Won't Eat Guinea pig will not eat oxbow pellets. Help!

[Intellect]

Hi guys, I had a big 10 lb bag of oxbow adult guinea pig pellets, and that just got over yesterday. So I got 2 new 5 lb bags of the same pellets, but he refuses to eat them. The smell is stronger from these pellets but that might be because they are newer. It has been almost a day and a half but he still has not touched his pellets. He keeps wheeking for veggies, whenever I open the fridge or rustle any plastic bags. He eats a lot of hay now, and finishes all of his vegetables but does not go near his pellets. What do I do? Will he go back to eating them? Your advice would be most helpful

He did have problems with his teeth a week ago, and one of his teeth did fall out. But he is back to normal now and can eat properly, he was eating his previous pellets after the problem. This happened only after I gave him the new pellets. So I dont think this is health related.

 

[aspecht]

Just keep offering. My boys will go through phases like this as well.

 

[sugarandspice]

I don't know. Did you properly introduce the new pellets? If you just change a guinea pig's diet suddenly he'll probably get tummy aches and probably look at the pellets negatively. Just give him some time to adjust the new pellets and see. If he still wheeks for veggies and still eats his hay, he should be fine.

 

[bpatters]

Actually, it's usually recommended to just switch pellets cold turkey rather than tapering them off, especially if the old ones are the crappy kind. With these, that's not the case. I'd sprinkle a few finely-chopped veggies over them and see if that tempts him any.

 

[Intellect]

sugarandspice, I did not introduce it properly ( I just put in the new pellets when the old bag was over) but I was not aware that you had to do it when you continue to use the old brand. I was using a different brand first, but when I bought oxbow I mixed it with the old pellets 2 weeks in advance. After that I continued to use oxbow adult guinea pig pellets (2 10 lbs bags!). This is the first time he is ignoring his pellets. I have started mixing veggies with the pellets like you suggested bpatters ( he just eats the veggies and ignores the pellets, but maybe in a couple days..)

In the meanwhile, do you guys have any suggestions on what types of veggies, and the quantity I should feed him? Currently he gets 1 leaf of lettuce, then some (1 slice)cucumber, (2- 3 leaves) spinach, (1/4)carrot, and I give him the same veggies at night. He also gets plenty of oat, timothy, and orchard grass. But Im not sure if he is getting all vitamin C he needs, he hates green bell peppers and refuses to eat them so Im not sure what veggie has the most vitamin C (parsely maybe?) Your advice would be very heplful to me

 

[bpatters]

Way too much spinach -- it's too high in oxalates and calcium to be fed that often and in those quantities.

Tomatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, but you can dice bell peppers very finely and sprinkle them over things he will eat, and he'll get accustomed to the taste that way. You can also roll thin slices of pepper up in a lettuce leaf, like a cigarette, and feed it that way.

He can eat summer squash, young green beans (without an actual bean in them), endive, radicchio, occasional celery leaves or chopped stems, herbs, occasional pieces of fruits and sweet potatoes. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...y-nutrition-charts-poisonous-plants-list.html for what he can have and how often.

 

[Artista]

sugarandspice, I did not introduce it properly ( I just put in the new pellets when the old bag was over) but I was not aware that you had to do it when you continue to use the old brand. I was using a different brand first, but when I bought oxbow I mixed it with the old pellets 2 weeks in advance. After that I continued to use oxbow adult guinea pig pellets (2 10 lbs bags!). This is the first time he is ignoring his pellets. I have started mixing veggies with the pellets like you suggested bpatters ( he just eats the veggies and ignores the pellets, but maybe in a couple days..)

In the meanwhile, do you guys have any suggestions on what types of veggies, and the quantity I should feed him? Currently he gets 1 leaf of lettuce, then some (1 slice)cucumber, (2- 3 leaves) spinach, (1/4)carrot, and I give him the same veggies at night. He also gets plenty of oat, timothy, and orchard grass. But Im not sure if he is getting all vitamin C he needs, he hates green bell peppers and refuses to eat them so Im not sure what veggie has the most vitamin C (parsely maybe?) Your advice would be very heplful to me

I was wondering about pumpkin. Is it ok to feed some of the raw "flesh" to them? Do they even like it? Mine hates zucchini so I don't know how a squash would do with her.

 

[sugarandspice]

I was wondering about pumpkin. Is it ok to feed some of the raw "flesh" to them? Do they even like it? Mine hates zucchini so I don't know how a squash would do with her.

@Artista Yeah, they can only eat the flesh. The pulp and seeds are not good for them, so make sure you wash the flesh thoroughly before giving it to the guinea pigs. My pigs really didn't care for the taste, but they ate it of course lol.

 

[Intellect]

Hi guys, I wanted to update this thread as there has been a new development. Leo refused to eat the pellets for a whole week and I had to switch to veggies. But today by accident after a pellet got soaked with water he ate it. After eating it he has begun eating the pellets (soaked with water) again. Do any of you know why he is eating the water soaked pellets? I dont think that the pellets are very hard to begin with, and he eats all sorts of hard veggies like carrots anyway so its not a tooth issue. Its kind of strange so I just wanted to make sure that this is fine.

 

[ShadeyPig]

Im not sure but you can sprinkle the pellets over the veggies so they go soft for him.

 

[Intellect]

I tried all the suggestions here and it did not seem to have much effect at first. He would just eat the veggies and then walk away, some successful methods were stuffing the pellets in green beans. This was most effective because it does not fall out like it does when you wrap in leaves, so I would suggest using green beans for others who face this issue. He did not eat the pellets for close to a month, but now he has begun to eat them again. So if your guinea pig does not eat the pellets at first, I would recommend you keep giving him some everyday. He/she will eat it eventually.