hi i'm a new piggie owner i'm on i tigt budget and want any tips about anything!

[Pamp81]

hi i need some help ok i'm a new piggie owner(i've had one for a month) and one of them won't eat fruits or any fresh foods! i'm on a tight budget and need advice on how to save money and make my piggies happy!

 

[VoodooJoint]

My advice is to buy in bulk. Find a feed store to buy your bedding and hay from. A cubic yard of bedding costs about $5.00 for pine (which you will have to allow to de-scent before use) and $6 - $8 for Aspen (which you can use right away). Compare tis to $3 - $5 for a small bag of bedding at a pet store(yuck) or superstore and you save money big time.

Buy hay by the bale. You will spend $3 - $12 for a bale of hay while it will cost $3 - $9 for a small bag at other stores.

Do not skimp on the fresh veggies. Your pig that won't eat the veggies will learn how from the other one. Offer Romaine lettuce, green or red peppers, cilantro. If you have a restaurant nearby you may ask about picking up their romaine lettuce ends and outer leaves for free. The same goes for grocery stores. Sometimes they will allow you to come in and pick up their trimmings from the veggies. You may have to sort out the non GP friendly veggies and any wilted/spoiled veggies though.

One last thing. Please use proper capitalization and punctuation in your posts. The way you write makes them very hard to read. We have some members that do not use English as their first language and reading a post without punctuation and capitalization is very hard on them.

 

[Pamp81]

Oh sorry about the typing I can't type very well. But about the veggies I don't know if my other pig will eat veggies either. The pet store I get them from isn't the best but they are well socialized for some reason.

 

[VoodooJoint]

They must get veggies. They are important for proper nutrition. Try taking them out for floor and lap time and let them see you nibble on a romaine leaf, then offer it to them. These pigs have probably never gotten any fresh food...pet shop breeders don't care and the pet shops themselves don't usually give them any either. It's up to you to make them understand the fresh food is edible.

 

[Pamp81]

My newest one is still really little I hate the pet stores for not giving them fresh food. Any way just to let you know the store gets "extras". The pigs the breeder can't show.

 

[TurboPiggy]

My latest baby wouldn't eat veggies at first either. It took a couple days of holding him in my lap and literally putting a piece of romaine between his lips to get him to taste it. Even then he would take quite a while to finish a small piece. Vegetables are VERY important, without exception, they MUST have them. Just keep working with them, they will get the idea that veggies are yummy! Good luck.

 

[Pamp81]

Thanks it really helps to know people who know and care about piggies!

 

[Pamp81]

And my new baby got sick two days after we brought her home(i told you the pet store is bad) I think she's sad she had to be separated from my other pig. Do you know anything that might make her happy during her time alone?

 

[Pamp81]

And do you know anything about wringworm? (if that's how you spell it)

 

[VoodooJoint]

just to let you know the store gets "extras". The pigs the breeder can't show.

Ah, so the breeder gets to make a little money off the pigs they would otherwise kill, dump at the shelter or feed to snakes.

Don't fool yourself. ALL pet stores that sell animals keep the breeders in business. If this show breeder took any kind of decent care of their animals your GPs would know what fresh food was.

You got a pet that NEEDS fresh veggies in it's diet. You must provide that food and teach them it is edible. This is a responsibility you took on when you got your pets...they are relying on you to do what is right for them.

 

[VoodooJoint]

And do you know anything about wringworm? (if that's how you spell it)

Ringworm is a fungal infection. It causes hair loss in (normally) circular patters on the body. Sometimes people mistake ringworm for mites. You need to get your GPs to a vet to have them checked out.

Just so you notice the pattern...a breeder bred and a petshop sold you GPs that most likely have never seen a decent diet and probably also have ringworm or mites...not to mention other illnesses (like an Upper Repiratory Infection, URI) that they may be hiding.

PLEASE...get your pets to a vet their lives are in danger.

 

[Pamp81]

Yes and I will do all it takes to get them to eat veggies. Even though I buy my pigs at pet stores don't think I don't care about my pigs or didn't try to adopt. I tried to adopt but I couldn't find any girls. I tried for a few weeks then gave up trying. But if I find a girl up for adoption I'll probly get her. Any way do ypu like abbys?

 

[Pamp81]

My new pig has been to a vet. She has some kind of eye problem.

 

[Pamp81]

Do you know if nibbling on clothes is normal for pigs?

 

[Slap Maxwell]

Yes, it is very normal.

 

[Pamp81]

iIthought so. who likes abbisinians? I love them!

 

[sasha]

I have one abby, and 2 short haired pigs, and I still haven't found a good way to pet the poor abby!

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

What area are you located in? Don't forgot to submit all vet bills to the pet store and make them pay for it. They should not be selling animals.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

If you can't get your pigs to eat veggies right now, keep trying by giving small amounts 2-3 times a day and also get them a plain chewable Vitamin C tablet (1 gram or less sugar added, preferably sugar free) and give them each 50 mg everyday. They will need that supplement because they are not getting the extra Vitamin C from the veggies yet.