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Won't Eat Veggies 4 week old pig hates veggies

hallister

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Hello all! So my 4 week old female Guinea Pig still has no interest in veggies. We bought her some peppers today, red and green, and she wont touch either of those. We have also tried lettuce, carrots, apples, but she wont eat them. The only treat she likes is grass. So, I am worry about her getting vitamin C. Her pellet food does say it has it, but I feel its not enough. Any tips on how to get her interested? I am tried to gently sort of force feed her as someone suggested, but she got annoyed quickly so I stopped. I am going to try chopping up the pepper very small and adding it with her pellets, but I did do this with all the previous veggies and fruit we tried and she would either dig around it or just not go near the bowl...
 

Rywen

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Just keep trying, Penny seems to like the taste of green pepper but won't chew pieces off a slice of it so today I julienned it for her so she could eat it like hay and she gobbled it down. Ferb won't eat cherry tomatoes unless I cut them in half first. Eventually your piggie will learn to like something, try the same veggie diced up in her pellets for several days before giving up (only try one at a time). Have you tried cilantro, that stuff is like piggie crack to mine, they go crazy for it.
 

daisy1cow

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Hahahaha, isn't that funny how picky they are? Have to cut in half first, silly pig!!!
 

hallister

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Hi all! Just a quick update to "bump" this thread:

Ginny, is now Sebastian! We sexed him again about a week ago and he is for sure a boy. Now that he is a bit older (about 8ish weeks) it was easier to tell, and he is a confirmed male. None the less, I love him just as much as I did before! He snuggles with me while I read, sometimes falls asleep, and popcorns nearly everyday.

He still will not eat his veggies. I have tried cutting them up really small and sprinkling them over his pellets, but he usually just spends a great about of time digging around them, or just wont eat them. I tried gently forcing him to eat a some green bell pepper as someone suggested, but I could tell how much he hated it so I scratched that idea, not wanting to cause him stress. I switched him to a food higher in Vitamin C than his last food, and once its gone I am ordering him so Oxbow Vitamin C pellets online.

I am just unsure of what to do at this point, I don't want him to go his whole life without veggies as I assume that is not acceptable. If anyone has any other tips that would be great.

He does currently live alone, as he seems quite content on his own, and I plan on getting him fixed when he is old enough and if I can find an appropriate vet and then adopting him a female friend.
 

bpatters

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The friend would be the best idea. For a guinea pig, the best food is always in the other pig's mouth, and he'll learn to eat most anything that his cage mate will eat.
 

NikkisPigs

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I sort of have an idea. What if you juiced the vegetables and soaked his pellets in it? Slowly he would get to know the flavor. I think a friend is a great idea too.
 

hallister

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I think I will go the friend route, until then, do you think what [MENTION=32425]NikkisPigs[/MENTION] suggested would do? Or is there something else I could try? If I get him Oxbow pellets, will that provide the Vitamin C he needs? [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION]
 

bpatters

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How many days did you try mincing the veggies? This is not necessarily a quick process, and you may have to do it for several days.

Oxbow pellets should give him enough vitamin C, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a plain supplement.
 

hallister

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I tried for a week, and then I stopped for a few days and tried lettuce, but I'm back to sprinkling the bell pepper and I will also leave a single baby carrot as well.

I will get him the Oxbow pellets until he starts eating the veggie, and I read that I can give him plain kids vitamin C chewable tablets, but please correct me if this is false information.

We have also found a 1 year old male pig available for adoption, who I figured could teach him to eat veggies, but I am worried about keeping two males, and I wouldn't want fighting. It is rare to see pigs for adoption in my city though, normally a 3 hour drive, and so I am debating what to do. Any advice? [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION]
 

mrcosta94

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From what I know, you would only have to worry about feeding your guinea pig other sources of Vitamin C if the supplement (ascorbic acid) is not provided in his feed. :)
 

Bodhi

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My only suggestion is to keep it up. She should be able to eat one of the following: lettuce, cilantro, or parsley.

Chop it into pieces(not too small) and cover the top of her pellets with it. Leave it for a day.
 

hallister

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@ThePigAlchemist I know about the whole myth thing, I'm still conserned though, I am kind of a worry wart, lol. I will look into getting him a friend though, he currently seems quite content, so perhaps we will just wait to get him fixed and adopt a female.
[MENTION=32267]mrcosta94[/MENTION] We have decided to upgrade him to a better food and some Oxbow Vitamin C tablets just incase :)
[MENTION=32014]Bodhi[/MENTION] We will keep encouraging him :)
 

foggycreekcavy

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Definitely, males usually get along better with females. A couple more months and he should be ready to be neutered. Look for an exotics veterinarian that's had experience with guinea pigs.
 

hallister

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Quick update, Sebastian is eating Cilantro, still working on other veggies :)
 

richguinea

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It's a myth that two males will definitely fight, or even that it's likely they will. There are plenty of members here that successfully keep male pairs, including me. Mine get along great together, no fighting at all. Generally introductions with babies go well, anyway. I'd go for it.

I think a big factor is cage size. If the cage is big enough, two males will have plenty of space to claim their "territory." I've heard of several cases where two males would show aggression and fight because they were cramped in a small cage.
 

skittles3024

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I am actually facing this problem now. My little girl is about 2.5 months old. She will not touch any veggies I give her. So I went to my exotic vet and bought oxbow vitamin c tablets. She Looovvveeessss them! Whenever she gets hers in the morning, she popcorns around lol you could always try those.
 
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