No veggies for a week...is this ok?

[Skyenoir]

My family is going to be out of town for a week, and I am having a friend stop by to begrudgingly take care of my piggies. He is going to come over once a day or every other day. Is it ok for the pigs to not have veggies during this time? I am lucky he has even agreed to come over at all, (he is not a fan of pets...unbelievable, I know!) and I think the hay, water, and pellets, plus feeding my cats, will be more than enough for him to deal with. I didn't want to add giving veggies on top of that, plus he would probably have to go to the store to buy more veggies during that time. Will they be ok for one week without them?

 

[amfeider]

They should be fine for a week.

 

[AmiableAnimals]

You could buy those package sof salad (spring mix) they usually will last a week or so in the fridge, and have him dump one in each day, perhaps . . .

 

[melodypig]

No! NOT OK! Buy one gallon zip lock baggies and fill the normal amount of veggies you feed your wheekie daily in seperate baggies with date labels. Or find some alternate person to do this for you. I wouldn't trust any "begrudingly" person to feed my cavy!

My family is going to be out of town for a week, and I am having a friend stop by to begrudgingly take care of my piggies. He is going to come over once a day or every other day. Is it ok for the pigs to not have veggies during this time? I am lucky he has even agreed to come over at all, (he is not a fan of pets...unbelievable, I know!) and I think the hay, water, and pellets, plus feeding my cats, will be more than enough for him to deal with. I didn't want to add giving veggies on top of that, plus he would probably have to go to the store to buy more veggies during that time. Will they be ok for one week without them?

 

[amfeider]

or make premade salads and put them in baggies so he just takes one and emty it into the cage.

 

[Skyenoir]

If I had another person to watch them, I would, but I don't know many people here that are willing to watch them at all. And it is a last minute thing because my husband unexpectedly has to go to Japan at the same time I will be on vacation visiting relatives. Of course I would rather have someone that loves piggies watch them, but all our friends call them "things" or say "ew, I hate guinea pigs!" They just don't get it!

 

[Slap Maxwell]

It is absolutely not okay for them to go without their veggies for a week. Make pre-made salads.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I'd be worried they weren't getting their daily vit c or other nutrients.

Plus the diet change can affect them.

 

[cavy-cool-crazy]

Ditto eveything the others said. Give your friend a list of instructions - what pre-made salad to give them, how much hay and pellets they need daily, whether their water needs changing etc.

 

[Piglet]

We went away for 3 days last week and we got our neighbour to come in and look after them. I pre cut all their food and put it in tupperware boxes in the fridge. All she did, was come over and tip the boxes into their cage. Make everything easy for him - put the hay you want to give them in a little box beside the cage, so he can just easily reach it. Do the same with pellets

 

[pennick]

My first thought was can you trust this person? Do you know absolutely for a fact that he wouldn't in any way harm any of your animals? Has he done this for you before? If you feel that this person is okay then Just have little baggies ready of veggies that he can just dump into the cage each day or every other day.

 

[melodypig]

YEAH! do that!

We went away for 3 days last week and we got our neighbour to come in and look after them. I pre cut all their food and put it in tupperware boxes in the fridge. All she did, was come over and tip the boxes into their cage. Make everything easy for him - put the hay you want to give them in a little box beside the cage, so he can just easily reach it. Do the same with pellets

 

[DocDolittle]

I did that same thing with my borther for the week I went on vacation, Piglet. Just cut all the veggies up, put it in a fresh spot, and have him dump them into the cage. It's not that hard.

 

[twofinepigs]

I'll be out of town next week and the ten-year-old next door will come in twice a day to do water, hay, and veggies. She's done it before and I've left the veggies in little bags with date labels (I don't have twelve plastic boxes!)

My question: how long will cut romaine, bell pepper, and cilantro stay fresh? I haven't left for five-and-a-half days before. I don't want my guys getting slimy cilantro. They don't like wilted stuff anyway.

I could tell her not to feed it if it looks limp or icky, but I won't be here to help her judge, and I want them to have good food. How long have you made "box salads" for?

 

[pennick]

My veggies usually last for 7 days. Romaine, pepper, and ridichio do usually well. Cilantro I find sometimes start to get wilty after a few days so maybe you want to leave that out if you dont want to take the chance. A bunch of romaine and rodichio and peppers will do just fine for their veggies.

 

[Skyenoir]

Pennick,

I know the person well enough to know they wouldn't hurt my animals, they just aren't fond of animals. I had one other person that would have done it, but I didn't trust her to not go through our house because she is very, very nosy!

I am going to put everything in baggies, even the right amount of pellets and hay and eveything, to feed to them to make it easy for him. That is a great idea, everyone. Thanks!

 

[AmiableAnimals]

Good for you. I think having everything in baggies should make it simple enough for him to do the job properly. I always leave my father a checklist when I ask him to come over and care for my animals, so he can be sure he didn't miss anything.

 

[Skyenoir]

I went and bought a bunch of the Spring Greens mix and I have already put the pellets for each cage (boy and girls) into baggies. I will put the hay and greens in baggies tomorrow night before I leave. How much easier could it be, right?

On an off note, am I supposed to be feeding the 4 month old alfalfa hay mixed with timothy, or is alfalfa alone enough? I have the Oxbow Cavy Performance pellets for him which are made with alfalfa, and the Oxbow Cavy Cuisine pellets for the girls.

 

[amfeider]

Yes, feed the baby alfalfa mixed with timothy hay.

 

[RubyPiggie2]

I'm going down to the Ozarks with my cousin a whole week and my sisters have to look after my 8 piggers. Should I put the food in baggies, or tupperware containers? We have enough of both, my mom's a tupperware freak, but I'll have to write out a chart and everything and there will be a LOT of baggies/containers in the fridge upstairs and downstairs. Will everything stay fresh?