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General Guinea pig doesn’t drink much or eat pellets

Valentina1012

New Member
Cavy Gazer
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Jul 29, 2019
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Joined
Jul 29, 2019
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Hi everyone! I am new here. I recently just adopted my new little best friend, Chex. She is a female and about the size of my palm. I don’t exactly know how old she is but I am gonna buy a little scale to track her weight to give me a better idea.

I’ve had Chex so far for two nights. She doesn’t touch her pellets and they are the oxbow kind for young guinea pigs. I just bought some of the kms alfalfa pellets but it will take about 3-7 business days to receive. She will drink from her water bottle when I hand hold it. She will eat her veggies but just not her pellets. Will that take some time?

i also tried to get her a new companion but the lady at the store said that Chex didn’t like being with other GP as she tried to show dominance and she said she tried and tried but it didn’t work.

She’s a very good GP and I love her very much. After loosing my dog and cat these pst two months, she gives me great comfort.

I have a little hidey for her and some chew toys. I bought some alfalfa hay and Timothy hay to mix with. She will have cup of romaine lettuce and some bell peppers. I will occasionally give her fruit and it will be trial and error on what she likes and doesn’t like since I just got her.

So basically my question is will it take time for her to use the bottle on her own along with eating the pellets? Thanks !!
 

bpatters

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Staff member
Cavy Slave
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Sep 23, 2009
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Welcome!

First, here's some reading material: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners

Second, drape something over one end of her cage, put her food and hidey under it, and her water bottle just outside it. Guinea pigs are very wary of unknown wide open spaces, and it will take her a while to get used to you.

Third, NEVER take the work of a pet store employee for ANYTHING regarding the care of your pig. They're there to sell you things, they get no training in the care of the animals they're selling, and they can do monumental amounts of harm. She was probably in a cage that was way too small for the number of pigs in it, and that's no indicator of how well one pig will get along with another.

If she's a baby, there's absolutely no way to know if she'll wind up, months from now, being too dominant to live with another pig. Please RESCUE another pig (don't buy one at a store), read the bible on introductions (https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html), and put them together. I'll be extremely surprised if the little one won't accept another pig.

Fourth, some pigs will excrete excess urinary calcium when being fed romaine, others will not. Romaine has no more calcium than the other lettuces, but it can be problematic for some pigs. You'd do better to feed her red or green leaf or butter lettuce.

Enjoy your pig!
 

MerryFriarTuck

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Cavy Slave
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Jun 23, 2019
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You're doing absolutely wonderful with Chex! A++ :) Only be careful with the romaine...my piggies love green leaf best. And their favorite fruit by far is oranges if you'd like to try them for Chex. Yellow bell peppers have the most vitamin c, but all are very good! (red and orange are higher in sugar though )
Just to be safe, I have to ask if you're putting vitamin c in her water? That will cause guineas to not drink. Sometimes cold water does too. If neither, then she's probably just shy about coming out to get a drink. My Friar Tuck was very shy when I first got him.
I would guess she's about 4/5 weeks old off of her size. She sounds so sweet! ❤️ Best wishes to you both!
 
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