do you always feed them alfalfa hay? its way to high in protein i think it is and if they are over 6 months then its bad for them and makes their pee white and sludgy like you said.


Incorrect. Alfalfa hay is higher in calcium, not protein. Before dispensing nutritional or dietary advice, I would make sure your information is accurate.

Also i don't think your supposed to feed them cherry tomatoes or baby carrots everyday. What i would do is get them timothy hay and make sure you are giving them timothy pellets and just stop feeding them veggies and fruits all together for a while

Also incorrect. Cherry tomatoes are fine for guinea pigs and one baby carrot a day is just fine. Veggies are the 2nd most important part of a guinea pig diet after hay. Pellets come in a distant 3rd. To recommend feeding pellets and removing veggies is sorely misguided. My suggestion would be to refrain from offering dietary advice until you learn more about it yourself.
 

adeline13

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Incorrect. Alfalfa hay is higher in calcium, not protein. Before dispensing nutritional or dietary advice, I would make sure your information is accurate.



Also incorrect. Cherry tomatoes are fine for guinea pigs and one baby carrot a day is just fine. Veggies are the 2nd most important part of a guinea pig diet after hay. Pellets come in a distant 3rd. To recommend feeding pellets and removing veggies is sorely misguided. My suggestion would be to refrain from offering dietary advice until you learn more about it yourself.

Correction to you I said I think in my first post I didn't know if it was correct so sorry I was assuming someone woul be novice and correct me and to the second post I recorrected myself saying I was wrong so before you point fingers and be rude I would ready what I said better. Also I said to remove them for about a week to see if it help I case her guinea pig has an upset tummy that's what I did with mine and now they are happy and healthy again so why don't you stop judging me just because your older and think you know more than me. I came on this site because I love animals and know a lot about them but yes just like everybody there is some things I get wrong or don't know and if I didn't know I wouldn't say things but I do know about this question witch is why I responded to it so please stop being rude to me thanks
 

CavyMama

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If you aren't sure if it's correct, you should not be saying it at all. Research FIRST, THEN post. Not the other way around.
 

adeline13

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If you aren't sure if it's correct, you should not be saying it at all. Research FIRST, THEN post. Not the other way around.

Whatever it was correct I just got the wrong name and was expectiong someone to be entice and correct me instead I got judged so wow thanks for that I joined this site because I though it would be fun but you guys are just way to strict and kinda being rude thinking you know better than everybody else.
 

mlgobel

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@Red5Iam they are still eating their veggies, they can't get enough of those! They also have been eating more pellets lately too. I just thought the hay thing seemed a bit strange. I rubbed the sludge between my fingers and it felt sort of gritty... I haven't seen a lot of it though, the first time was this morning. I'm worried one of them (possibly Zola cuz it seems she's peeing
more then usual, I don't know about Lola) has a UTI, but maybe I'm just worrying too much.... I buy them lettuce that's either spring mix or half and half, but do you have recommendations to me buying something else?
 

mlgobel

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I know I'm new to the forum and piggies in general, so please anyone else feel free to correct me. But I've had similar concerns to these, and have subsequently spent hours on the internet trying to find answers (mostly on this forum!).

My pigs went through a phase where they weren't eating as much hay, which lasted a couple of days, but then when right back to it. They were still eating some, but definitely less than on other days. And then, there are days like yesterday where I had to refill the hay rack 3 times AND put some just on the floor under their rack because they were going through it so fast. How many days has it been going on that they've been eating less? It could just be that those days they don't need as much of it. As long as they are still eating hay, and not ignoring it, they should be alright, and I'm sure they'll pick up the frequency with which they eat it again soon.

EDIT Forgot to ask, are they still eating all of their veggies? Or are they leaving those behind as well?

they aren't ignoring their hay completely, they still munch on it.. especially if I hand it to them. just aren't eating it nearly as much :(
 

adeline13

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@Red5Iam they are still eating their veggies, they can't get enough of those! They also have been eating more pellets lately too. I just thought the hay thing seemed a bit strange. I rubbed the sludge between my fingers and it felt sort of gritty... I haven't seen a lot of it though, the first time was this morning. I'm worried one of them (possibly Zola cuz it seems she's peeing
more then usual, I don't know about Lola) has a UTI, but maybe I'm just worrying too much.... I buy them lettuce that's either spring mix or half and half, but do you have recommendations to me buying something else?
OH. It's the spring mix it has too much calcium and that kind of lettuce should only be for special occasions that's what happened to mine just stop feeding them the spring mix and I think that should return them back to normal!!! Though I'm not sure about the half and half lettuce.
 

CavyMama

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@mlglobel - green leaf or red leaf lettuce is your best bet.
 

PiggieWigglies

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Edit: Nevermind. :) Also, are grapes okay to feed? I thought they make pigs sick..
 

CavyMama

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@adeline13 - I was merely correcting the inaccurate information you were posting. I am more concerned with people getting correct information than with ruffled feathers. If you view this as being judged, that's on you to work out.

If you aren't sure if information is correct, don't post it. It's as simple as that. Then we don't have to come after and correct you.
 

Red5Iam

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If the sludge was gritty, I would try to get Zola into the vet, but you might need to watch them both carefully to see which of your piggies is leaving sludge. If you can't determine who, the best course of action would probably be to take them both. Which I know is more expensive, but better safe than sorry if you ask me. I know in people (and pretty much everything else) the longer an infection goes untreated the worse it will get, so I can't assume otherwise with pigs. One of the best solutions you have in the mean time is to be sure their bedding & cage is clean, since an infection is likely caused by bacteria in their feces. I don't mean to imply that the cage isn't clean, by any means. But that is the most likely place that bacteria would be found in the cage, so any wet bedding or poos are a potential culprit.

As for the lettuce, I usually don't buy mixes? But I generally prefer to mix their veggies myself. I tend to do a few leaves of lettuce (rotating between romaine and red leaf, generally, but I'm phasing out the romaine due to some heavy calcium deposits I've noticed), some cilantro or parsley (this changes with some relative frequency), about 1/4 of a bell pepper (generally green, but they do get reds and yellows as well - they LOVE yellows, so I tend to use those as treats during lap time), 3-4 1/8" thick slices of cucumber, a couple leaves of endive when I can & once or twice a week a couple of raspberries per pig. When I can I also give them some basil, dill or mint (they usually aren't fans of the leaves of basil or mint, but they love the stems?) I feed them veggies in the morning and in the evening, so this is generally split in half. I've got three pigs, though, so I'm usually 1 1/2 cup in the morning and 1 1/2 at night to have 3 cups of veggies a day.
 

failur3byh3art

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Like CavyMama said Red or green leafy lettuce is fine. I used to feed my girls romaine but apparently it has a higher amount of calcium. I give a bit of both and my girls love it.
 

adeline13

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Like CavyMama said Red or green leafy lettuce is fine. I used to feed my girls romaine but apparently it has a higher amount of calcium. I give a bit of both and my girls love it.
Yes a spring mix has romaine in it.
 
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