She’s here!

[petluv]

Is it not normal for them to refuse pellets? I got a small package of SPS guinea pig pellets with my hay box, should I try those even know they aren’t oxbow?

 

[bpatters]

Yes, try the SPS pellets. If you find some she likes, you can gradually switch her over to a better brand.

Since you're going to restrict veggies, you can give her Oasis Vita Drops multi-vitamins for guinea pigs. For anyone reading this, we DO NOT usually recommend the use of multi-vitamin drops, as there's too much danger of an overdose of the fat-soluble vitamins in them. But this is a special case, and the pig needs some vitamins. I'd give half the recommended dose about every third day, or one fourth the recommended dose every other day. That'll take care of things until you get the feeding sorted out.

 

[petluv]

Yes, try the SPS pellets. If you find some she likes, you can gradually switch her over to a better brand.

Since you're going to restrict veggies, you can give her Oasis Vita Drops multi-vitamins for guinea pigs. For anyone reading this, we DO NOT usually recommend the use of multi-vitamin drops, as there's too much danger of an overdose of the fat-soluble vitamins in them. But this is a special case, and the pig needs some vitamins. I'd give half the recommended dose about every third day, or one fourth the recommended dose every other day. That'll take care of things until you get the feeding sorted out.

Thank you! I just put SPS pellets in her bowl and she is eating them! Yay!!! Since they are still a good brand, just not quite as good as oxbow, will she need the drops? Thanks so much for helping me!

 

[bpatters]

No, the pellets will have all she needs.

How old is she? SPS pellets are pretty high in calcium, so not the first choice for an adult pig.

If she's over six months old, you could let her get used to the SPS pellets, then get some Oxbow and gradually switch her over. Throw a few Oxbow pellets in the first day, a few more the second, etc. By the end of two or three weeks, she should be eating only Oxbow.

 

[MerryFriarTuck]

Just my two cents on everything--- but I have nothing compared to the expierance of bpatters, so follow what she says!

My piggies only get about one lettuce leaf each. I think the "same size as their body" rule means the size/length of the leaf itself; not how many leaves it takes scrunched up into a lump the size of the piggy. The best thing to do, and what I do, is just follow the 1 cup of veggies/greens a day rule. ( The 1 cup being made of veggies and greens, Not 1 cup of veggies + 1 cup of greens )
It sounds like she does have a sweet tooth just like my Robin Hood! Have you tried every color of bell pepper? I believe red are the sweetest, and Robin Hood loves them. Many piggies like ( or only like ) certain colors over the others. Another vitamin c option is oranges! They really shouldn't have them everyday ( unless it's really tiny pieces ), but they'd be very high in vitamin c for her. I think kiwis and strawberries are ,too, but again they can't have too much. Sometimes I'll give my boys one segment from the tiny "cutie" type oranges everyday. They used to be their favorite treat in the world, but now they snub them on and off...but at Abby's age they always loved them!

Mine LOVE their fresh hay, too--- sounds like princess Abby is getting spoiled already! lol But they get fresh hay piles only in the morning and at night. Through out the day I'll fluff and gather up the hay they have to refresh it, and that makes them happy. If they've really eaten a lot I'll add a little bit of new hay. But eating lots and lots of hay is always a good thing

That's great she's getting used to you and wheeking so much...I hope she'll continue to start eating her pellets, too!

 

[petluv]

Princess Abby is only consistently eating pellets I hand feed her! lol While this isn’t the best permanent solution, it should help for a while, getting her used to them, get some vitamins in her and all that good stuff. It’s also tremendously helping our bond. She is so gentle taking the pellets from me. When she misses and nibbles a finger she pulls back and doesn’t chomp harder. She is still so scared, but at the same time seems to enjoy an eating buddy. This is the most we’ve bonded yet!

She did take a few bites of a green pepper, though abandoned it after that, so that’s her color I guess. I know it’s the lowest vitamins of the colors, but hey it’s something! I’ll slowly work with trying to get her to eat more of it. How much are they supposed to have? Are they supposed to eat the seeds? I didn’t leave any in case they were bad for her, just curious.

 

[petluv]

bpatters: They didn’t know how old exactly. They said she was young, whatever that means. She has grown noticeably in the 3 weeks I’ve had her, so she isn’t done yet. I will wait until she is consistently eating the SPS on her own, then do as you say to make oxbow her more permanent pellet. Thank you for all this info!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

bpatters: They didn’t know how old exactly. They said she was young, whatever that means. She has grown noticeably in the 3 weeks I’ve had her, so she isn’t done yet. I will wait until she is consistently eating the SPS on her own, then do as you say to make oxbow her more permanent pellet. Thank you for all this info!

If you weigh her, whatever she weighs now MIGHT give us a clue as to her approximate age. Just something I thought of while reading your last post. If she's under 6 months of age, Oxbow's young guinea pig food would probably be better for her in her growing stages. It contains more calcium that she needs for strong bones as she grows.

 

[petluv]

If you weigh her, whatever she weighs now MIGHT give us a clue as to her approximate age. Just something I thought of while reading your last post. If she's under 6 months of age, Oxbow's young guinea pig food would probably be better for her in her growing stages. It contains more calcium that she needs for strong bones as she grows.

I would love to know that myself! I’ve been looking and looking for my food scale. If I don’t find it in the next few days I’m going to have to order a new one.

She seems so much fatter than when I got her. She now resembles a very plump pear. It’s hard for me to figure as my last piggy was male. He was just big period, larger than most adult piggies. Throw in an unknown birthday and potential pregnancy chance and I’m totally clueless where she’s at, or supposed to be at. I have got to find that scale! I had found it right before I got her and it’s just vanished. Ugh!

As for pellets she is on SPS for now (which bpatters said has too much calcium for adults) so if she’s still needing calcium it’s in there. So that’s good to know at least!

Does anyone know how early a vet can detect pregnancy? With how fat she’s getting and where that weight is being put on, it could very well be a possibility.

All that aside she has been coming up to the cage door today! First time ever! She’s been eating from my hand and coming to get it, versus me going to her. I’m in piggy mama heaven!

 

[bpatters]

How long have you had her?

There are LOTS of stickies at the tops of the forums, and lo! one is on pregnancy and how far along a pig might be. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she.

 

[petluv]

How long have you had her?

There are LOTS of stickies at the tops of the forums, and lo! one is on pregnancy and how far along a pig might be. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she.

I’ve had her about 3 weeks. I have not felt movement or heard noises as of yet.

BTW I don’t understand why you seem upset, I’m keeping everything in one thread. Isn’t that what you wanted? Why can I not talk about these things here. Every piggy varies, even though there are lots of universal symptoms. I thought that’s what these forums were for, to discuss these things. If you want an information only website that is fine, but then don’t make possible to have discussions about these things. I really am very confused on how these forums are to operate exactly. I’m trying to follow guidelines, it just seems I can’t win for loosing.

 

[petluv]

BPATTERS: Forgive my above post I should have said these things more kindly. I just was very frustrated. Regardless I am sorry for being rude and wish to do things right around here, I honestly don’t know what that is. What things am I allowed to discuss on my thread? I did reduce to the one thread as you had asked, so that’s ok now. Please let me know what I can post or discuss on my thread so I don’t mess things up again in the future. Thanks!

 

[bpatters]

You haven't done anything wrong or messed anything up. I was just pointing out that the answers to frequently asked questions are pinned at the tops of the forums, and therefore easy to find. They're longer and more thorough than anything you're apt to get when asking a question in one of these threads, and have been edited to make sure the information is correct and complete. They're also always available, where it may take up to several hours for someone to answer a question in a thread.

 

[petluv]

Question for the experts: My piggy has things to chew on that are safe, and plenty of hay, but she insists on chewing her plastic pigloo. Being Kaytee who knows what’s in it. But she loves it so much and it’s where she feels safe being petted. We are still making much progress on getting her comfortable with us. I just don’t want her to eat the plastic, but again she loves it so much. She isn’t getting visible pieces off it, just scratching it up good. Suggestions?

BTW as per my earlier struggle with pellets, she is doing well with her SPS guinea Pig pellets. I’m just going to feed her them for a while. I hate to switch back and she go without pellets again. Later, but at least not for a month or two. She’s still pretty young so the extra calcium shouldn’t hurt her I would think. Oxbow is the final goal, but right now the hoal is a non junk food pellet and her getting vitamins.

Oh and speaking of vitamins I keep trying bell peppers and different colors to no avail. She sniffs them or puts her tongue on them, then immediately backs up and then runs to her hidey. She doesn’t do that with her leaf lettuce or carrot. I think even the smell bothers her (not that I can blame her...not my veggie of choice either. lol). So I’m just going to stop the pepper thing. Maybe I’m another month or so.

 

[MerryFriarTuck]

Does she have any other things to chew on? My Friar Tuck used to chew the edge of his plastic hidey as well. We got him wood block toys, and he started chewing his hidey less and less and the toys more and more. Now he never chews it! He likes to chew any apple/willow/tea stick chews, wicker/rattan/seagrass balls, and the little wood blocks are his favourite. You can buy packages of them that are specifically for pocket pets, or buy a small parrot toy and take the woodblocks off of that.

When it's time to switch to Oxbow, the best thing you can do is mix very small amounts in with the SPS until you've gradually converted completely to it.

That's a shame she won't eat bell peppers...try to look into other vitamin c options like oranges for her. For future reference each of my piggies gets around 1/8 of both a yellow and green pepper every day. They can't have the seeds! Guinea Pigs can't have seeds of any kind; they're a choking hazard, and can even cause intestinal blockages because they're too hard to digest.

It's great she's continuing to warm up to you!!

 

[petluv]

Does she have any other things to chew on? My Friar Tuck used to chew the edge of his plastic hidey as well. We got him wood block toys, and he started chewing his hidey less and less and the toys more and more. Now he never chews it! He likes to chew any apple/willow/tea stick chews, wicker/rattan/seagrass balls, and the little wood blocks are his favourite. You can buy packages of them that are specifically for pocket pets, or buy a small parrot toy and take the woodblocks off of that.

When it's time to switch to Oxbow, the best thing you can do is mix very small amounts in with the SPS until you've gradually converted completely to it.

That's a shame she won't eat bell peppers...try to look into other vitamin c options like oranges for her. For future reference each of my piggies gets around 1/8 of both a yellow and green pepper every day. They can't have the seeds! Guinea Pigs can't have seeds of any kind; they're a choking hazard, and can even cause intestinal blockages because they're too hard to digest.

It's great she's continuing to warm up to you!!

.

Yes she does have things to chew on, but no sticks or anything like that. She is chewing on her Timothy hidey finally and sits in there if she doesn’t see us up and about. She still uses the pigloo as her safest spot, even though that is the on,y place I can pet her. lol She keeps flipping her pigloo over this week. One time it was upright and she was perched on top of it! I didn’t know she was a climber. Maybe I will attach the shelf one day that came with the cage, so she can perch up there, but then I’ll never be able to catch her as they like to hide as far back as the can where you can barely reach.lol

 

[MerryFriarTuck]

My Robin Hood is the same! He's forever flipping hideys or sleeping on top of them lol
If you do attach the shelf, it isn't higher than a typical hidey/pigloo roof, right? Guinea pigs don't have depth perception, so if anything is too high without sides they can fall off and get hurt.
Maybe you should try getting her some more stuff to chew on! It solved my Friar Tuck's plastic chewing issue, and both piggies love their different toys.

 

[petluv]

My Robin Hood is the same! He's forever flipping hideys or sleeping on top of them lol
If you do attach the shelf, it isn't higher than a typical hidey/pigloo roof, right? Guinea pigs don't have depth perception, so if anything is too high without sides they can fall off and get hurt.
Maybe you should try getting her some more stuff to chew on! It solved my Friar Tuck's plastic chewing issue, and both piggies love their different toys.

The shelf is the height of the hidey. I’m hesitant to even try as I’ve heard the rare but scary incidents of piggies getting feet caught in them.. So likely just letting it be.

Abby still hates to be picked up and shakes constantly while I hold her. I also still have to trap her in her pigloo to steal pets. I’ve learned from some good YouTube guinea pig channels that some will stay this way forever. I don’t want to scare her to death all the time so I try to respect her wishes. I think she really needs a second piggy, but vet bills for one can be expensive enough. So if she stays like this several more months, I have to think of her needs and possibly rehouse her where she can have a friend. :sad:

 

[petluv]

She has let both my husband and I touch her outside her hidey! I think she was more still from fright, but I’ll take it as progress. I so wish I could get her a friend, but definitely no still. I understand his point of view as well, guinea pigs are not low cost pets.

 

[petluv]

It’s been a month and her little nails need a slight trim. So....how do you clip nails when they are so terrified of you? I mean I know you wrap them snugly in a towel for restraint, but I’m afraid by scaring her so, I’ll loose all bonding progress with her. I don’t want that. :sad: